Researchers at Texas A & M University gathered demographic data on workers and information on how they used office equipment such as footrests, monitor arms, keyboard trays or anti fatigue mats at their workstation. They also collected data on the amount of time the workers spent standing at their workstation and their use of a sit-stand or stand- biased workstation. Participants were asked about discomfort in the neck, upper back, lower back, shoulder, wrist and hand, hips, knees, and ankles and feet.

“We found no significant difference in the number of keyclicks between the three groups, but the stand-biased group had a significantly higher word count and more errors than the traditional group,” said researcher Dr. Kaysey Aguilar. “In addition, the 24-hour activity data revealed that the stand-biased group had significantly more standing time, less sitting time and fewer transitions per hour compared to their traditional counterparts.”

In terms of discomfort, 65 percent of all participants reported having neck discomfort and 80 percent of the traditional workstation group reported discomfort of the lower back, compared to 51.7 percent of the stand-biased group.

Although the stand-biased and sit-stand groups stood more and sat less than the traditional group, the difference in outcomes was not statistically significant. In addition, while the traditional group transitioned from seated to standing postures significantly more often, the stand-biased group expended more energy.

“The bottom line is that the risk of health issues from sedentary work can be alleviated through alternative desk options, like sit-stand or stand-biased workstations,” Aguilar said. “These are win-win solutions because they benefit worker’s health while maintaining the high productivity employers expect.”

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