The Vitalizing Office Workstation: Biomechanical, Physiological, Subjective and Performance Effects

The problem of physical inactivity, caused by both lifestyle and work-related factors, is affecting an ever greater number of the office-based workforce. In addition to this, physical inactivity has been associated with an increased risk for various chronic diseases as well as various musculoskeletal disorders. As the majority of an individual’s time is spent at work, a means of introducing more activity into the workplace environment would appear to provide potentially the most effective solution. One of these potential solutions is that of dynamic workstations. In a controlled laboratory setting, the biomechanical, physiological, subjective and performance effects of two dynamic workstations were contrasted against two more conventional workstations. Measures assessed included physical activity and percent of heart rate reserve. The performance of basic computer and office tasks was assessed using a standardized battery of tasks included a typing task, a reading task, a telephone task, a task examining mouse dexterity and a set of cognitive tasks. The set of cognitive tasks included two reaction tasks, a memory test and an Erikson flanker test. To determine the acceptability of these workstations, subjective experiences of the participants were recorded using a questionnaire.