SIT-STAND DESKS MAKE YOUR EMPLOYEES HAPPIER

Researchers urge corporations to invest in sit-stand desks for workers’ well-being

By Winmas Yu

Sydney – January 22 2016

Ground breaking research shows sit-stand desks can boost employees’ energy and maintain productivity levels at work.

Sit-stand desk: Rumba 2 Stage Workstation (Image: Zenith Interiors)

DISCLAIMER: This is a university degree assessment. The writer has strived to ensure the accuracy of information.

The study, which followed more than 30 people at a Sydney telecommunications call centre in 2013, found workers using powered elevation desks increased their standing time at work by up to 100 minutes per day.

Sydney University Researcher Dr Josephine Chau found using the desks did not cut worker productivity when measured against a set of computer-coded measures.

“People say that they’re happier, they feel more engaged in their work, and certainly, in this particular study, the workers said that they had more energy after having a sit-stand desk,” she said.

Dr Chau added that prolonged sitting is linked with certain chronic disease risk factors such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, weight gain and premature death.

In June last year, an expert statement published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, recommended sedentary workers to spend at least two hours per day non-sitting, which does not only mean standing, but also light-walking and moving around.

The call centre workers in Dr Chau’s study were asked to fill in a questionnaire at particular times during the period, assessing their duration of sitting, standing and walking, as well as their perception ratings on work-related energy and feelings.

Dr Chau acknowledged the small sample size of the study, however she emphasised the validity and transferability of the findings into other desk-based working environments.

“We are using what’s called a real-world sample, even though it is small,” she said. “These are people in their actual, natural office environment, doing their normal jobs, and they’re not necessarily interested in their health.”