The Truth About Standing Desks And Productivity

Megalith

24-bit/48kHz
Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
13,000
How many of you have standing desks at work and put them to extensive use? Do you actually feel healthier working while standing, and has it improved your productivity? This article suggests they are kind of overrated.

There is no current consensus on sit-stand desks and productivity. Callaghan and a coauthor analyzed eight studies that looked at whether adjustable height desks affect productivity. Three of the studies showed an increase in productivity, four of them showed no effect at all, and one reported mixed results. An even more recent review of studies from this year found that sit-stand desks had "no considerable effect" on performance. They also didn't significantly affect the amount of sick time employees took, which is often included in productivity measures.
 
It's a subjective article but the body wasn't ment to sit in a chair for 8 hours nor was it ment to stand in one spot for 8 hours.

If you are tired sit down, if your lumbar is sore stand up. I work at a desk that allows me to do both and I notice a difference.
 
I've never had a standing desk, but a former co-worker has one like Trimlock's and thinks it's great.
 
I think its more of a niche thing. Only a few will actually use a stand up desk as opposed to a sit down desk. If you use it then I guess it works for you. If you don't like standing however then its more useless. A personal preference thing. Marketers have to say something other than 'you can also work while standing up'.
 
The adjustable standing desk works really well. When you're tired of standing, just sit and vice versa. I find it nice to be able to quickly be able to make the choice and change it up at will. I wouldn't say I'm not more or less productive, it is just nice to have the option.
 
Last edited:
I've used one for a little over two years. I really like it because I run a lot and I feel that the muscles around my hips aren't so tight since I switched. I also spend about 4 hrs sitting in meetings away from my desk so I really have about a 60-40 balance of standing and sitting throughout the day. Seems to work out pretty well for me. It had nothing to do with productivity, though.
 
I can sit or stand. I'm no more productive one way or the other. Its just nice to stretch every so often.
 
i use one. its great to mix up the day and when im deep concentration when peogrammi g.
 
I have an adjustable desk that has split levels where the front is like a giant keyboard tray and the back is higher for monitors. It can go from a very low sit to a decent standing height. I got it specifically for the very low sit option and it was super cheap. $100 government surplus motorized split level giant standing desk? Yes please.
 
Why can't we just lay down? Who cares, if the work is still getting done.
 
Really is not about productivity, but about health, as noted, standing is more natural for us, but also not for extended periods of time. Another thing people do not do is make sure they have a good surface to stand on and good shoes as well for standing with.
 
I don't know. Just get up every hour and stretch and walk a bit and get some fresh air and then get back to it. It's not that hard.
 
If I stand for too long my back starts to hurt.
I've had a bad back all my life.
 
It's a subjective article but the body wasn't ment to sit in a chair for 8 hours nor was it ment to stand in one spot for 8 hours.

If you are tired sit down, if your lumbar is sore stand up. I work at a desk that allows me to do both and I notice a difference.

Meant implies intent :p

But I'm with you. I like the adjustable ones. Sit when you feel like it, and when you start feeling uncomfortable sitting, stand up!
 
Healthier and productivity is kind of missing the point slightly. It's not about productivity directly and the health benefit is about joints and backs (Spine). To be able to vary your working position is obviously very good in that respect. And to prove this reduces sick days due to back pain or whatever is nearly impossible. So the benefit of avoiding static work positions is so obvious that there really is no need to study it further. If that leads to rise in productivity due to less sick days is not entirely obvious, and is a lesser point.
That said, when I used to work at a desk we had adjustable desks and very nice chairs. That led to me sitting most of the time, but there was periods where I had back issues, and that was helped by standing. I also think that if you are very active in your spare time the benefits of an adjustable desk will be less obvious. So I believe it is very hard to make a very conclusive study.
 
Just block Facebook and Twitter at the router and you'll get your productivity back. Oh and ban Powerpoint too! Anything else is hipster BS.
 
