How To Justify A Standing Desk At Your Workplace

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How To Justify A Standing Desk At Your Workplace

Standing desks are more than just a craze, and they’re spilling beyond the deep-pocketed offices of world-known companies like Google and Facebook.

 

People are becoming smarter, more aware, and more preventative when it comes to their health, which in itself is brilliant to see. Where they stumble, though, is the cost justification of a standing desk culture in the workplace.

standing desks at work
Is sitting at work doing your head in?
 

The difference between ‘price’ and ‘cost’

Price aversion is natural – of course we’re all guilty of denying a purchase based on price alone, both personally and professionally.

 

The difference between price and cost becomes apparent: price is what a company would pay for equipment, furniture or software upfront. Cost, however, is the ongoing payment attributed to losses and other operating costs.

 

Can your business justify the costs associated with workplace injuries and days missed, and look beyond upfront price?

 

Common sedentary injuries

A lot of pressure is put on your body when you’re sitting, slumping, and slouching for up to 17 hours in a day. ’17 hours?’ you think. ‘It can’t be that much!’ Calculate it: on average, you spend around seven hours in bed, let’s say an hour or two for the work commute, plus about seven or eight hours sitting at your desk. Combine all that with two or three hours of sitting in front of the TV to relax at night, and we’ve brought your grand total to 17 hours (and possibly more!) of sedentary behaviour.

 

Common workplace injuries, due to a sedentary lifestyle, include:

  • – Tight hip flexors
  • – Stiff spine
  • – Aching hamstrings and calves
  • – Tight shoulders
  • – Sore neck

But why? We could go on (and we have: see this blog and this blog), but to put it simply: reduced muscular demand – in that sedentary position – leads to increased joint loading and stress due to de-conditioning.

Standing desk justifications

OK, so you know the facts, and you’re obviously keen to stand up for your health… but how do you convince the boss?

The cost of workplace injuries

Check out these stats! You might like to allude to your boss that:

  • Lower back pain is the most prevalent workplace injury in Australia
  • It affects employees of all ages in all sectors (so no one is exempt)
  • Back pain costs Australian businesses a whopping $4.8 BILLION every year (argh!)
  • 25 per cent of back pain sufferers (aged between 18 and 55) take 10 or more days off per year. (What’s that costing you in lost productivity?)

Productivity

Standing desks (moreover, the ability to switch from standing to sitting within mere seconds) are attributed as one of the greatest advantages when it comes to improving workplace productivity.

 

In fact, some journalists who tested out standing desks reported that, when standing, they felt a sense of perseverance or urgency, that allowed them to refocus and complete tasks more efficiently.

 

Concentration

Avoid that dreaded 3 o’clock slump (ahhh, only two hours to go!) and remove “food coma” from your vocabulary: shifting between sitting and standing increases blood flow and improves energy and concentration.

 

You even start to segment tasks: “I’ll sit once I’ve finished this blog post” – the reward is sitting, but the condition is that you won’t do so until you finish your current task. You then make a decision to get the job done with fewer distractions!

 

Staff welfare

Beyond the legal obligations to which you have to comply (Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S), compensation, annual leave, etc.), a quality company requires quality staff. Retain and recruit the highest quality of staff by offering generous benefits and true compassion.

 

All of these actions create a positive and fruitful work environment, and improve the welfare of not only staff, but of the managerial team, too. You’ll see an improvement in workplace absences, and your team will be not only happier, but healthier, too.

 

So stand up for your health today, and have a chat to your boss about a sit-stand work environment. What have you got to lose? Contact us today if you require any further info.

 

Use the buttons below to share this article (hint, hint, with your boss).

author avatar
Guy Director
Higher Diploma in Mechanical Engineering. Ergomotion Director since 2005.

Google Reviews

Ergomotion

Google Reviews

Josh Oliver 04/02/24

Google
I've had an ergomotion desk for 10 years. It's still as good today as it was brand new. Over the years Guy has always responded promptly to any guidance I've needed (mostly help putting the desk back together after removalists take it apart).

Michael Cheung 18/01/24

Google
Great service from Guy and the team at Ergomotion! Helped with all my queries and was able to source a standing desk part for me when many others weren't able! Highly recommend!

Shao Lei 30/11/23

Google
Decent desk and awesome service. Highly recommend

Rod Hathway 10/11/23

Google
Awesome experience. Great value, super customer experience, ordered, assembled and picked up in 24 hours!

Dom K 06/11/23

Google
Skip the big name brands and buy from Guy instead, 10/10 linak parts with a very well built tabletop.

Chris Wu 06/11/23

Google
I purchased the edesk from Guy at Ergomotion. Guy was a pleasure to deal with and the desk arrived the next day. Guy was highly knowledgeable on the desk and provided very prompt support on the installation. I can highly recommend Ergomotion.

Albert Altit 29/09/23

Google
Excellent quality and superb Customer service. Guy walked us through the options and benefits of each and enabled us to easily decide on which option we wanted.

Installation was a breeze - Guy did a fantastic job !!

Long Hei Tai 15/09/23

Google
Guy is very helpful on my inquiry. The desk is very good in quality and I love it very much.

Thai Nguyen 03/09/23

Google
This is the second desk I have ordered to cater for my growing business. I find the quality of the products excellent and definitely an investment for the future. Great and efficient service and very helpful from the ordering process to the delivery process also. Thank so much to Guy who did a great job with following up and providing updates every step of the way.

GT 01/09/23

Google
Brilliant product, realisable and fast delivery. Thanks guy and the team.
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