Sedentary behavior and musculoskeletal symptoms among work from home employees

Abstract

Work from home (WFH) may result in less physical activity and more sedentary behaviour among office employees. The consequence to body pain is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess longitudinal sedentary behaviour change and pain association among office workers who have been working from home. Baseline survey was administered to a cohort of office employees in January–February 2020. In March, all employees started to work from home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional surveys took place in April, June, and December 2020. The survey consisted of IPAQ, which included sitting time report, along with self-reported proportion of time spent standing during work, and body pain. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyse the trends in pain scores, and their associations to sitting time and standing frequency. The cohort consisted of 143 participants at baseline. Participants reported lower pain scores for neck (risk ratio = 0.90, CI = 0.82–0.99) and back (risk ratio = 0.85, CI = 0.75–0.96) in December, compared with pain scores at baseline. Neck pain among participants with more standing was lower than those with infrequent standing (risk ratio = 0.87, CI = 0.79–0.96). Weekly sitting time had no statistically significant effect on body pain scores. For WFH employees, more standing appears to have a significant protective effect on the neck. Being more sedentary during work does not have a clear detrimental effect on long-term musculoskeletal health.