Study: Standing and Sitting at Work Improves Health, Happiness of Workers

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The ability to work while alternating between sitting and standing positions allowed employees to feel more comfortable, energized, focused and productive. They were more active and they felt better while doing it.

JourneyWell by HealthPartners, recently completed a seven-week study of what access to the sit-to-stand desk units would mean to employee mood, health and work performance.

Each study participant that received an ErgotronWorkFit Sit-Stand Workstation– which allows the user to easily move between sitting and standing positions – indicated that they felt better as a result of standing for part of the day. Sixty-seven percent said that they felt “a lot better.”

Additional findings from the study include:

“While these results are in line with common sense expectations, it is exciting to see that there is now an affordable way for corporations to mitigate the sedentary nature of most knowledge workers’ routine,” said Nico Pronk Ph.D., HealthPartners’ vice president for health management and health science officer, JourneyWell. “The data show that when a company pulls together to increase healthy workplace behaviors overall, the results can be significant.”

One of the most significant findings from the project was the reduction of back and neck pain; participants using the Ergotron WorkFit reported a 50 percent reduction in back and neck pain after using the device for four weeks. Additionally, participants in the “Take-a-Stand” project reported a 38 percent reduction in fatigue.

Participants, who used pedometers during the study, also averaged more daily steps during the study and stood an extra 67 minutes per day. The combination of increased steps and increased standing allowed participants to increase the number of calories they burned during a day. In addition, participants had more face-to-face interaction with their co-workers.

Prolonged sitting is recognized as an independent risk factor for a variety of health issues including back pain, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

In modern workplaces, more and more employees have jobs that require extended and prolonged sitting time. When you include time in a car commuting to and from work, there is an increasing percentage of the population that spends more than eight hours sitting in an average day. That much time sitting can turn even adults who exercise into “active couch potatoes.”

“The research validates long held assumptions that sit-to-stand computing can improve employee’s wellness and productivity while also having a significant impact on an employers’ profitability,” said Joel Hazzard, president and CEO, Ergotron. “Translated across a larger population, companies can realize higher productivity, lower health care costs and helps foster happier employees.”

Priced at less than $400, the WorkFit workstation is a cost effective addition for any office workspaces. Through its Just Stand Uprising program in partnership with several Fortune 500 organizations, Ergotron has found that companies can quickly realize potential return on investment through reduced health care costs and improved employee productivity.

“From a management perspective, it is hard to deny the long-term impact a program like HealthPartner’s JourneyWell project can have on a company’s bottom line but even more so their employees’ health,” said Hazzard.

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