Researchers plan to reduce sedentary behaviour in the workplace

Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) are looking for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to sign up to a new project aimed at reducing sedentary behaviour in the workplace.

Mira Vogelsang and Lauren McCaffrey who are leading the Workplace Health Study want to attract three to four SMEs from the Glasgow and Greater Glasgow area who are keen to improve the health of their workers.

The project requires six to 12 employees from within a company to form a health workgroup who will work with the researchers to help address sedentary behaviour in the workplace through a series of co-creation workshops.

Mira and Lauren are part of GCU’s Europe-wide Health CASCADE project, aimed at developing co-creation into a scientific method and training the next generation of public health researchers.

The €4 million EU-funded Marie Curie project, launched by Professor Sebastien Chastin last year, is training 15 talented PhD researchers throughout Europe to turn them into leaders in the field of public health research.

The researchers join an international network of scientific experts tackling the biggest global public health challenges from obesity to pandemics, cancer to dementia – magnified by climate change and increasing inequality.

Mira said: “This is a very exciting project and I’m sure we will get lots of interest because health and wellbeing in the workplace is at the forefront of everyone’s mind at the moment, especially after COVID-19 and people are starting to return to the workplace.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for SMEs to get the help and support they need to get make their workplaces as healthy as they possibly can.

“This service would cost a minimum of £5,000 on the open market but the companies who sign up to our research project will get it free of charge.

“We will help build the workgroup’s skills and give them tools in the workshops to remain an effective Health Workgroup for the future.”

Find out more about the project and fill in the application form here - https://www.workplacehealthstudy.co.uk/ or contact the researchers directly by email mira.vogelsang@gcu.ac.uk or lauren.mccaffrey@gcu.ac.uk.