Exercise in the workplace: small steps make a big difference

“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, we would have found the safest way to health.” – Hippocrates

Humans have been on the move ever since we took our first steps. It all started with hunter-gatherers roaming the wilderness to collect berries, roots and tubers, or to track and hunt buffalo, horses or other animals. At that time, movement was an integral part of every person’s life; if you couldn’t get around, you couldn’t survive. Thousands of years later, the Industrial Revolution and increasing prosperity in the Western world transformed how and where we worked, while urbanisation and new modes of transport mean we no longer have to travel so far to buy essential items. Although these changes have many indisputable benefits, the one major disadvantage is that we no longer move around as much as we once did. And that’s where the problems begin.

Here we highlight the impact of our sedentary lifestyles and offer practical solutions to help you incorporate exercise into your everyday office routine, enabling you to recharge your batteries and improve your overall level of wellbeing.

Sit idle at your peril

A lack of exercise causes or contributes to a range of negative health outcomes, including excess weight and obesity, type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disorders. These ailments are collectively referred to as non-communicable diseases (NCDs). As physical inactivity is a major contributor to many NCDs, it’s considered the fourth-highest risk factor for premature death worldwide (Kohl, 2012). NCDs are also widespread in Switzerland, affecting 2.3 million people in 2017. As a result, it’s not surprising to learn that 80% of Swiss healthcare costs are spent on treating NCDs (CHF 52 billion in direct costs in 2011; Bundesamt für Gesundheit, 2024). NCDs are also the most common cause of death in our society, with more than 4 in 5 deaths attributed to these diseases. Of these totals, 2,900 premature deaths and CHF 2.4 billion in direct treatment costs are attributable to physical inactivity each year (Bundesamt für Sport, 2013).

A little exercise each day keeps NCDs at bay

Admittedly, it isn’t always easy to fit enough exercise into our daily routines. We spend a large part of our time sitting in an office staring at a screen, or take the car or train to and from work. We can even get our dinner delivered right to our door in the evening. So what’s the point of walking everywhere?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75-150 minutes of high-intensity exercise each week for our health and wellbeing (e.g., Bundesamt für Sport, 2022). “Moderate intensity” refers to any activity that causes our heart rate and breathing to increase, such as brisk walking, cycling or climbing stairs. This kind of exercise does not usually make us sweat and allows us to continue a conversation without any difficulties. “High intensity” refers to any activity that makes us sweat and breathe more heavily to the point that it is difficult to continue a conversation, such as dancing, playing football or swimming. Following these recommendations can have significant health benefits and reduce the risk of developing conditions such as NCDs.

However, the latest guidelines emphasise that any exercise is better than none, and the more the better. People not enjoying sporty activities may find it easier to achieve significant benefits by making small adjustments to their daily routine rather than sticking to a conventional training plan. What’s more, a little effort can go a long way. Overweight people can lower their risk of cardiovascular diseases by 20% with as little as eight minutes brisk walking (where you begin to sweat slightly) each day (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, 2019). Furthermore, around 2,400 steps per day is enough to reduce mortality from cardiovascular diseases, while around 4,000 steps per day reduces overall mortality risk. If you still need convincing, evidence suggests that even short active breaks can boost your attention span (Niedermeier et al., 2020) and mood while reducing feelings of fatigue (Bergouignan et al., 2016).

