The Ups and Downs of Sit-Stand Workstations

Transcription

1 The Ups and Downs of Sit-Stand Workstations

2 Standing If you are considering standing workstations or wondering if these are good options for your employees, we want to help you understand the issues regarding sitting and standing as well as help you know the difference in furniture options. When we talk about a standing workstation, we are really talking about a sit-stand workstation. You still need to provide the option to sit - it is not safe to use a standing only workstation for a typical work day. Training for Employees Because standing to work is different than sitting to work, you will want to make sure and educate employees about safe standing. The next page is a guide for employees on safe standing.

3 Safe Standing Obviously, standing is a lot different than sitting. Here is what you need to be aware of to use standing more safely: Safe Standing Sit when you start to feel tired. Shift your weight between legs. Wear supportive shoes. Pressure is going through your legs in standing and your feet need good support. High heels, broken down insoles and any shoe that doesn t have great support will cause extra stress and strain. Don t force yourself to stand. If you don t feel like standing, don t. If standing hurts, don t do it. If you are tired, sit down. Don t lean only to one side. Some people have a habit of always leaning on one leg or the other. Not both. Make sure that if you lean on one leg, you also lean on the other. Don t lock your knees. Standing with your knees locked (fully extended) is not good for your knees, hips or back. Keep your knees soft when standing. How long should you stand? There is no one amount of standing that is recommended. If you have not stood to work before, start with 15 minutes. See how you feel and let your endurance build up. Try standing once during the first half of work and once during the last half. Unsafe Standing Don t lock your knees. Don t stand with your weight always on one side and not the other. Your body likes movement more than staying still. The best thing about standing is that it is another position you can work in. Try to pay attention to the cues from your body to determine when it s time to move from sitting to standing or standing to sitting: Increased weight shifting, fatigue in feet, legs, hips or back, leaning on the desk. Let these be the sign from your body that it s time to move!

4 Types of Sit-Stand Desks Lets look at different types of sit-stand workstations. The electric height adjustable desk is probably the best sit-stand solution but its also the most expensive. Types of Sit-Stand Desks Electric height adjustable Crank or pneumatic Separate device Separate work area with a fixed height surface With this desk, your entire workstation moves up and down. All of your equipment and accessories move with you. Its easy to operate, and makes it simple to really use standing. Most of these desks are sold as an electric base with a top. Meaning you need to see if the desk top is included in your purchase. At times, you may be able to use the desk top you have and just add an electric base (make sure to ask the vendor or manufacturer). Buying an electric desk? If you are shopping for an electric height adjustable desk, make sure you know the height range of the desk in sitting and standing. These desks can have limited adjustability and defeat the entire purpose of helping you be safe and comfortable. Also make sure that when you have the manufacturers height adjustment range, you know if that includes the height of the table top or not. The base of the desk and the table top are often purchased separately. Electric Height Adjustable Easiest to use Great for positioning keyboard/mouse and monitor properly Make sure height range is what you need in sitting and standing We have purchased desks for our office and were told they went as low as 26. What we didn t realize, is that was the height of the frame of the legs NOT including the table top, which added another 1. This may not seem like much, but this makes a very big difference when you are using the desk for hours and hours, day after day! Plus, we spent money on a desk that still did not address the problem painful lesson! Look for a height adjustment range from at least

5 Types of Sit-Stand Desks Crank adjustable desks have a handle on the desk that you manually crank to adjust it up or down. These take a lot of time to adjust and frankly, do not encourage people to use them. The lure is that they are usually cheaper than the electric desks, but we don t usually recommend these. Takes time to adjust People tend to not use them Crank Pneumatic adjustable desks are easy and fast to use. Pneumatic The only limitation to look for is the weight limit. If you have a lot of equipment or want a custom desk top that is very heavy, this may not be what you need. much easier to adjust, but may have weight limits

6 Types of Sit-Stand Desks Devices such as the Ergotron Workfit are also popular. These are pieces of equipment that can work with your current desk and move your keyboard/mouse and monitors from sit to stand. They can be mounted from the front or back. These are cheaper than electric height adjustable, but you do need to know a few things: Height range for the keyboard and monitor in both sitting and standing. Weight limit Will it work with your monitors, or do you need adapters? Is there space for other equipment such as a laptop, phone, calculator or paperwork? There is an optional surface you can get, but make sure it can hold what you need. Additionally, if you want to view the laptop screen, it could obstruct your view of the monitor when used on this shelf. Carefully compare the price of everything you need to an electric base. Sometimes, by the time you account for all of the extra accessories needed, you could have purchased an electric desk. Need to Know Height range Weight limits # monitors Room for other equipment

7 Separate Work Area Counter Height Tables Separate Work Area A great cost-effective idea is to have community standing areas in the office. This only works if your employees use laptops, however! Simply add counter height work areas so that the employees can pick up their laptops and go stand to work for a few minutes. This is a great way for them to take a break and change posture for a while. This is only for short term use, however. Working directly on a laptop has its own ergonomic risks and as we mentioned before, standing for long periods can be hard on the body. Community Sit-Stand Stations Another way to create shared community standing areas is to have a few height adjustable sit-stand workstations at the office. You can limit the amount of use at one time to make sure people are sharing fairly! Counter, tall table, shared workspace Ok to use for a short time

8 Fixed Height Desk One other type of sit-stand workstation is a tall fixed height desk with a stool. Most often, people do this by adjusting the cubicle furniture to standing height. The stool can be hard to get in and out of. YEmployees need a place to support their feet - the foot ring on the chair or a small bar in the front are not enough for everyday work. The stool can be less supportive than a regular chair. The stool will have a weight limit and may not have a very tall back or long seat. If you decide to use this type of sit-stand workstation, make sure: The desk height is adjusted for ideal keyboard height The monitors can be adjusted to eye level A tall footrest is provided The stool is safe and supportive for the person using it Shopping Tip: Anti-fatigue mats are used for periods of prolonged standing. Ideally, if people are getting uncomfortable, they would simply sit. But, in some cases, people want to keep standing. This is when you would consider an anti-fatigue mat. The down side of using this mat is that it gets in the way when the employee is ready to use the chair. They either have to move it, or roll the chair up and over it