The team at the AUT Human Potential Research Institute have been using standing desks in their workspace for several years. As an alternative to office furniture that is designed to be comfortable our furniture is "un-ergonomic". Our height adjustable stools allow sitting for short times before it becomes more comfortable to stand.
We have found that we stand more often as we have become accustomed to the new furniture, and everyone in the office finds a different use for individual pieces. Desks and chairs provide storage space, and storage units act as alternative seating. The desktops can be removed and used as coffee tables. All units are fully mobile and our office space rarely looks the same from one week to the next.
This programme aimed to determine whether, and to what extent, brief interventions (small lifestyle changes) implemented in primary care and workplace settings are effective in the promotion of physical activity and nutrition, the management of weight, decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and changing lifestyle behaviour.
This programme, named Healthy As, was developed to provide resources for the delivery of a programme that promotes sustainable lifestyle change by incorporating physical activity into everyday life. Motivational interviewing was used as a technique to encourage participants to set their own goals based on their lifestyles and responsibilities.
Employees received a CVD risk assessment in their workplace. Workplace health programmes were implemented by a workplace health organisation designed to challenge people to make small sustainable lifestyle changes.
Previous research supported the use of physical activity in older persons to ameliorate age-related declines in cognitive function. The purpose of this study was to identify the optimal intensity of physical activity required to improve cognitive performance in middle age.
The workplace provided an ideal environment in which to incorporate a physical activity intervention. Structuring the social and physical environments in which people work may make engaging in physical activity behaviour convenient and socially acceptable. The study aimed to incorporate physical activity programmes into the work environment to study any concomitant changes to the cognitive performance of its workers.
Mikki Williden's doctoral research aimed to understand the links between health risk and productivity within the New Zealand context. An online health risk assessment (HRA) tool was developed to be administered to workplaces across New Zealand in 2008-2009 to assess health risk, health behaviours, the health culture, and their association with productivity in the workplace and the projected cost to the employer.
This was investigated in the context of the physical environment, and an audit tool assessing the physical workplace environment was used to assess any potential impacts the environment has on health behaviour and/or productivity across New Zealand organisations in 2010. Finally a more indepth analysis of workplace culture and health behaviour was conducted to explore further the relationship these factors may have on employee and organisation productivity.
Caryn Zinn's doctoral research explored the topic of weightloss maintenance using a "small-changes" approach in two settings: the workplace and a private practice dietitian clinic setting. The "small-changes" approach to diet, exercise and lifestyle is one which is considered easier to implement than more traditional restrictive regimes and may therefore allow better adherence and result in more sustainable weight loss.