Title: To sit or to stand, that is the question: examining the effects of work posture change on the well-being at work of software professionals

Authors: Markus Makkonen; Minna Silvennoinen; Tuula Nousiainen; Arto J. Pesola; Mikko Vesisenaho

Addresses: Agora Center, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyvaskyla, Finland ' Agora Center, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyvaskyla, Finland ' Agora Center, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyvaskyla, Finland ' Department of Biology of Physical Activity, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyvaskyla, Finland ' Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyvaskyla, Finland

Abstract: Despite the central role of human resources in determining the success of software companies, relatively little academic research has been conducted on the well-being at work aspect of software professionals. This study aims to address the aforementioned gap by examining the effects of using standing instead of sitting workstations on the well-being at work of software professionals in terms of their physical activity, mental alertness, stress, and musculoskeletal strain. An intervention study consisting of two measurements was conducted for 29 employees of a large Finnish software company by using questionnaires and the Firstbeat Lifestyle Assessment service. The findings of the study suggest that the usage of standing instead of sitting workstations results in only modest promotions of physical activity, does not have an effect on mental alertness, actually tilts the stress-recovery balance towards stress, but decreases musculoskeletal strain in the neck and shoulders, although increasing it in the legs and feet.

Keywords: software professionals; work posture; standing workstations; sitting workstations; well-being at work; physical activity; mental alertness; stress; musculoskeletal strain; intervention study.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNVO.2017.088504

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 2017 Vol.17 No.4, pp.371 - 391

Received: 18 Nov 2016
Accepted: 24 Nov 2016
Published online: 11 Dec 2017 *

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