Why Sit Stand Desking Has Some Way to Go Before Becoming The New Normal For Office Workers

In my last post I discussed an article which has generated a great deal of interest all over the internet. The somewhat provocative title Your Office Chair Is Killing You probably helped in getting attention.

Nonetheless it raises some interesting points and as it concludes perhaps the best way to sit is in a half standing position. I thought I would take a look at the best way of doing this.

Sit stand desking has long been commonplace in Europe, especially the Nordic countries and yet the US has never really embraced the concept. Is this likely to change?

The great advantage of sit stand desking is it allows users to quickly and easily alter their working posture. So if you are fed up with sitting because your back is aching, just alter the height of your desk and stand working for a while.

Alternatively you can work somewhere in between in a semi-perched position using something like HÅG’s Capisco chair.

It helps people work more healthily by improving mobility and circulation as well as curing bad habits like slouching.

So how do sit stand desks work?

At their most basic level there is set up height adjustable desking. As the name suggests it’s possible to vary the height of the desk when you assemble it or set it up. However, once built it’s likely you wouldn’t alter it again as it would be too much hassle.

You would need to clear the desk and adjust the leg height so in reality this type of desk isn’t truly fully height adjustable.

The most common form of sit stand desk is one where the height is manually adjusted either by a crank handle or a gas spring lift mechanism. This does allow users to easily alter the work height frequently without major upheaval.

The most sophisticated version is the electrically height adjustable sit stand desk. At the press of a button users can quickly and easily raise and lower the desk work surface.

Clearly this is the best option, unfortunately the big downside is price and even an entry level model is likely to be around $1000. Some electric height adjustable tables may be a little cheaper although they would only really be suitable for laptop use.

For this reason progress towards mainstream use of sit stand desking in the US is likely to be slow, although there is definitely more and more interest from designers, architects and other specialist users.

Ultimately price is likely to continue to be the main stumbling block to the wider acceptance of adjustable desks. The nature of the product means the inclusion of expensive components is still necessary, maybe the breakthrough will come from the far east.