Are you sitting comfortably? Somewhere something went horribly wrong!

Work practices, types of workers, our knowledge of ergonomics, and health and safety requirements have all changed down the years yet in the UK we still use fixed height desks. Countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Holland and to some extent Germany, however, are specifying height adjustable desking. Scandinavian studies show reduced reported back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders since its introduction. Is it time for us to consider the use of height adjustable desks and promote alternating between sitting and standing? Here are some facts and myths about height adjustable desking.

What is height adjustability?

There is confusion about what is meant by height adjustable desks. In theory, a desk which can be set at different heights is deemed adjustable. However, true height adjustability means that users can alter the height themselves by crank mechanisms, gas springs or. electric motors with minimal effort. Such desks are referred to as 'user adjustable'. On the other hand, the height adjustability offered by many manufacturers is the ability to install desks at heights other than the fixed 720mm specified in standards. These usually involve mechanical adjustments to the leg components requiring specialised tools and skilled personnel. Once set, it becomes a fixed height desk which cannot be adjusted again by the users. This type is referred to as 'height selectable desking'.

Why height adjustability?

To appreciate the need, we have to understand how the height of a fixed desk (720mm) is determined. This is not a magic number but is determined by the fact that someone working at a desk (sitting on a chair) should be able to get their legs under the desk without the tops of their thighs hitting the underside of the desk top whilst their elbows are just above the desk top. Hence, if we are to have one size - it has to accommodate the tallest people (assumed to be the national 90th percentile male) so that their legs fit under the desk.

This means that the majority of people who are shorter - 90% of males and a higher percentage of females - find the desk either too high (if they adjust their chairs so that their feet rest on the floor without the chair exerting pressure at the back of their knees) or their feet cannot touch the floor (if they adjust their chairs so that their elbows are just above the desk height). Raised shoulders and arms result in upper limb disorders so people adjust their chairs so that their elbows are just above desk but then their feet do not touch the floor and the chair exerts pressure at the back of the knees constricting blood supply. If maintained for extended periods, such postures can result in pins and needles and, in very extreme conditions, deep vein syndrome. To prevent this, a footrest is needed.
Unless desks are custom built, fixed height desks "are wrong for a significant proportion of the population. The most effective solution should always be user adjustability because adjustability at installation has a very limited advantage.

The benefits

The main advantages of truly user adjustable desking can be summarised as follows:

• It allows anyone from very short to very tall to work at a desk with comfort and without the need for a footrest.
• It copes well with a mobile workforce which varies greatly in height, allowing organisations flexibility in moving staff around, even from day to day.
• It encourages mobility at the workstation; users can move from one part of the desk to another. This is in contrast to the static postures caused by a footrest which can only be reached from one position. Ergonomically, static postures are a source of musculoskeletal disorders and should be avoided at all costs. . It allows disabled people, especially wheelchair users, to work at any workstation at any time without costly adjustments to workstations or having to work in a specific area and being left out of the team.
• Height adjustable desking is fully DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) compliant. The critics Height adjustable desking is not without its opponents who claim the following disadvantages:
• It costs much more. Not strictly true; it does costs more but not twice as much; the additional cost is usually the same as a good footrest.
• Set at different heights, the office would look untidy. Not quite correct; the only time most offices look tidy is in catalogue pictures. Placed in continuous rows or adjacent to each other, they could create finger traps between two moving desks. Firstly, long rows of desks are not suitable for efficient team working. Secondly, finger trap risks can be overcome - through end panels, for example.

The answer?

Although there is no legal requirement for desks to be user adjustable, there is a good ergonomic case. If we are going to have height adjustable desks, is 'sit-sit desks' the way forward? How about 'sit-stand desks' - desks that can be used at correct heights when sitting down or standing up?
Recent studies show that extended sitting is the biggest cause of musculoskeletal disorders, in particular back pain, in office workers. Rodney Graham, Rheumatology Professor at University College Hospital London, speaking on Radio 4 referred to this phenomenon as 'chair disease' and pointed out the dangers of sitting for prolonged periods and the benefits of standing at times during the day.
A recent DDA case ruled that prolonged sitting caused a call centre employee to develop severe pain deemed a disability with the employer required to provide sit-stand desking, This is a clear example that people who spend a long time without breaks sitting in static postures in front of computers can suffer from severe back problems and the solution is obviously to provide adjustable sit-stand desking.

Sit-stand desking for chronic back sufferers is always a good recomendation and to go further; if employers want to minimise the chance of back ache, switch to sit-stand desking now before back pain becomes a problem. Sit-stand desking does not cure back pain but it does ease it and it lets people work with minimal discomfort. Alternating between sitting and standing is promoted by the international ergonomics standard (ISO 9241 Part 5).

The HAG step up encourages your feet to move with the inspiration of having two new heights - on the step up footrest and on the globe.This gives you a greatly enhanced numder of sitting possibilities. HAG Step Up is compatible with most HAG chairs, but we recommend that it is used in combination with 200mm or 265mm gas lifts.

Click here to request more information Contact Us