People slept about 14 minutes longer on remote workdays than office days.
Remote workdays included about 44 more minutes of sedentary time.
Some of the movement people got from commuting was replaced by sitting, lying down, and sleeping.
Working from home can make the workday look very different from a day spent in the office. A new study from researchers at the University of Turku in Finland looked at how those different work settings affected sleep, sitting, and physical activity among people who split their time between home and the office.
The researchers found that remote workdays came with a small increase in time spent in bed. But that extra time came alongside a much larger increase in sedentary behavior, meaning time spent sitting or lying down. People also spent less time being physically active on days they worked remotely.
“The increase in sedentary behaviour during remote workdays was mostly caused by spending less time standing,” researcher Dr. Kristin Suorsa said in a news release. “One possible explanation is that, unlike in offices generally, standing workstations are not always available in a home setting.”
How researchers studied remote and office days
The study included 97 university employees who worked in a hybrid arrangement. About 84% were women, and participants had an average age of 42.
For seven consecutive days, participants wore a sensor on their thigh that tracked their body position and movement. The seven-day period included at least one day working in the office and at least one day working remotely. On average, participants had 2.4 office days and 2.6 remote days during the measurement period.
The researchers used the sensor data to determine how much time participants spent sleeping or in bed, sitting or lying down, doing light physical activity, and doing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. They then compared those behaviors within the same people on remote versus office workdays.
What the findings could mean for remote workers
On remote workdays, participants spent about 14 additional minutes in bed and 44 additional minutes being sedentary compared with office days. At the same time, they spent about 37 fewer minutes doing light physical activity and 21 fewer minutes doing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
The researchers found that standing and cycling were among the activities most often replaced by sitting, lying down, and time in bed. They suggest that commuting may account for some of the difference, since walking and cycling associated with getting to and from the office were reduced on remote days.
The researchers say remote workers may benefit from intentionally breaking up periods of sitting. Their suggestions include changing working positions, taking active breaks, and adding physical activity during leisure time on remote workdays.