Sit/Stand Desks are in the Media a lot today

June 2, 2015 - Mike Dilke

Today there is a lot of talk about sit/ stand desks and being active at work in the media. The Guardian has an article and so does The Mail (links to them provided) - and people are reading them and it is leading to discussion and debate. As of 12.30 or so this afternoon there were 368 comments on the Guardian article and 115 on the Mail one.

THIS IS FANTASTIC. Whatever you think about desks that can adjust in height and chairs that promote movement it is hard to agree that a sedentary lifestyle is good for you so people discussing moving a bit more in the office is a good thing s far as I am concerned.

photo (3)The comments are wide ranging and I would encourage you to have a look and get involved in the debate. They range from people thinking that moving desks is practically witchcraft to wondering why so few people demand it in the UK when they are pretty much the norm in  Scandinavian countries. It does seem odd to me that if you are 6'6" tall or 5'2", when you start in a new office job you are shown to your desk which is a standard height of 72cm (about 28.3" - apologies for mixing units.) Adjustable height desk  will allow all people to sit comfortably and then stand when they want to as well.

Standing has been shown to be healthier when it comes to some measures like diabetes. It also helps many people who suffer from bad backs and poor posture but replacing a poor standing posture with a poor sitting one won't help anyone so being able to move between 'good standing' and 'good sitting' can only help.

There are some comments about the cost of providing desks that can be used at different heights. My answer to this is that the cost of a new desk and chair will be very small compared to sick days that staff need due to back pain etc and there is likely to be a rise in productivity if staff feel they are being looked after and invested in.

Later today I am going to interview an osteopath about a survey she has done that looks at peoples movement habits. I arranged it before the media interest today. When I talk about it here I will mention what they say about 'good sitting and standing.'