Interrupting sedentary behaviour when working from home: a qualitative exploration of older desk-based employees

TL;DR

This study explores how older employees working from home can reduce sitting time and what factors influence their sedentary behavior.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel application of the TDF and COM-B models to understand sedentary behavior in older home-workers.

Findings

Older employees have ambiguous knowledge about sedentary behavior and its health risks.

Work tasks at home significantly influence sedentary behavior due to conflicting professional demands.

Health is a potential motivator for behavior change among older employees.

Abstract

Desk-based employees sit for large amounts of their day, exposing them to the health risks associated with sedentary behaviour (SB). The number of older workers (≥ 50) is increasing, making it important to promote healthy ageing in the workplace. With more workplaces offering home-working, it is important to explore how this environment influences SB. This study uses the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) alongside the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model. Twenty-two interviews were conducted and inductive reflexive thematic analysis is used to develop six themes before deductively mapping these to the TDF and COM-B model: (1) Ambiguous knowledge of sedentary behaviour (2) Nature and demand of professional role in conflict with behaviour change (3) Lack of conscious action in relation to sedentary behaviour (4) Health as potential motivator for older employees (5) There is hope for targeting workplace sitting at home and (6) Interrupting sedentary behaviour not actively embedded in homeworking culture. SB is influenced by numerous complex factors. The blend of conducting work tasks at home plays an important role in SB and future work should consider how interventions can be implemented across homeworking environments. The experience and needs of older employees should be considered and used to target motivation.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-026-26719-4.

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