Schnellewald and colleagues probed how activity while doing knowledge work influences performance. As they report, their “study examines the possible effects on objective work performance while using two types of dynamic office workstations (DOWs). . . . participants each used one type with three intensities (seated, light, moderate) and completed a task battery assessing cognitive performance and office work with two levels of complexity. . . . By using DOWs, light physical activity can be integrated while working at a desk. Results showed that using different types of DOWs with different intensities does have a detrimental effect on tasks requiring a high motor control, but not on cognitive or further office work-related tasks of various complexity.”
Vera Schnellewald, Jens Kleinert, and Rolf Ellegast. 2021. “Effects of Two Types of Dynamic Office Workstations (DOWs) Used at Two Intensities on Cognitive Performance and Office Work in Tasks with Various Complexity.” Ergonomics, vol. 64, no. 6, pp. 806-818, https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2020.1862308
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.