Get on your feet - sitting still is a growing problem

Almost half, 49 percent, spend more than seven hours of their working day sitting in the office chair. The figures that form the basis of the company Falck's report "Sedentary in the working life 2026", are based on roughly 26,000 health and work environment profiles carried out in Swedish workplaces. The statistics also show a gradual deterioration in recent years.

- The trend is going in the wrong direction. We are becoming more and more sedentary, says Åsa Miemois, health developer at Falck to TT.

- We have a society with digitization and technology that has removed natural movement and it is very easy to have a sedentary working life.

The pandemic and how it came to change everyday working life has also been a decisive factor. Homework offers some obvious advantages but can also contribute to an even more inactive life.

With the sedentary lifestyle also comes consequences such as a rising stress level in the participants, the report shows. A third of those who sit for seven to nine hours report stress levels that can pose a risk of ill health and which in turn can cause mental fatigue that is difficult to break away from.

- Our recovery today will be very passive precisely because we are so tired. For example, you take out the phone in the coffee room "because it's the only thing I can handle", but that only blocks the fatigue, the brain only receives even more information, says Åsa Miemois.

Another consequence is difficulty sleeping. Three out of ten respondents who state that they sit for more than seven hours, also indicate sleep difficulties.

- In the evening, you might sit and watch TV while sitting with your phone instead of going out and taking an evening walk. There is a lot of research that shows that movement helps the body to relax and get tired so you sleep better, she says.

Åsa Miemois highlights that small breaks can have great significance, it can be a short lunchtime walk, a leg stretcher between two meetings.

However, it is not only about what the employee does, the employer also has a great responsibility.

- I think employers would really benefit from understanding that this is a work environment issue. Instead of thinking: now you get a free training card for a week here at a gym, how can we integrate it more into the work environment?