COVID-19 Pandemic
It should not be neglected that our study started shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions became effective in Switzerland. There was a national requirement to work from home during our 16-month study period (recommendation: 58 weeks, requirement: 23 weeks), which changed not only the work environment, but also to some extent the working hours, work tasks, and private commitments. As shown in the study profile, it was therefore decided not to move any cluster into the intervention period in April 2020. At that point, it was assumed that the COVID 19 pandemic would end in August 2020, and if not, this would provide sufficient time to prepare for the switch to the hybrid setting. This short-term interruption of the study thus affected all participants equally, regardless of whether they were in the intervention or the control period. The main consequence for the participants was the fact that an additional measurement point had to be included (follow-up 4).Still, one could argue the COVID-19 pandemic may have had an impact on our results in terms of dose–response (e.g., time of sedentary desk work, intensity of exercises) and attrition rate, which are both described as highly relevant predictors on treatment outcomes [