Office Workers’ Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to Taking Regular Micro-breaks at Work: A Diary-Probed Interview Study

Huang, Yitong; Benford, Steve; Hendrickx, H.; Treloar, Rob; Blake, Holly

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55134-0_12

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…This suggests that for employees taking time out to engage in worksite exercise twice during the working day, this did not impact negatively on their reported performance at work, e.g., the interruption of engaging in PA “did no harm”—it had no adverse effects on perceived work performance. This is important on two accounts: First, worker performance (and any associated changes in productivity) is an organisational priority; and second, employees reporting barriers to taking active work breaks have raised concerns about the potential for negative impact on their performance through interruption of work-flow [62].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Move-It: A Cluster-Randomised Digital Worksite Exercise Intervention in China: Outcome and Process Evaluation

Blake

Lai

Coman

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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We evaluate the outcomes and processes of a video and web-based worksite exercise intervention for sedentary office workers in China, in a 2-arm cluster-randomised wait-list control trial (n = 282: intervention (INT) n = 196 and wait-list control (WLC) n = 86). Eligible clusters were two sites of a major organisation in China randomly allocated to each group (INT: Guangzhou; WLC: Beijing); eligible participants were site employees (n = 690). A theoretically informed digital workplace intervention (Move-It) involving a 10 min Qigong exercise session (video demonstration via website) was delivered twice a day at set break times during the working day for 12 consecutive weeks. Individual-level outcomes were assessed. Participants’ physical activity increased significantly from baseline to post-intervention similarly in both the intervention and the control group. There was a significantly smaller increase in weekday sitting hours in intervention than controls (by 4.66 h/week), and work performance increased only in the control group. Process evaluation (including six focus groups) was conducted using the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance) framework. The intervention had wide reach and was successfully marketed to all employees with good uptake. The participatory approach increased perceived organisational support and enhanced adoption. The intervention was implemented broadly as planned. Qigong worksite exercise intervention can be successfully delivered to sedentary office workers in China using video and web-based platforms. It may increase physical activity and does not adversely affect perceived work performance. The study highlights the complexity of conducting health promotion research in real-world organisational settings.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Move-It: A Cluster-Randomised Digital Worksite Exercise Intervention in China: Outcome and Process Evaluation

Blake

Lai

Coman

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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“…Interviews ranged from 42 to 66 min. The behavioral diagnostic result from the study has been reported elsewhere [ 47 ] and hence will only be briefly summarized here. The following five COM-B components (with theoretical constructs specified in brackets) were identified as important determinants of office workers’ SB: psychological capability (eg, knowledge, cognitive resources, and skills required for monitoring and regulating break patterns), automatic motivation (eg, prolonged sitting habit and effects or emotions associated with breaks), reflective motivation (eg, beliefs about the consequences of taking breaks, perceived behavioral control, the priority and accessibility of health-related goals at work, and the intention to break up sitting regularly), physical opportunity (eg, job demands, time pressure, and organizational climate), and social opportunity (eg, social norm of prolonged sitting versus regular breaks and direct social interactions that prompt or hinder breaks).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Internet of Things to Reduce Office Workers’ Sedentary Behavior: Intervention Development Applying the Behavior Change Wheel and Human-Centered Design Approach

Huang¹,

Benford²,

Price³

et al. 2020

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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Background Sedentary behavior (SB) is associated with various adverse health outcomes. The prevalence of prolonged sitting at work among office workers makes a case for SB interventions to target this setting and population. Everyday mundane objects with embedded microelectronics and ubiquitous computing represent a novel mode of delivering health behavior change interventions enabled by internet of things (IoTs). However, little is known about how to develop interventions involving IoT technologies. Objective This paper reports the design and development of an IoT-enabled SB intervention targeting office workers. Methods The process was guided by the behavior change wheel (BCW), a systematic framework for theory-informed and evidence-based development of behavior change interventions, complemented by the human-centered design (HCD) approach. Intervention design was shaped by findings from a diary-probed interview study (n=20), a stakeholder design workshop (n=8), and a series of theoretical mapping and collaborative technical design activities. Results The resulting intervention named WorkMyWay targets a reduction in office workers’ prolonged stationary behaviors at work and an increase in regular breaks by modifying behavioral determinants in 11 theoretical domains with 17 behavior change techniques. The delivery technology consists of a wearable activity tracker, a light-emitting diode reminder device attached to a vessel (ie, water bottle or cup), and a companion Android app connected to both devices over Bluetooth. The delivery plan consists of a 2-week baseline assessment, a 30-min face-to-face action planning session, and 6-week self-directed use of the delivery technology. Conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate that it is possible to develop a complex IoT-enabled intervention by applying a combination of the BCW and HCD approaches. The next step is to assess the feasibility of WorkMyWay prior to testing intervention efficacy in a full-scale trial. The intervention mapping table that links individual intervention components with hypothesized mechanisms of action can serve as the basis for testing and clarifying theory-based mechanisms of action in future studies on WorkMyWay.

