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Benefits on the Rise: Standing Desks

Ella Baker
Benefits on the Rise: Standing Desks
Reading time 3 Mins
Published on Oct 3
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With more than 44 percent of workplaces offering them, standing desks are the fastest-growing benefit offered to employees in the US, and it’s not hard to understand why. It’s long been understood that sitting for long periods of time is detrimental to your employees’ overall health. With their positive impacts on health outcomes like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, standing desks have the potential to impact the health of your employees beyond the workplace. Healthy employees are more productive and better able to focus on the tasks at hand, both winning results for your company. Learn more about the benefits of standing desks.

Improve posture

When set up correctly, standing desks can help improve posture and reduce eye strain. Standing improves core strength, which leads to better posture overall. Make sure that computer screens sit just above resting eye level, so that your employees don’t have to slouch or bend over as they are typing or crane their necks to see the screen. Your employees will thank you for the reduced back strain and fewer headaches.

Heart healthy

Adults who sit for long periods of time is related to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including chest pain and heart attacks. Excessive time spent sitting at a desk, such as during an eight-hour workday, can be so bad for your health that even exercise outside the workplace may not be enough to counteract the effects. Active workstations allow you to stand up and get moving while you work. Encourage employees to get even more heart healthy benefits by taking a short break from their desks every 30 minutes, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and having “walk and talk” meetings rather than gathering around the conference table.

Keep weight gain and diabetes at bay

It’s no secret that prolonged sitting slows down the metabolism and promotes fat accumulation. A lesser known effect of sitting for extended periods is the body’s reduced ability to regulate glucose in the bloodstream, a precursor of developing type 2 diabetes. Even intermittent standing at work can help decrease your risk of obesity and diabetes.

Since being obese is a common risk factor of developing type 2 diabetes, standing desks, which promote a more active work environment, can help reduce the impacts of both of these serious health issues on your employees. To help your employees succeed in using standing desks and reduce their risk of obesity and diabetes, employ a three-step approach to getting your employees up and away from traditional desks. Step one is to begin slowly: bring in standing desks alongside your current desks and encourage employees to begin using standing desks 30 minutes to an hour per day. Step two is to build up that time until your employees are ready to use their standing desks for the entire day. Step three is to encourage employees to move, which they’re more likely to do once they’re standing anyway.

Standing desks and Sheakley

While the benefits of standing desks are numerous, as with most other things you need to consider all aspects of this benefit. Standing for long periods of time may cause back, leg, or foot pain for some employees. Gel mats and supportive shoes can also help prevent or limit these issues. Sheakley’s HR Management division can help you decide if standing desks are the right benefit choice for your employees.

Schedule your free consultation with a Sheakley HR professional today. Stay up-to-date on all things Sheakley by subscribing to our blog and following us on social media. Join in the discussion by commenting below.


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