Zhu and colleagues conducted a literature review and report on how the design of the physical work environment, at three different scales, can boost physical activity (PA) among employees. For example, “At the workstation scale, sit-stand desks, treadmill desks, and stationary high desks were found to reduce SB [sedentary behavior] and increase standing. Work building scale is relatively understudied, and reported correlates include staircase design, overall building design combining multiple PA-friendly strategies, and specific PA amenities (e.g., exercise facilities). On the work neighborhood scale, important correlates include work commute distance and corresponding route characteristics, parking availability and cost, and surrounding neighborhood environments.”
Xuemei Zhu, Aya Yoshikawa, Lingyi Qiu, Zhipeng Lu, Chanam Lee, and Marcia Ory. 2020. “Healthy Workplaces, Active Employees: A Systematic Literature Review on Impacts of Workplace Environemnts on Employees’ Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior.” Building and Environment, vol. 168, 206455, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106455
Sally Augustin, PhD, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com). Research Design Connections reports on research conducted by social and physical scientists that designers can apply in practice. Insights derived from recent studies are integrated with classic, still relevant findings in concise, powerful articles. Topics covered range from the cognitive, emotional, and physiological implications of sensory and other physical experiences to the alignment of culture, personality, and design, among others. Information, in everyday language, is shared in a monthly subscription newsletter, an archive of thousands of published articles, and a free daily blog. 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.