The .gov means it's official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information,
make sure you're on a federal government site.
The site is secure. The
https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any
information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
Civilian workers spent an average of 57.3 percent of the workday standing in 2020
January 04, 2021
Civilian workers spent an average of 4.25 hours of the workday standing in 2020. Workers stood for 57.3 percent of the workday and sat for the remaining 42.7 percent. Workers in food preparation and serving related occupations spent 97.6 percent of the workday standing to perform job tasks, while workers in computer and mathematical occupations spent 87.1 percent of the workday sitting.
Percent of the workday spent sitting and standing by occupation in 2020
Occupation
Sitting
Standing
Food preparation and serving related
2.4%
97.6%
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance
13.8
86.2
Production
17.8
82.2
Construction and extraction
19.3
80.7
Installation, maintenance, and repair
20.1
79.9
Farming, fishing, and forestry
22.0
78.0
Personal care and service
24.0
76.0
Healthcare support
29.0
71.0
Sales and related
31.2
68.8
Healthcare practitioners and technical
35.5
64.5
Transportation and material moving
35.6
64.4
Educational instruction and library
39.6
60.4
All workers
42.7
57.3
Protective service
45.8
54.2
Life, physical, and social science
64.2
35.8
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media
66.0
34.0
Community and social service
66.2
33.8
Management
70.0
30.0
Architecture and engineering
73.3
26.7
Office and administrative support
78.3
21.7
Legal
81.1
18.9
Business and financial operations
85.9
14.1
Computer and mathematical
87.1
12.9
Workers in production occupations spent an average of 6.77 hours each workday standing and 1.45 hours sitting. Workers in computer and mathematical occupations, in contrast, spent 6.91 hours sitting and 1.02 hours standing.
United States Department of Labor
