Smart Vs. On-Site working: correlation between working modality and psycho-physical health

Purpose: The workplace is a cause of sedentarism and stress, negatively affecting the quality of life and working performance. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic changed working habits favoring smart working, impacting employees' behavior, working involvement, and physical activity. This study assessed the associations between smart and on-site working modalities and individual physical and psychological well-being. Methods: Sixty-seven desk workers with at least seven hours per day of sedentary work participated in the study. The number of working days and hours spent in smart or on-site working was surveyed to correlate working patterns with physical and well-being shapes. Participants performed a submaximal-effort-based battery test to assess physical efficiency (Cubo Fitness Test) and questionnaires to assess eating habits (EHQ), the amount of physical activity (IPAQ), working habits (JCQ), psychological well-being (PGWBI), and self-efficacy (GSES). In addition, the weekly physical activity was further measured through accelerometers. Results: Significant correlations were found. The weekly working hours were weakly related to muscular fitness (r>0.326). No relationships were found between eating habits and working modality. Conversely, the daily working hours were slightly related to sedentary habits (r=0.278), and the hours and days spent in smart working to weekly physical activity (r>0.322). Specifically, they showed moderate correlations with vigorous physical activities (r>0.518). On the other hand, a negative correlation was retrieved between days in on-site modality and vigorous (r=-0.449) and total physical activity (r=-0.288). Referring to JCQ, weekly working hours were directly associated with supervisor (r=0.304) and co-worker support (r=0.322), and the on-site modality was weakly related to co-worker support (r=0.257), which indicates the positive role of social relationship during working time, especially on-site. Working modality did not correlate to psychological well-being and self-efficacy. Conclusions: The higher the number of working hours, the higher the sedentary behaviors. Smart working moderates this association, possibly because of increased opportunities to save time to perform physical activities compared with the on-site modality that entails time for home-work displacements. Conversely, on-site working grants more effective and positive social relationships