Standing desks are not a passing trend, they are a matter of health. The fight against a sedentary lifestyle involves incorporating movement into our work routine, into our working hours. The ideal would be to move for five minutes every half hour and gradually increase the time spent standing up to two hours a day, according to experts.
We can make a list of tasks to do while standing: talking on the mobile phone, reading e-mail or holding meetings while standing, which not only improves circulation, but also time management because it is more difficult for the meeting to drag on unnecessarily while standing. Therefore, it is a good proposal to improve our efficiency and increase our productivity.
Working seated or at standing desks?
So, sitting or standing? The best thing for our health is to alternate between the two positions, i.e. neither working eight hours sitting down nor at standing desks.
In fact, working standing for eight hours is much worse than sitting: It is more tiring, as it requires more energy, and puts more strain on the circulatory system, legs and feet.
Prolonged standing creates a significant load on the legs and back. In the short term, this can result in someone being less productive, and in the long term, it can even lead to health problems. Working eight hours on your feet is also problematic for people with circulatory and heart problems and also increases the risks of varicose veins, experts warn.
Ofita Multilevel table.
Standing desks – which is best?
Ideally, offices should have workstations with height-adjustable standing desks so that employees can combine both positions. Alternating between standing and sitting is best for the general blood flow and therefore recommended.
The ideal solution for alternating between working in both postures is a height-adjustable desk, such as Ofita’s Multilevel or Easylevel lift-top desks, which allow you to work while seated while performing an individual task or concentrating, and to raise the desk for a quick exchange of ideas with colleagues, for example. The desk can be raised and lowered quickly and quietly and is independently adjustable, even with programmable controls.
Savills Aguirre Newman Headquarters, Madrid. Lift-up desks.
Advantages of working at standing desks
Height-adjustable standing desks allow employees to stand comfortably while working at a computer, reducing the risks of health problems associated with sitting all day. Benefits include:
1. They help reduce the risk of back pain and generally improve our health
A fundamental aspect of office furniture is its impact on the health of its users. In fact, ailments derived from the workplace are very common among office workers, affecting up to 30% of employees in the service sector, according to studies by the National Institute of Health and Hygiene at Work (Instituto Nacional de Salud e Higiene en el Trabajo). In most cases, these ailments lead to worker dissatisfaction and poor performance, and sick leave due to illnesses of this type is also frequent.
Of all the risks associated with office work, the most common problems and those most closely related to furniture are postural discomfort, which is becoming a widespread problem in many modern offices. Adjustable standing desks help to reduce the risk of these ailments.
2. They help reduce the risk of diseases such as heart disease
Research shows that moving around at work has a positive effect on energy expenditure, fat percentage and good cholesterol. And that the benefits are business-relevant: in companies where standing meetings are standardised, activity is higher and so is creativity. In fact, nowadays, meetings that require proactivity on the part of the attendees tend to be held standing up.
3. Standing desks help to improve the mood, motivation and energy levels of the workforce, and therefore their productivity.
4. They encourage teamwork, spontaneous communication and creative methodologies such as agile, thanks to their flexibility.
Leading companies with standing desks
For all these reasons, there are more and more companies every day in whose offices their employees already work part of their working day standing up. In the projects section of our website, you will find different installations with standing desks, such as the offices of Latham & Watkins, Savills Aguirre Newman, EDP, Grupo Fas or Freshfields, among others.
Freshfields offices, Madrid
In short, our body needs movement. So, just as when we are seated we must have a good ergonomic chair that allows us to “be seated in movement”, when we work standing up, our posture must never be static, but dynamic, making at least small movements, alternating the weight of the body on one foot and on the other, etc.
