Workplace wellness and health promotion

Sitting or standing for prolonged periods may adversely affect workers’ health, according to several recent studies. So, what should workers do? In a video titled Sitting or standing? Which is best?, two IWH researchers behind the studies answer that question to help clarify their recent research.

Published: Safety + Health, December 2018

If you’re confused by seemingly duelling headlines about the negative health effects of prolonged sitting and prolonged standing, this video may help clear things up. Two of the scientists behind these headlines work at the Institute for Work & Health, so we put them before the camera, side by side, to sort out the take-away message.

Published: November 2018

Three in four working Canadians have access near or at their work to a gym, a sports field, a pleasant place to walk, a fitness program, an organized sports team, a health promotion program or a shower/change room. Leisure-time exercise levels are highest for workers with access to all the above. They are twice as likely to exercise in their off-hours as workers with access to none of these.

Published: August 2018

Three in four Canadians have access to parks, gyms, shower rooms or other facilities near or at their work. Do these facilities encourage them to exercise more during their off-time? A new study says yes.

Published: April 2018

Published: European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, March 2018

Published: American Journal of Epidemiology, January 2018

There has been a lot of interest in recent years in the health risks of prolonged sitting. But a study by IWH and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences suggests you might spare a thought for people in jobs that mostly involve standing (e.g. cooks, tellers, cashiers).

Published: November 2017

A headline today has proclaimed that standing at work is “as unhealthy as a cigarette a day," citing a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Illustrated with a picture of a woman bent over her standing desk clutching at her back, we’re instructed to “sit back down." But a closer look at the research in question reveals very little to do with standing desks. In fact, the study did not look at standing desks at all, writes Suzi Gage.

Published: The Guardian, September 2017

Workers who predominantly stand on the job are at greater risk of heart disease than workers who predominantly sit. Workplace prevention efforts should target excessive standing, as well as excessive sitting, to protect the cardiovascular health of workers.

Published: September 2017

Odds are, you already know about the scary things that sitting can do to your health. But we have some bad news: Your standing desk may be doing more harm than good, too, writes Brooke Nelson.

Published: Reader's Digest, September 2017