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Defaults at Work: A Field Experiment on the Effect of Nudges on Stand-Up Working

Author

Listed:
  • Mathias Celis

    (Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Nicolas Dirix

    (Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Mona Bassleer

    (Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Wouter Duyck

    (Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
    NVAO, The Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders, 2514 JG The Hague, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Sedentary behavior at work is a major, and growing, public health concern. This field experiment investigates the effectiveness of behavioral nudges, specifically default settings on height-adjustable workstations (HAWS), in promoting stand-up working behavior. It also examines whether transparency and health coaching enhance these effects. The study was conducted in a Belgian governmental organization and included 149 employees across eight departments. Departments were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: a non-transparent default nudge (NTDN), a transparent default nudge (TDN), a classical health coaching intervention, or a hybrid intervention combining TDN and coaching. Over an eight-week intervention period, employee posture was recorded using fixed camera snapshots taken every 30 min. These data were used to calculate the stand-up ratio. The NTDN increased stand-up rates from 1.82% to 4.93%. The TDN more than doubled this effect, reaching 11.25%. The combination of TDN and coaching produced the highest increase, with stand-up rates rising to 18.80% ( d = 9.85). Coaching alone showed no significant effect. Although behavior partially regressed after the interventions were removed, post-measurement stand-up ratios after a week remained higher than baseline. These findings suggest that transparent default nudges, especially when combined with low-threshold coaching, can meaningfully reduce sedentary behavior in everyday office environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Mathias Celis & Nicolas Dirix & Mona Bassleer & Wouter Duyck, 2025. "Defaults at Work: A Field Experiment on the Effect of Nudges on Stand-Up Working," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(7), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:7:p:994-:d:1686502
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    References listed on IDEAS

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