BeUpstanding™
BeUpstanding™: supporting worker activity, health and wellbeing
Background and rationale
BeUpstanding™ is a national workplace health initiative designed to support desk-based workers to sit less and move more. Developed in response to the growing work health and safety concern of excessive sedentary time, the initiative builds on more than a decade of research into effective and scalable interventions. The eight-week program uses a train-the-champion model, empowering nominated staff (champions) to lead take-up, implementation, and evaluation of BeUpstanding in their work team via a freely available, evidence-based online toolkit.
Through a participatory process, work teams select and promote sit less/move more strategies tailored to their context, making each implementation unique. BeUpstanding has been iteratively co-designed and tested in partnership with workplaces, researchers, and policy and practice stakeholders from across Australia. Hosted on the Wildfyre™ implementation platform, the program enables streamlined delivery and evaluation at scale. Its goal is to improve workforce physical activity, health, wellbeing, and productivity, while fostering lasting cultural change in workplace norms around sitting less and moving more.
Outcomes and impact
More than 1,000 organisations across Australia have accessed the BeUpstanding toolkit. In a national implementation trial, the program reduced occupational sitting by an average of 38.5 minutes per 8-hour workday, with increases in standing and moving. Benefits extended to improved energy levels, reduced musculoskeletal discomfort, enhanced job satisfaction, and improved self-reported work performance.
BeUpstanding also achieved meaningful shifts in workplace culture, with strong engagement: 94% of teams that started the program completed it, and 72% completed all seven core steps.1 Delivery was low-cost or no-cost for most, with 72% of champions reporting zero expenditure and a further 10% spending <$5 per person. Notably, 96% of champions intended to continue or repeat the program, underscoring its sustainability.1 BeUpstanding offers an effective, low-cost, and scalable approach to reducing prolonged sitting and supporting health-enhancing physical activity in the modern workplace.
Investment and funding
BeUpstanding has been developed through a multi-phase research-to-practice translation, supported by investment from multiple funding partners. This includes the NHMRC Partnership Project scheme, which funded the national implementation trial. The program’s design and delivery model ensure strong return on investment through low-cost implementation and scalable health and productivity gains.
Enablers and lessons learned
BeUpstanding’s success was enabled by its user-centred, iterative design, developed from the outset with input from policy and practice partners, researchers, and organisations. This integration of diverse perspectives ensured the program met practical, strategic, and scientific needs while remaining fit-for-purpose across a variety of workplace settings. The participatory model, in which teams selected their own sit less/move more strategies, supported staff to feel ownership over the change. This approach also allowed for rapid adaptation to widespread shifts in work practices during the COVID-19 lockdowns, including remote and hybrid work. Key challenges with the implementation trial included major external disruptions (e.g. bushfires, COVID-19, floods), high workplace mobility, and the reliance on champions for data collection.
For those seeking to replicate or scale similar programs, flexibility, tailored support options, and streamlined evaluation processes are essential to enabling sustainable, large-scale implementation.
Further information
References
- Healy GN, Goode AD, Ulyate L, et al. National implementation trial of BeUpstanding™: an online initiative for workers to sit less and move more. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2024;21:111. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-024-01652-0
Last updated10 June 2026