Stand Up for a Healthy Office

By: Jessie Swain, Associate

No one wants to sit at a desk all day. This is no surprise, but did you know “sitting is the new smoking”? You may have heard this catchphrase on the 24 hour news-cycle or at the latest furniture tradeshow. A tad over-dramatic, but things have to be to catch our attention nowadays. The research is piling up to show us all of the ways it negatively impacts our bodies (just Google it!). As office workers look for new ways to expand their minds and not their backsides, it is the job of good work place design to give them multiple options of how they can work.

A recent client of FORM wanted to address this head on in their open work environment. The design embraced the sit to stand concept with adjustable height work surfaces and even went so far as to provide a balance ball as a more “active” way to sit during a break from standing (pictured below).

That said, not every budget can allow for height adjustable desks. Another simple and affordable solution is to provide a standing height table or millwork island to allow employees to move away from their desk and work standing at their laptop. This also provides coworkers with an easy gathering spot to discuss a project without having to reserve a seated conference room. In another FORM project, this was achieved through furniture in the design of the work stations (see below).

To fully embrace the concept of being active during the day, without sacrificing productivity, Steelcase pioneered the idea of integrating movement into our technology use (see Steelcase photo below). Simply put, the Walkstation is a slow speed treadmill with integrated desk. To back up the benefits with research they have written Whitepapers on the subject, which can be found here: https://www.steelcase.com/resources/documents/?tax[doctype]=whitepaper

Others have begun to provide their own versions of Steelcase’s proprietary Walkstation at varying price points with various accessories. We recently provided one for a client willing to invest in employee health. Besides a staff only fitness center they provided a walking station in one of their phone rooms to allow people to have conference calls or heads down work while working towards their fitness goals.

There are many ways to easily integrate the idea of empowering employees to stand up for their health. It simply takes buy-in by the decision makers, planning by the design team and the support of office culture to make use of the tools provided. Happy standing!