Stand By Me: Seven Insights from a Standing Desk Veteran

At this point you've probably seen a standing desk in action. At your company, in an associate or client's office, or maybe in a store or even an airport (VARIDESK has a nice kiosk in Dulles Washington DC). After spending the last five years exclusively using standing desks at both work and home, I'm sharing my thoughts for those on the fence about kissing their desk chair goodbye.

In 2012, during the on-boarding process of a new position, I was offered the choice of a 'normal' desk or a standing desk. I'd never considered a standing desk before and with a shrug I checked that box, sealing my fate and breaking the chains of the traditional sitting office. Half a decade later and I haven't looked back, in fact I'm typing this post at a standing desk in my home office (despite my cat's forlorn meows, wishing for a lap to curl up on). Outside of displeasing pets, here are seven things I've learned over my years of standing at work.

1.  Commitment isn't difficult or terribly expensive: There's two basic versions available out there, starting with the sit/stand desk that raises and lowers via springs. These are the most common entry point to standing desks since they sit on top of your current desk, and they start at around $300. VARIDESK has cornered the market here. After some experimentation, I found that true standing desks that you can't sit at were more my style. These come in a few varieties like a fixed basic table, a computer workstation (popular in tight areas such as data centers) and fully motorized desks. I ended up choosing Diversified Woodcraft's manually adjustable table - typically built for classrooms - for both work and home. I chose manual instead of motorized as I never foresaw adjusting the table after its initial setup. There are many flavors in this spectrum, with some standing companies even including built in touchscreen displays. My good friend and fellow geek, AbacusNext CTO Jerome Fodor, went for the VARIDESK at our office and a computer-controlled NextDesk unit for his home. Careful here as NextDesk's models can range up to a couple of thousand dollars, depending on the wood grain, motorized lift system and processor functionality. Here's a 3 minute video review of a NextDesk :

2.  Invest in good monitor arms or stands: To fully optimize your standing desk setup, you'll need to fine tune the height of your monitor setup which also helps prevent neck strain. I started with AmazonBasics monitor arms, but they didn't maneuver high enough for me (I'm 6'3") and I have since moved on to WALI's extra tall stands. These stands are less flexible than some monitor arms, but they reach the height I need. 

3.  It takes about 6 weeks for your feet to adjust: Standing in place takes some level of physical adjustment, especially with footwear that's not known for high levels of comfort such as dress shoes. Standing mats provide the cushion you need and are an absolute requirement. There are many varieties out there, I went with KANGAROO  as they come in a variety of colors to match your office carpet's color. Even with the anti-fatigue comfort of a standing mat, it will take some time for your feet to adjust standing most or all of the day. This eventually dissipates.

4.  Health benefits of standing desks are mixed: You've probably seen articles on LinkedIn or Facebook about how sitting for extensive periods of time is slowly killing you. A quick read of the health benefits on the standing desk Wikipedia show that verified health benefits of standing all day are limited at best. A 2012 study found that standing desk users burned about 20 additional calories per hour, while a 2005 Danish study found that those who sat more were 44% less likely to receive hospital treatment for varicose veins. According to the Harvard Health Blog, The truth behind standing desks, some studies suggest that after a meal, blood sugar levels return to normal faster on days a person spends more time standing. Additionally, standing, rather than sitting, may reduce back pain. No matter what, standing more than sitting does feel healthier, though I didn't see any noticeable change in my physical appearance. In this 5 minute video clip, the Healthcare Triage channel explains why they think sitting is horrible and will probably shorten your life : 

5.  Office visits are more efficient when everyone stands: Whether a quick huddle or an office visit, I always found that my guests tended to prolong meetings in my environment if we're all sitting. It's no secret that stand-up meetings are faster and more efficient than sitting around a table, applying this to your personal space is one of the more noticeable changes of a standing desk. Stand by me and let's get this done!

6.  Everyone will comment about your standing desk: Despite its continuing assimilation into the office world, when you swap out the traditional desk to standing you're going to hear about it from everyone. You'll also get visitors who are curious about standing in their own environment coming by for a test drive. 

7.  Sometimes you'll miss sitting: You know when it feels better to sit at work? Working after staying up the previous night with a sick kid. There are times when sitting is handy, and for those times I picked up a standing desk chair.

The June 2017 report by the Society for Human Resource Management showed that standing desks are the fastest growing employee benefit. When I joined AbacusNext in December of 2015, only a single person in the company had a standing desk, and I brought my own. Fast forward to present and about 40 of our 360 employees have some version of a standing desk, an adoption rate of over 10%. While this helps illustrate the continuing evolution of standing at work, we also added standing desk as an employee benefit in the latter half of 2016 so it's hard to say how much that influenced new employees. Regardless, I'm sticking to standing.

Have you tried a standing desk? Has your company considered this as an employee benefit? I'd like to hear your feedback in the comments below.