Search Results for: sit stand

January 20, 2017

The facts about sit stand work are already lost in the stream of narrative ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Knowledge, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Toss a sliver of information into the great stream of accepted public narrative and see what happens to it. There it goes, briefly visible on the surface then consumed; part of the stream but no longer to be seen. A perfect example of this is provided by a recent piece of research carried out by the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health into the effects of standing at work on a small sample of call centre workers. While the results of the study are impressive, notably a 46 percent increase in productivity, by the time the story was reported on Inc.com, the 167 call centre workers had suddenly morphed into ‘everybody’. It should go without saying that the headline ‘Your Productivity Will Increase by 46 percent if You Stand at Your Desk’ does not reflect the conclusions of the original research. The statements by the researchers suggesting that the study is significant with regard to call centre staff but merely indicative of a wider issue go ignored.

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January 30, 2016

Coworking goes mainstream + Sit stand working + Future for tech offices ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Insight newsletter; Mark Eltringham analyses the impact of the sit-stand movement and suggests that the I-phone is a very isolating piece of equipment; Georgi Georgiev says remote work is no longer just a freelancer’s game; and Paul Goodchild explains why co-working is shaping office design more than you’d imagine. A new report outlines the key future property trends for TMT workplaces; parents are at greater risk of burn out as they strive for work life balance; fewer than one in ten (8 percent) of UK organisations currently have a standalone wellbeing strategy; the positive benefits of active work are revealed and the UK’s CEO’s worries about cyber-risks. Download the latest issue of Work&Place and access an Insight Briefing produced in partnership with Connection, which looks at agile working in the public sector. Visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

May 18, 2015

Management is needed to ensure people actually use sit stand workstations

by Kati Barklund • Comment, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Lately I’ve seen many articles about sit stand workstations and references to Scandinavia where almost all of us employees have access to sit stand workstations. It is true that most of the Scandinavian employees have access to sit stand workstations and in for example in Denmark employers are required by law to provide sit stand workstations to the employees, but this does unfortunately not automatically mean that the Scandinavian employees actually stand by the workstations. Even though most of us actually know that sitting is bad for our health, wellbeing and even our performance, we tend to sit most of the time while working. It is mostly about us being used to sit while working. It is a habitual behaviour and instead we need to get new habits of standing and moving at work. Change management is needed.

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May 7, 2015

Understanding and overcoming the objections to sit stand workstations

by Marc Bird • Comment, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design

In Sweden, sit-stand working is so commonplace that our Nordic colleagues are perplexed by how slow the UK has been to catch up. The expectation of varying working positions throughout the day is so widespread across Scandinavia that over 80 percent of Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Norwegian office workers already use sit stand workstations, and offering employees a height adjustable work station is now mandatory in Denmark. Despite sit-stand working still being in its infancy in the UK, with only 2 percent of knowledge workers having access to height adjustable workstations, there is plenty of compelling evidence, and a groundswell of expert opinion, to suggest that the UK office is going to have to get off its backside pretty soon.

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June 16, 2023

KI Work2.1 sit-stand desks create personal and collaborative workspace for Braze

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Furniture

Following a period of rapid growth, consumer engagement platform Braze has recently moved into the City of London’s Broadgate Exchange Square. Outgrowing their presence at a nearby shared co-working facility, the company wanted their new dedicated facilities to be an employee attraction tool, whilst also being as ‘future-ready’ as possible. Making the workspace desirable and enjoyable was an important consideration for the company, who exercise a fully agile, hybrid working policy. And sit-stand desks from KI have been specified to optimise the comfort of workers. policy. (more…)

July 25, 2018

New study claims to confirm the benefits of sit-stand workstations

by Mark Eltringham • News

A new study suggests that height adjustable or sit-stand workstations may be beneficial in reducing sedentary behaviour and supporting health outside the workplace. The study’s results have been published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management. Funded by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Foundation’s Transform grant, interim study results were announced on the ASID website last year. The final study, “Stand Up to Work: Assessing the Health Impacts of Adjustable Workstations,” found that sit-stand workstations are linked to increased productivity, better mental concentration, and improved overall health in employees who used sit-stand desks over a 12-month period. Most employees reported that the sit-stand desks had a positive impact on their health outside the workplace.

