Standing Desks Make Workers More Engaged and Less Tired
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New research has shown that standing desks which might allow the user to change their postures during working hours is likely to boost the performance of users at work.
At NHS, a number of staff members were provided with new desks with determined objectives for the time spent standing. Compared with their colleagues, researchers found these staff’s sitting time was reduced by more than 60 minutes per day.
These employees who reduced their sitting time said they were not as tired as before and they were more engaged. 146 NHS staff which were sedentary were assessed by the research team which was led by Loughborough University and some experts from Leicester.
Height -adjustable workstations also called sit-stand desks were given to seventy- seven (77) staff members which were put in an intervention group while the sixty- nine (69) that were remaining continued with the use of the standard work desks. The time spent sitting at work was measured at the beginning of the study, then later at 3 months, then six months and 12 months.
At the beginning of the research, it was discovered that 9.7 hours is the total time spent sitting in the workplace per day. But it reduced over the course of the research, the sitting time per day after three months was lessened by 50.62 minutes per day, after six months the reduction was 64.4 minutes per day and at 12 months, it was now at 82.39 minutes per day.
In accordance with the research which was published in the British Medical Journal, there was also reported progress in the musculoskeletal difficulties of the staff members given the height- adjustable desks.
The study participants filled out questionnaires which show that employees that used the sit-stand desks suffered less from anxiety and their quality of lives was enhanced. Though, there were no noticeable differences found for cognitive uses, absence for sickness and work fulfillment.
Medical research over the years has shown our health is being affected negatively by sitting in a constant manner. It makes people more vulnerable to diabetes and also has the potential to cause cardiovascular problems.
Though it is not the same everywhere, a survey in 2015 by the British Heart Foundation discovered that an average person sits throughout almost all of the 9 hours used in the office. As it is, in Sweden, it is usual to find sit-stand desks in the workplace. Also in Denmark in the year 2014, it had been made obligatory for employers to provide height-adjustable working desks for their staff.
Though, the author of the said report says there is a need for more research to determine the long-term advantage.