Objective. Sedentary behavior is an independent risk factor for obesity, diabetes, and all cause mortality. With adults in occupational settings spending two thirds or more of their time in sedentary behavior, novel strategies are required to intervene with occupational sitting. To investigate whether or not use of sit-stand desks and awareness of the importance of postural variation and breaks are associated with the pattern of sedentary behavior in office workers.

Method. The data came from a cross-sectional observation study of Swedish call centre workers. Inclinometers recorded ‘seated’ or ‘standing/walking’ episodes of 131 operators over a full work shift. Differences in sedentary behavior based on desk type and awareness of the importance of posture variation and breaks were assessed by non-parametric analyses.

Results. 90 (68.7%) operators worked at a sit-stand desk. Working at a sit-stand desk, as opposed to a sit desk, was associated with less time seated (78.5 vs 83.8%, p=0.010), and less time taken to accumulate 5 minutes of standing/walking (36.2 vs 46.3 minutes, p=0.022), but no significant difference to sitting episode length or the number of switches between sitting and standing/walking per hour. Ergonomics awareness was not associated with any sedentary pattern variable among those using a sit-stand desk.

Conclusion. Use of sit-stand desks was associated with better sedentary behavior in call centre workers, however ergonomics awareness did not enhance the effect. Further investigation into how best to intervene with occupational sitting is required.