Movement snacks for the office

Here are some simple ideas on how to incorporate more activity into your daily routine and make steady progress towards your physical activity goals:

• Break up long periods of sitting: Move between sitting and standing every 30 minutes or so. Do you work from home but do not have a standing desk? Simply grab a cardboard box or laundry basket and place it on your desk, and voilà! You have a makeshift standing desk. However, standing all day long is not particularly comfortable either, so bear in mind that the next position is always the best! Make sure you change your working position at regular intervals.
• Skip the lift and take the stairs: This piece of advice might be as old as the hills but it still works. Climbing stairs every day reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome (a combination of impaired carbohydrate metabolism, high blood pressure, impaired lipoprotein metabolism and obesity) (Whittaker et al. 2021). It can also aid weight loss and improve physical fitness (Michael et al., 2021), thereby reducing overall mortality risk (Boreham et al., 2005).
• “Walk with me”: For many professionals, each week is full of meetings, including some that are purely designed for exchanging ideas and opinions. These meetings can be easily combined with a short walk in the open air. Encouraging your team to walk while they’re talking can make it even easier to achieve 30 minutes of physical activity and be productive while doing it.
• Get moving during breaks: Isn’t there an incredible coffee shop half a mile from the office? Grab a colleague and head out together for an invigorating cup of coffee, with no extra charge for the exercise! And don’t worry – the energy boost you get from walking will more than make up for the couple of minutes it takes to go and get the coffee!
• Bonus tip: Get yourself a smaller water bottle so that you have to go to the tap more often to refill it.

References

Boreham, C. A. G, Kennedy R. A, Murphy M. H, Tully, M., Wallace, W. F. M., & Young, I. (2005). Training effects of short bouts of stair climbing on cardiorespiratory fitness, blood lipids, and homocysteine in sedentary young women. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 39, 590-593.

Bundesamt für Gesundheit. (2024, January).Zahlen und Fakten zu nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten [Facts and figures on non-communicable diseases]. https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/de/home/zahlen-und-statistiken/zahlen-fakten-nichtuebertragbare-krankheiten.html

Bundesamt für Sport BASPO, Bundesamt für Gesundheit BAG, Gesundheitsförderung Schweiz, bfu – Beratungsstelle für Unfallverhütung, Suva, Netzwerk Gesundheit und Bewegung Schweiz. (2013). Gesundheitswirksame Bewegung [Health-enhancing physical activity]. BASPO 2013.

Bundesamt für Sport BASPO, Bundesamt für Gesundheit BAG, Gesundheitsförderung Schweiz, Beratungsstelle für Unfallverhütung BFU & Netzwerk Gesundheit und Bewegung Schweiz hepa. (2022). Bewegungsempfehlungen Schweiz. Grundlagen [Exercise recommendations for Switzerland. Basic considerations]. BASPO.

Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung. (2019, September). Sport senkt Herz-Kreislauf-Risiko – auch ohne abzunehmen [Sport lowers cardiovascular risk – even without losing weight]. https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/shareddocs/kurzmeldungen/de/sport-senkt-herz-kreislauf-risiko.html#searchFacets

Bergouignan, A., Legget, K.T., De Jong, N.P., Kealey, E.H., Nikolovski, J., Groppel, J.L., Jordan, C., O’Day, R., Hill, J.O., & Bessesen, D.H. (2016). Effect of frequent interruptions of prolonged sitting on self-perceived levels of energy, mood, food cravings and cognitive function. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 13, Article 113.

Kohl, H. W., Craig, C. L., Lambert, E. V., Inoue, S., Alkandari, J. R., Leetongin, G., & Kahlmeier, S. (2012). The pandemic of physical inactivity: global action for public health. The Lancet, 380(9838), 294-305. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60898-8

Michael, E., White, M. J., & Eves, F. F. (2021). Home-Based Stair Climbing as an Intervention for Disease Risk in Adult Females; A Controlled Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(2). Article 603 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020603

Niedermeier, M., Weiss, E.M., Steidl-Müller, L., Burtscher, M., & Kopp, M. (2020). Acute Effects of a Short Bout of Physical Activity on Cognitive Function in Sport Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Article 17.

Whittaker, A. C., Eves, F. F., Carroll, D., Roseboom, T. J., Ginty, A. T., Painter, R. C., & de Rooij, S. R. (2021). Daily stair climbing is associated with decreased risk for the metabolic syndrome. BMC Public Health 21, Article 923. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10965-9