The adjustable standing desk works really well. When you're tired of standing, just sit and vice versa. I find it nice to be able to quickly be able to make the choice and change it up at will. I wouldn't say I'm not more or less productive, it is just nice to have the option.

This pretty much. Had some back issues and got an adjustable desk that went from sitting to standing and vice versa. It was nice for when I wanted to stand and keep my back from hurting as much. But for me, I always felt I couldn't really focus standing up as opposed to sitting down. It was weird.
 
A standing desk has nothing to do with productivity, it's to do with employee health. The productivity line is all about money, and not about the health of employees.
 
They are alright if you are constantly going away from your desk throughout the day, and you still have a chance to sit down at some point to relax. If not then they're terrible in my opinion. If you are in front of it all day then it's no better than a sit-down desk. Being able to do some walking around for a bit is key to either.
 
It's a subjective article but the body wasn't ment to sit in a chair for 8 hours nor was it ment to stand in one spot for 8 hours.
Correct, neither standing nor sitting for long periods is healthy... so don't do either.

Sit in one place or stand in one place, but when you are fatigued, stop, take a break, and walk around and get your heart rate up for a minute. Costs nothing in special equipment to accomplish that.
 
Just block Facebook and Twitter at the router and you'll get your productivity back. Oh and ban Powerpoint too! Anything else is hipster BS.
People would just use their phone. I never use FB on the companies network, but I've looked at it on my phone.
 
If your coworkers were spending a lot of time on FB during work chances are high they would spend a lot of time on another unblocked site being just as useless. We've blocked individuals from certain websites like FB, hoping it would increase work output and instead they spent more time finding a way to not work.

With that said I've noticed better output from my people since we've unblocked FB and YouTube.
 
People would just use their phone. I never use FB on the companies network, but I've looked at it on my phone.

If I'm their boss and they aren't using my kit and bandwidth for crap...that's a start.
 
I've got an adjustable height desk at work, and I find that it's harsh on my wrists. It would probably be a bit better if the desk were higher, but the chairs that the company has can't adjust high enough for me to adjust it further.

I used it for a while, but haven't done so recently.
 
Have a stand/sit adjustable desk, honestly I favor standing more than sitting while working as I tend to fidget quite a bit and it works really well for that.

It also helps that I have a fluidstance (that was a gift because no way I'd pay that normally) that I can screw around with while working upright which makes it way more enjoyable when dealing with some moonbat on the phone.

Ultimately it depends on you and what you prefer but I like being able to stand and work for an hour or two instead of being stuck behind a desk doing paperwork or deal with calls.
 
If I'm their boss and they aren't using my kit and bandwidth for crap...that's a start.
I don't think most companies give a shit about the bandwidth that FB uses. They worry about lost time, but ultimately, that's the price of doing business. It's not like people weren't fucking off before the internet. Back then everyone hung out in the break room. These days, the only time I see anyone in there for more than a coffee is the rare bird that actually brings a lunch.
 
The desks are mandatory here in Denmark. They dont add anything as such directly to productivity, unless you look on the very long run. They are here for your health instead. Sitting down all day isn't good for you. I think I stand up between 1-2 hours on a work day.

The desks also got secondary function, you can adjust the height perfectly for your individual usage on the fly.
 
Standing to do my job wouldn't work since I suffer from sciatica. Standing in one place for a long time cause it to flair up.
I've been riding a desk for 9 years now I found the WORST thing you can do is just sit for 8 hrs. Every couple hours I take a 15min break and walk around, just to get moving, then back to work.
I find at the end of the day I feel good instead of wiped out.
 
A standing desk has nothing to do with productivity, it's to do with employee health. The productivity line is all about money, and not about the health of employees.
Not sure if you have both sentences straight.
Our manager removed numerous chairs because she believes we should always be on our feet working. When I asked why we need to be standing while we're typing reports, she said it will get us to type faster. Of course, the doctors and managers get to keep their chairs. But several RN's have already quit, mentioning the idiotic chair removal as part of the reason they were leaving.
 
Back
Top