The importance of getting staff to break away from their desk

Most UK employees are desk-bound for the majority of their day which is, according the research, having a detrimental effect on their health.

A recent report published by The Lancet – titled ‘Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? A harmonised meta-analysis of data from more than one million men and women’ – found that office workers are putting themselves at risk of developing chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer because of their sedentary working lifestyles.

The study concluded that staff should take an hourly break from their desks alongside physical activity in the morning or evening.

However, leaving the shackles of the desk is hard, especially when workers feel obliged to stay stationary due to a ‘presenteeism’ culture.