Not so long ago, the whole business world got excited about a Texas A&M University study after it revealed interesting insights into standing desks. The main statistic to come from the study was the following:
‘People working at sit-stand desks are more productive compared to those using a traditional desk by 46%’
It’s not surprising that everybody got excited, right? People were fighting to get their hands on a sit-stand desk; they thought it was a magical solution to all of their productivity solutions. However, there is more to this study than the headlines seen on the TV. This begs the question of whether people are more productive when standing or sitting at their desk.
Take Caution with Studies
It’s important to be careful when reading studies, and there’s no stronger evidence than with this one. During this research, there was no historical data to act as a baseline and the workers were not randomised. Instead, it looked at new employees at one call centre. Every participant was new to the job and they only fielded calls from new clients. The control group was made up of employees with experience in the job and they were taking calls from existing clients (while sitting).
Ultimately, sitters and standers didn’t have the same experience and weren’t taking calls of the same nature. Therefore, it perhaps shouldn’t have been a surprise that standers were more effective and more successful with their call.
Additionally, it took at least one month for the difference between the groups to show and the group sitting actually only spent an extra 96 minutes sitting compared to the standing group.
Sitting vs Standing
While you might not find results similar to the Texas A&M University study, there are reasons why a standing desk could be more productive for employees. For example, they find it easier to walk across the room to ask colleagues questions. With more movement around the office, collaboration improves.
Of course, a sit-stand desk has health benefits, and these often generate indirect advantages for productivity. When sitting in the same chair all day with a poor posture and poor spinal alignment, it’s easy to walk away with pain in the back and other areas of the body. Over time, this means time away from work and potentially medical appointments to overcome the issue.
With a sit-stand desk, you can encourage proper posture and alignment. What’s more, when standing rather than sitting, employees encourage better blood flow and are more likely to walk around the office (the role of an employer is to ensure that these walks have a purpose and aren’t just aimless).
One assistant professor at the University of Iowa states that there’s a 30% increase in caloric expenditure when standing compared to sitting. Even for those with a traditional chair, they enjoy similar benefits by getting up to stretch and stand every so often.
On the other hand, the problem with constant standing is the extra pressure on the feet and joints. By the end of the day, standing workers feel more tired than normal and this leads to a decrease in productivity. Also, they suffer from swelling and pain in the balls of the feet.
The Solution
Throughout this guide, you’ve hopefully noticed that there are pros and cons to both standing and sitting. There are indirect benefits for productivity when standing, but not too much evidence that productivity increases directly. The solution may be a combination of sitting and standing to increase caloric expenditure, encourage collaboration, and avoid back problems.
