Most Dutch workers still sit too much at work, despite prompts to move

Many Dutch employees still spend their workdays sitting, despite all the attention to the drawbacks and health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle. According to Statistics Netherlands, the view of many workers has “hardly changed” in the last five years. In fact, employees estimate that they are sitting even more than before, though the increase is only slight.

On average, a Dutch employee sits for 8.8 hours during their work day, the statistics agency calculated based on the most recent National Working Conditions Survey (NEA). The average employee spends 4.5 hours sitting at work, 1 hour in the car or on public transport, and 3.3 hours during leisure time.

More than 60,000 employees reported in the survey how much time they spend sitting versus being active each day. The number is comparable to the survey results from 2019, when the average worker sat for 8.6 hours a day. Research institute TNO once dubbed the Dutch “Europe’s sitting champions.”

Attempts are being made to get people to move more. For example, in 2021, the Ministry of Social Affairs launched a campaign with the message: “Move every half hour. Take a step too.” A year later, rapper Willie Wartaal and former athlete and TV presenter Olga Commandeur were enlisted to promote the “National Movement Minute.” The idea was that this one minute would mark the start of a turning point.

Although most employees are sitting for most of their day, there are big disparities between professions. Of all workers, ITers sit the most. Waiters, waitresses, and cleaners, on the other hand, are on the move almost all day.

In the middle range are healthcare workers, teachers, and technicians. Statistics Netherlands also noted a significant difference between people who always work from home and those who generally work on site. The group that works from home 60 to 80 percent of the time sits the most on average.