Upright by DarioHealth, a global company in connected posture management, conducted research in 2021 on Aussies’ attitude towards their posture and found that 3/4 of Australians believe their posture needs improvement. The survey revealed that Australians have noticed a deterioration in their posture over the past two years, with 41% of participants reporting that they have experienced a back health issue as a result of working from home.
Young Aussies were especially susceptible to this problem, with 25-35 year olds more likely to report a deterioration of posture than older generations. Women are also more prone to back pain than men, with nearly half (49%) of female respondents noticing a deterioration.
What were Upright Technologies’ thoughts on the study?
The survey also uncovered possible reasons for this trend. 23% use an ergonomically designed chair in their home office setups and 24% stated that their work affects their posture. “With many of us working from home in the last couple of years, our postural habits have been impacted drastically,” said Todd Lynton, APAC VP of Upright Technologies.
“Poor home-office setups lead to many adverse effects on our health, and our Posture and Back Health Study found that 41% of Australians have suffered a deterioration in their posture since the shift to remote working,” Todd Lynton further commented.
Australians’ perceptions of professionalism were also found to be influenced by posture health. 43% of respondents viewed someone with good posture as professional, while 34% viewed someone with poor posture as unprofessional. Other characteristics strongly associated with posture health were confidence (50%) and healthy (52%) for those with good posture, and unhealthy (46%) and weak (28%) for those with poor posture.
What were the insights of the study?
Other survey findings included:
- Only 15% of Australians are completely happy with their current posture
- Back pain is restricting over half (52%) of Australians from their normal routines
- 54% needed to consult a health professional for back and neck related issues
- Gen Z & Millennials are suffering from ‘tech neck’ as they have inadequate WFH setups
Upright Technology uses biometric feedback to drive cognitive awareness that empowers behavioural change and works to establish muscle memory and strengthen the back and core for improved back health in the long term. Upright offers lightweight, wearable tech devices that train their wearers to maintain good posture when sitting or standing.
The devices attach to the upper back using discrete reusable adhesive strips, or can be worn as a pendant necklace, and gently vibrate through a customisable vibration pattern when the user is slouching or otherwise out of alignment. The survey was conducted by Pure Profile among a sample of 5,000 Australian citizens aged 18+ with an equal gender split.
