You may have heard about the productivity trick of holding a meeting where all participants stand. How about conducting your entire work day that way?
Don’t be too quick to blow it off. Standup work spaces are a growing trend. And there are some compelling arguments why it just may be the best thing for you and your finance staffers:
- Only 1 in 5 jobs require even “moderate” physical activity.
- The average worker is burning a mere 120 to 140 fewer calories a day at work.
- Sitting six+ hours a day makes us 40% likelier to die prematurely vs. those who sit less than three hours. (Even if you exercise regularly.)
- Too much sitting is linked to some 173,000 additional cancer cases per year in the U.S. That’s according to a 2011 study by the American Institute of Cancer Research.
Those stats may just knock you off your feet! Finance is admittedly desk-intensive work. No doubt your staffers (as well as yourself) would fall in the “sedentary” job category, even if it feels like some days you’re running around like crazy.
Embracing the trend, whether whole hog or in baby steps
With stats like these, it might make you consider ditching the desk chair or at least offering people the chance to do so. If you want to take this stand-up approach to the workday, you have a couple of options:
- Switch to standing desks, which will be positioned at the proper height.
- Convert existing desks to standing ones. There are stands that will raise computers and other vital tools off the desk so staffers can use them while standing, without having to buy all new desks.
Thinks folks aren’t ready for such a radical move?
You might try making just one or two workstations in your department “standing room only.” That way staffers can spend a few hours a day (or a week to start) working on their feet to see how it feels. At least you get them out of their chairs, which is better for staffers’ health (and your company’s bottom line).
(And remind people they’ll have time to sit in meetings, at lunch, etc. )
So would you try standing desks or give your staffers the option of switching to one? Tell us here.
