According to research, the average office worker will sit at their desk for over 1,300 hours in a year, 10,000 hours once they are eight years into their career – and, by the time they retire, they will have spent 53,000 hours sitting down.
Data, gathered by Banner, shows that despite growing concern for the health and wellbeing of employees, desk-based employees are estimated to spend 70% of their working day sitting down.
Searches for “hip pain” and “chair pain” are on the up, while searches for “back ache” remain high, all symptoms associated with chronic inactivity.
Jason Thomas, Strategic Sales Manager at Banner, says: “As it’s often cited that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert within a given field, most of us will be a pro at sitting five times over by the time we retire. With numerous health issues associated with long-term sitting, this is a growing concern for employers across the UK.”
Promisingly, searches for solutions, such as “standing desk” and “ergonomic chair” have also risen since COVID-19, which suggests workers are beginning to address the health implications a sedentary work schedule can cause.
Jason Thomas continues, “To encourage a healthier workplace, employers should make sure office and home work-stations are set up with health and wellbeing in mind. It’s great to see standing desks and under-desk treadmills being more widely adopted in recent years, but there’s more that can be done. Cultural changes, such as walking competitions, no-chair meeting rooms, discounted gym memberships and lunch-time yoga classes, can all help encourage employees to become more active while at work. A healthier workforce will improve productivity, long-term absenteeism and demonstrates that as an employer, you have your employee’s back – so to speak!”
For a full breakdown of the trends data, click here.
