So sitting is the new smoking? Maybe, if sitting was new. Sitting causes diabetes? Yeh, right – prove that one! There appear to be links to a sedentary lifestyle and many health issues, changing your desk is unlikely to be the one stop solution your looking for. There are lots of wild claims so i’ve steered clear of writing about it.
There’s been a lot written on the subject of sit stand desks. Some of it links to medical reports making claims about the health of the workplace. Some of it drawing wild conclusions that don’t stack up. So are they any good?
In short, yes. But installing a row of sit stand desks for a bunch of people that rarely stand during the day is unlikely to make much difference to their health. The problem is not so much the lack of a sit stand desk in most peoples working lives, but routine, office layouts and habits that have engrained over the years so that we sit by default.
You have a small meeting room, designed for short meetings for up to 4 people. There’s a desk and 4 chairs in there. Maybe a speaker phone too.
Why?
There’s a space in reception for visitors to park a laptop and their backside while they wait. Wouldn’t a standing height bench be better?
That hot desk at the end of the row: it’s rarely used for more than 10 minutes at a time, is it the best set up?
By providing equipment that encourages people to move and adopt the correct posture, we’re creating a culture of wellbeing and mindfulness in everyone. Think of it like food. If i’m in an office that’s kind enough to have bowls of biscuits lying around, I will eat them, and on the way home, maybe grab a pizza from Tesco. If those same bowls had fruit in them, I’m much more likely to give my evening meal more thought.