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“…The WorkMyWay intervention was developed in accordance with the framework of the UK MRC for complex intervention research [26], by following through the process of identifying and summarizing the best available evidence [16], developing a theoretical understanding that is likely to account for the process of change [27], theorizing the intervention in terms of the key behavior change techniques and mechanisms, and involving the target recipients and stakeholders of the intervention throughout the development process [17].…”

Section: Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A 7-point Likert-style (1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree) scale, which was used to assess psychosocial variables theoretically aligned with the constructs underlying office workers' sedentary behavior [27]. These included automaticity of regular break behaviors, using items from the automaticity subscale from the Self-Report Habit Index [39]: intention (eg, "I intend to break up sitting with regular micro-breaks throughout the day"), perceived behavioral control (eg, "All things considered, if I wanted to, I could take regular breaks at work"), prospective and retrospective memory of breaks (eg, "I find it difficult to keep track of time when engrossed in work" or "At the end of each day, I have an idea of how much time I've spent in prolonged sitting in total"), and organizational culture (eg, "The organizational culture and climate here discourages regular breaks and I feel I'm being watched").…”

Section: Psychosocial Determinants Of Regular Break Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility and Acceptability of an Internet of Things–Enabled Sedentary Behavior Intervention: Mixed Methods Study

Huang¹,

Benford²,

Price³

et al. 2023

J Med Internet Res

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Background Encouraging office workers to break up prolonged sedentary behavior (SB) at work with regular microbreaks can be beneficial yet challenging. The Internet of Things (IoT) offers great promise for delivering more subtle and hence acceptable behavior change interventions in the workplace. We previously developed an IoT-enabled SB intervention, called WorkMyWay, by applying a combination of theory-informed and human-centered design approaches. According to the Medical Research Council’s framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions such as WorkMyWay, process evaluation in the feasibility phase can help establish the viability of novel modes of delivery and identify facilitators and barriers to successful delivery. Objective This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the WorkMyWay intervention and its technological delivery system. Methods A mixed methods approach was adopted. A sample of 15 office workers were recruited to use WorkMyWay during work hours for 6 weeks. Questionnaires were administered before and after the intervention period to assess self-report occupational sitting and physical activity (OSPA) and psychosocial variables theoretically aligned with prolonged occupational SB (eg, intention, perceived behavioral control, prospective memory and retrospective memory of breaks, and automaticity of regular break behaviors). Behavioral and interactional data were obtained through the system database to determine adherence, quality of delivery, compliance, and objective OSPA. Semistructured interviews were conducted at the end of the study, and a thematic analysis was performed on interview transcripts. Results All 15 participants completed the study (attrition=0%) and on average used the system for 25 tracking days (out of a possible 30 days; adherence=83%). Although no significant change was observed in either objective or self-report OSPA, postintervention improvements were significant in the automaticity of regular break behaviors (t14=2.606; P=.02), retrospective memory of breaks (t14=7.926; P<.001), and prospective memory of breaks (t14=–2.661; P=.02). The qualitative analysis identified 6 themes, which lent support to the high acceptability of WorkMyWay, though delivery was compromised by issues concerning Bluetooth connectivity and factors related to user behaviors. Fixing technical issues, tailoring to individual differences, soliciting organizational supports, and harnessing interpersonal influences could facilitate delivery and enhance acceptance. Conclusions It is acceptable and feasible to deliver an SB intervention with an IoT system that involves a wearable activity tracking device, an app, and a digitally augmented everyday object (eg, cup). More industrial design and technological development work on WorkMyWay is warranted to improve delivery. Future research should seek to establish the broad acceptability of similar IoT-enabled interventions while expanding the range of digitally augmented objects as the modes of delivery to meet diverse needs.

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Office Workers’ Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to Taking Regular Micro-breaks at Work: A Diary-Probed Interview Study

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

Move-It: A Cluster-Randomised Digital Worksite Exercise Intervention in China: Outcome and Process Evaluation

Move-It: A Cluster-Randomised Digital Worksite Exercise Intervention in China: Outcome and Process Evaluation

Using Internet of Things to Reduce Office Workers’ Sedentary Behavior: Intervention Development Applying the Behavior Change Wheel and Human-Centered Design Approach

Feasibility and Acceptability of an Internet of Things–Enabled Sedentary Behavior Intervention: Mixed Methods Study

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