Effects of Working at Home During COVID-19 on Sedentary Behavior, Use of Strategies to Decrease Sedentary Behavior, and Perceived Work Performance

Abstract

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 affected millions of workers in the United States and worldwide. Notably, many employees who previously worked in office buildings quickly shifted to working from their homes. The full effects of this new work context on employee sedentary behavior and performance are unknown. This study attempted to gain insight through surveying employees who continued to work from home. One hundred and ninety-six participants self-reported the amount of sedentary and non-sedentary activity in which they engaged during the workday, along with self-ratings of work performance, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Minutes spent sitting (MPre = 419; MDuring = 403.9), standing (MPre = 61.9; MDuring = 37), and walking (MPre = 45.4; MDuring = 28.1) decreased; results show that participants engaged in more sedentary and less non-sedentary behavior. Self-rated performance decreased 5% (MPre = 8.13; MDuring = 7.62). Results also showed a weak positive association between standing and performance (τb = .169, p = .006) and a medium positive association between walking and performance (τb = .254, p = .001), suggesting those who were less sedentary while working from home performed better. The implications of these results are that employees who are more sedentary while working from home may be less productive and less healthy. Organizations should take steps to increase the amount of standing and walking that their employees engage in throughout the workday for employees who continue to work remotely.