We’re leaping into action!
We’ve committed to BeUpstanding, and now it’s time to get moving!
That’s the focus of weeks 1 and 3 in the BeUpstanding program—bringing the team together and taking action to make sitting less and standing more the new norm.
Starting a new behaviour can be daunting—where do you begin? How do you overcome the discomfort of changing workplace habits?
It’s perfectly normal to feel uncertain about trying something new.
That’s why the first week of the BeUpstanding program emphasises togetherness and reinforces the group’s commitment. This focus continues into week 3, which highlights the importance of normalising the new behaviour to sustain long-term change.
As previously explored, the BeUpstanding program was developed with the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) in mind.
The program starts strong by addressing some of the most common barriers and facilitators of behaviour change, guided by the Capacity, Opportunity. Motivation (COM-B) model and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) layers of the BCW.
Capability
Understanding the guidelines for standing time in the workplace is crucial at the start of the program. It’s a key facilitator of behaviour change, as many people are unaware of how long they should be standing, which poses a significant barrier. Highlighting these guidelines speaks to Psychological Capability and the Skills component of the TDF. This aligns with the Behaviour Change Technique (BCT) of Instructing on how to perform the behaviour—an essential aspect of successful behaviour change.
Approximately 75% of the working day is spent sitting. Aim to get up at least every 30 minutes and spend at least half the day up and moving
Week 3 really focuses on normalising sitting less and standing more. It introduces the idea of teaming up with a buddy and taking the challenge “when they move, you move” to instil a sense of accountability while further normalising the behaviour. Normalising the behaviour is an essential component of Psychological Capability, targeting the Knowledge domain of the TDF. Providing people with strategies to break up sitting time engages BCTs such as Monitoring/Self-monitoring of behaviour, Feedback, Problem-solving, Action planning, and Prompts/Cues.
Opportunity
The social environment in the workplace can also be a significant barrier to standing more. The early weeks of the program address this by centring messages around collective and inclusive language like “Let’s unite” and “We are becoming a ‘move-friendly’ team.” This helps normalise the behaviour, fosters a sense of group accountability, and cultivates a community of mutual support. These strategies tap into Social Opportunity and the Social Influences domain of the TDF. Creating a team for peer support and comparison is essential for behaviour change, working through BCTs like Social comparison, Restructuring the social environment, and Social support.
Motivation
Week 1 really targets the motivation for engaging in the behaviour. In addition to using group-centred language, the messaging in weeks 1 and 3 is highly action- and belief-focused. Messages like “we can change” and “together we are taking a stand” encourage a strong will and belief that workers can break up their sitting time, which is core to Reflective Motivation and the Beliefs about Capabilities component of the TDF. Phrases like “We have agreed to BeUpstanding, now it’s time to get moving!” also target the intention domain of the TDF, encouraging people to move from contemplation to commitment. These messages align with BCTs such as Verbal persuasion about capability, Action planning, and Goal setting, as well as Mental rehearsal of successful performance.
Highlighting the program’s aim in the first week of messaging also fits into Reflective Motivation through the Goal domain of the TDF. Setting goals to break up sitting time, with an expectation of rewards, which are emphasised throughout the messaging, is realised through BCTs like Goal setting, Problem-solving, Action planning, and various Incentive and Reward techniques.
By targeting these elements, weeks 1 and 3 successfully engage five of the nine intervention functions outlined in the BCW guide:
- Education – Increasing knowledge and understanding by providing strategies to break up sitting and fostering the belief that workers can achieve this.
- Training – Imparting skills on the guidelines for sitting in the workplace.
- Enablement – Increasing capability by reducing barriers through a supportive team environment.
- Persuasion – Using communication to stimulate positive emotions and actions, encouraging belief in workers’ ability to reduce sitting time.
- Incentivisation – Creating an expectation of reward through goal setting and highlighting the benefits of standing more.
These elements of the BCW are implemented through the policy categories of Communication/Marketing and Guidelines, which serve as the channels for delivering the messages.
So, let’s change the norm and support each other to sit less and move more!
This blog was written by Sophie Caruana as part of a fourth-year Psychology placement with the BeUpstanding team.
