Making a Stand: The Benefits of the Sit Stand Desk

What are the benefits of getting up on your feet, flexing your limbs and doing some standing-based work? Well, standing up at your work station for two hours a day can significantly reduce the risk of developing conditions such as obesity, type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure – so making the change could dramatically improve your quality of life.

This week the first official reports on the effects of sitting down at your desk have been published, and they show what hundreds of office works probably could have told us years ago: spending the whole day perched in an office chair is uncomfortable, unhealthy and even unproductive.

So what are the Recommendations?

For now, the recommendation is that workers should aim to spend at least two hours of the day standing at their desk or on walkabout. Ultimately this should be increased to a full four hours – around half of the working day for most office employees. The experts are warning that approximately 60% of people’s days are now filled up with sedentary activities, and if this isn’t changed then the results could be damaging for workers and businesses alike!

It might seem like a no-win situation – if our jobs are sending us into offices then how are we supposed to avoid the allure of the swivel chair? The official suggestion is for employees to encourage ‘standing and light activity during working hours’, and to make this possible, they are highly recommending use of the sit stand desk.

You heard us right – the sit stand desk, which does more or less exactly what the name suggests, with adjustable features that help to ensure maximum comfort and productivity both when you’re seated and when you’re standing. Right now, only 1% of British office workers have access to this innovative solution. This is an incredibly low figure by any standards, even more so when you compare it with the statistic that sees 90% of Scandinavian employees already making use of them.

Implementing a Solution

Get Britain Standing, an organisation who have been championing the many benefits of standing up at work for a long time, suggest that the negative impact of spending long stretches of time sat down can be felt even if you also spend a lot of time doing physical activities, so the importance of a simple and effective solution can’t be understated.

Luckily, height adjustable sit stand desks can be easily incorporated into office design, either as part of a complete refurbishment or as standalone products used to replace existing desks and work stations. By allowing employees to alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day, they provide the perfect solution, as the ideal scenario is for people to take a number of shorter standing breaks, rather than just standing at their desk for one, longer chunk of time.

There are other great solutions which can be used alongside sit stand desks, to create an environment that supports people who want to ‘make a stand’ in every way possible. Why not consider conducting walking meetings, or getting rid of the tables and chairs in your meeting rooms to encourage shorter, more productive, standing meetings. It’s also a great idea to conduct phone calls standing up – this doesn’t just provide all of the health benefits already discussed, but can also help to give a confident demeanour whilst conducting an important call. Even small changes help, so try taking the stairs instead of the lift to make your lifestyle just that little bit more active!

We can offer top quality sit stand desks, whether as part of a complete office design or redesign package, or for individual use.  Get in touch at 01553 811 833 to talk to an experienced member of our team about the best options for your office!