Abstract
A growing number of personal informatics (PI) systems have been designed to break the habit of prolonged sitting and to encourage physical activity during workdays and leisure hours. Few studies, however, have investigated the nature of local movement and mobility in workspaces. Relatively little is known about how such movement patterns are shaped and in what ways micro-mobility in workplaces could be increased. By undertaking a concept-driven design approach, and on the basis of our ethnographic prestudy, we introduce a conceptual framework. In this conceptual framework, we indicate the five main agencies that shape local movement and mobility among office workers. On the basis of this empirical and conceptual work, two prototypes, the non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)-Lamp and Talking Tree, have been designed, implemented and observed in an office environment. This paper describes this design project and articulates the role of discussions in socially established settings in work environments in order to increase daily movement. The paper concludes by highlighting not only technology, but also collective reflections to spark behavioral change in office environments as social settings.
Highlights
Background and Related WorkAs a result of an inactive lifestyle, the incidence of overweight individuals and obesity is becoming a major problem worldwide
Existing research indicates that non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which refers to any physical activity other than sport-type exercise, including work-related activities, has a direct effect on the physiology of weight change [32,33]
With the framework established with the help of the design-driven approach from our ethnographic study, we addressed the true activity in workplaces and added a vocabulary for defining local movement and mobility in workspaces
Summary
Background and Related WorkAs a result of an inactive lifestyle, the incidence of overweight individuals and obesity is becoming a major problem worldwide. Existing research indicates that non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which refers to any physical activity other than sport-type exercise, including work-related activities, has a direct effect on the physiology of weight change [32,33]. Introducing treadmills in offices as a tool to shift from sitting to standing deskwork and increase NEAT is among the most recent attempts for designing active workplaces [34]. The solution is considered an effective way to make changes in this environment, efficient and silent treadmills are still expensive and require substantial space [35]. Alternative approaches, such as game-based mobile applications designed to increase NEAT, have recently been explored [32]. One example is “Booster Break”—an organized short exercise routine that is designed to interrupt prolonged siting with the aim to improve physical and psychological health [9,36,39]
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