Standing desks boost productivity

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INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER – VOLUME 48: NUMBER 08

Study: Call center workers complete 46 percent more work per hour
New research from IIE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors indicates that standing desks improve productivity. Standing desks are good for the body, burn more calories or improve attention and cognitive functioning. But the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health examined two groups of call center employees for six months. Workers who had desks they could raise or lower to sit or stand were about 46 percent more productive. Workers with adjustable desks sat for 1.6 fewer hours per day than the seated desk workers.

The productivity increased growing larger as workers got used to their standing desks. Nearly 75 percent of those working at stand-capable workstations experienced decreased body discomfort. Mark Benden, director of the Texas A&M Ergonomics Center hope this work will show companies that although there might be some costs involved in providing stand-capable workstations, increased employee productivity over time will more than offset these initial expenses.