With thanks to all who participate, here are the results of this past weekend’s poll. The focus?
Do you have the option of using a stand desk in your office?
The results
First, the good news: almost a third of respondents use stand desks. While 61% of respondents do not use such desks, I was happily surprised to see that this relatively new option seems to be gaining ground.
Readers Want Stand Desks
People want to use stand desks; 83% of respondents said they would use one if it was made available to them. However, 48% of respondents have not requested one or made such a business case to their employers. Persistence can pay off; one person wrote, “It took two years, but I did get a stand desk this year.”
Just How Much Do Readers Stand and Sit at the Office?
Of respondents who have stand desks, 54% said they have the option of elevating and lowering the desk height. This enables them to alternate between sitting and standing during the day. I know some people who have been provided stand desks that have such a capability and yet, once the novelty wore off, they reverted to former practices and sit much of the time. This is in stark contrast to those who have acquired stand desks specifically due to disabilities or health challenges.
Establishing New Routines
Since acquiring my stand desk, I have built in a routine of intentionally starting each day with an hour of standing. Then, I may lower and elevate the desk another couple of times during the day (particularly after lunch) before again elevating it for the final hour or so of my work day. On closing up shop in the evening, I leave the desk elevated as a nudge to start the next day off right.
This can vary depending on when I have meetings in my office, but I find it helpful to be intentional about changing routines. I aim to stand for a specific number of hours each day, and anything above that is a bonus.
Just How Sedentary Are We During the Work Week?
I asked readers to estimate how many times weekly they exercise for 30 minutes or more. While some readers estimated they do so four, five or six times weekly, more readers responded “once a week” than any other frequency. That was followed by “three times weekly”, but “0” or “not at all” appeared with the third greatest frequency of all responses.
I realise that life is full, and that it can be difficult making time to make one’s self a priority. However, if you’re in good company with those who spend much of their time being sedentary, you may find motivation in researching reports – such as that by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine – on health outcomes for women with primarily sedentary behaviour.