Holmes Anthony J, Kline Christopher E, Davis Kelli K, Gordon Benjamin Dh, Stoner Lee, Quinn Tyler D, Paley Joshua L, Gibbs Bethany Barone
From the Department of Health and Human Development, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (A.J.H., C.E.K., K.K.D., B.D.H.G., J.L.P.); Department of Exercise and Sports Science, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (L.S.); and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia (T.D.Q., B.B.G.).
J Occup Environ Med. 2025 Jul 1;67(7):e469-e477. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003380. Epub 2025 Mar 4.
Work from home (WFH) is increasingly common, although 24-hour movement behaviors during WFH have rarely been studied. The goal of this study was to compare behaviors among WFH and office-based desk workers.
This was a secondary analysis of baseline data from the RESET BP randomized clinical trial among inactive desk workers from 2017-2022 ( N = 275). Twenty-four-hour behaviors were measured using wrist and thigh-worn accelerometers along with questionnaires.
WFH accumulated significantly higher device-measured prolonged sedentary behavior (+0.4 hr/d) and self-reported screen time (+0.5 hr/d) compared to office workers ( P < 0.05). WFH also had greater device-measured sleep duration (+0.3 hr/d), later wake time (+37 min/d), and lower wake time variability (-0.2 hr/d) ( P < 0.05).
WFH desk workers had different 24-hour behavior profiles compared to office workers. Future research should target interventions improving waking behaviors, while maintaining healthy sleep, for WFH desk workers.