Sedentary behaviour, physical activity, and sleep among office workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparison of Brazil and Sweden

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the physical behaviours of office workers worldwide, but studies comparing physical behaviours between countries with similar restrictions policies are rare. This study aimed to document and compare the 24-hour time-use compositions of physical behaviours among Brazilian and Swedish office workers on working and non-working days during the pandemic. Methods Physical behaviours were monitored over 7 days using thigh-worn accelerometers in 73 Brazilian and 202 Swedish workers. Daily time-use compositions were exhaustively described in terms of sedentary behaviour (SED) in short (< 30 min) and long (≥30 min) bouts, light physical activity (LPA), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and time-in-bed. We examined differences between countries using MANOVA on data processed according to compositional data analysis. As Swedish workers had the possibility to do hybrid work, we conducted a set of sensitivity analyses including only data from days when Swedish workers worked from home. Results During working days, Brazilian office workers spent more time SED in short (294 min) and long (478 min) bouts and less time in LPA (156 min) and MVPA (50 min) than Swedish workers (274, 367, 256 and 85 min, respectively). Time spent in bed was similar in both groups. Similar differences between Brazilians and Swedes were observed on non-working days, while workers were, in general, less sedentary, more active and spent more time-in-bed than during working days. The MANOVA showed that Brazilians and Swedes differed significantly in behaviours during working (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.36) and non-working days (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.20). Brazilian workers spent significantly more time in SED relative to being active, less time in short relative to long bouts in SED, and more time in LPA relative to MVPA, both during workdays and non-workdays. Sensitivity analyses only on data from days when participants worked from home showed similar results. Conclusions During the COVID-19 pandemic Brazilian office workers were more sedentary and less active than Swedish workers, both during working and non-working days. Whether this relates to the perception or interpretation of restrictions being different or to differences present even before the pandemic is not clear, and we encourage further research to resolve this important issue.

Hybrid office work in women and men: do directly measured physical behaviors differ between days working from home and days working at the office?

“…Thus, a possible explanation for the difference between women and men may be different work tasks ( Appel-Meulenbroek et al 2022 ) differences in the extent of household labor ( Oslawski-Lopez 2016 ) and that restrictions during the pandemic may have influenced the physical behavior for women and men differently ( Clemes et al 2014 ). These differences are even sensitive to the cultural context ( Brusaca et al 2022 ; Flor et al 2022 ) and we recommend future studies to investigate differences in behavior between countries, which may be considerable.…”

“…A study of 11 Brazilian university employees, also using thigh-worn accelerometers, found workers to spend more time in bed on workdays during the pandemic when they were required to WFH, and less time in physical activity of moderate and vigorous intensity relative to light-intensity physical activity, compared to pre-pandemic conditions ( Brusaca et al 2021 ). A study comparing Brazilian and Swedish office workers suggested, however, that physical behaviors during the pandemic may have differed considerably between countries ( Brusaca et al 2022 ). Since the knowledge regarding directly measured physical behaviors and their temporal patterns among office workers in hybrid arrangements is sparse and partly conflicting, there is a need for more and larger studies.…”