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January 11, 2018

Promotion: Humanscale launch Quickstand Eco to lead next generation of sit/stand workstations

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Furniture, Products

Humanscale, has launched its next generation of portable sit/stand products. The QuickStand Eco claims to unite function and sustainability at an accessible price point to improve employee performance and encourage a more active workplace. This new height-adjustable solution is sleeker, easier to install and comprises more sustainable materials than ever before. QuickStand Eco utilises minimal parts and pieces, limiting it’s environmental footprint and maintaining a minimal, clean aesthetic. It features simple setup and is easy to transport, making it a flexible option for both corporate and home offices. The instant height adjustability encourages users to sit and stand more often and the product can also be integrated with Humanscale’s OfficeIQ software, which sends periodic alerts when it is time to adjust one’s position.

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June 4, 2016

Robot woes + Coworking goes mainstream + Workplace sit-stand debate ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

In this week’s Newsletter; Sara Bean suggests improvements in work-based training could help address the productivity gap; Mark Eltringham says there will be no grand arrival for the ‘Office of the Future’; and warns of the lack of context when reporting research on sit-stand working. Better technology would improve workers quality of life, finds a new report; researchers say workaholism is closely associated with a range of mental diseases and psychiatric disorders; and a surprisingly large number of people fear their job being taken by a robot within the next 10 to 50 years. Banks are rationalising space to stay in London; coworking remains one of the main drivers of workplace change globally; and uncertainty about Brexit hits the construction sector. You can download our Insight Briefing, produced in partnership with Connection, on the boundless office; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

January 29, 2016

Delivering the low-down on the sit-stand workstation phenomenon ⁰

by Ashley Hayward • Comment, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design

While the UK, US, Australia and other nations continue to treat them as something of a novelty, across Sweden, Norway and Finland, over 80 per cent of office workers use sit-stand desks. Offering employees a height adjustable work station is now mandatory in Denmark. However, sit-stand working is still in its infancy in the UK, with only 2 per cent of similar workers having access to variable-height workstations. Given the huge amount of news coverage devoted to the subject of sedentary lifestyles in the last couple of years, ‘sit-stand’ and ‘active working’ have become buzz terms in UK workplace design. The ‘On Your Feet Britain’* campaign has raised awareness of the health perils risked by the many Brits who spend an average of 8.5 hours a day sitting, whether at their desk or slumped in front of the telly. Inevitably, savvy employers will be asking themselves if they can afford to ignore the problem.

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December 2, 2015

Too much focus on standing in the sit-stand debate say ergonomics experts ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Furniture, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Campaigners have been keen to promote the health benefits of adjustable or sit-stand workstations. However, according to the latest advice from the experts at the Ergonomics Program at Colorado State University’s Office of Risk Management and Insurance, too much focus has been placed on standing more and sitting less, when the mixture of the two postures is most important. Although sitting for too long can have detrimental effects on the body, standing for too long has its own set of detriments such as pooling of blood in the feet, increased back pain, varicose veins and even an increased risk of atherosclerosis (i.e. hardening and narrowing of the arteries). At the recent U.S. National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition, Dr. Joan Vernikos, former director of life sciences at NASA, simply said to stand up often. “Standing up often, at least 30 times a day, is a powerful antidote to sitting,” she said.

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October 14, 2015

Sitting down is no worse than standing for long periods, claims new study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

As we’ve always argued, the now commonly parroted idea that ‘sitting is the new smoking’ is extremely dubious and has led to a degree of hysteria about the effects of sedentary work and the substitution of one harmful extreme for another. Now a new peer reviewed study from researchers in the UK and Australia confirms earlier findings that suggest that what is important is not posture or position, but movement. The study of 5,000 civil servants over a 16 year period was carried out by researchers from the University of Exeter, University College London, and the University of Sydney (Australia) and funded by organisations, such as the British Heart Foundation, Stroke Association, the National Heart and Lung Institute, and the National Institute on Aging. It concludes that ‘no associations were observed between any of the five sitting indicators and mortality risk’.

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August 15, 2015

Sit-stand desks, co-working revolution, FM self-image and more ⁰

by Sara Bean • Events, Facilities management, Newsletter, Technology, Workplace

In this week’s issue; why UK employers need to step-up the adoption of sit-stand desks; a worldwide upsurge reported for flexible working environments and left-handed staff experience practical problems at work. Sara Bean says efforts to increase the number of women in senior executive positions shouldn’t overlook the discrimination faced by older female job applicants; and Mark Eltringham applauds Stud Terkel’s insights on the working lives of ordinary Americans and argues FM is not alone in thinking that it doesn’t shout loudly enough to make itself heard. Research shows the key to restoring productivity growth is to shift job-creation towards higher-productivity sectors and a new study finds only one in ten workers attempt to keep their devices and data secure. Check out our new events page, subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and weekly news here, You can follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.