Many campus workers say they won’t be taking work sitting down anymore.
So they’ve taken a stand.
“Most days I stand for the entire day, unless I’m in meetings,” said Nicole Tami, the director of international student integration, who made the transition to a standing workstation about 18 months ago.
Tami’s story is similar to others who have made the move to the world of the upright – they are usually driven by low-back problems that are exacerbated by an eight-hour workday sitting on a cushiony desk chair.
“I realized I needed to find a way to move and stand for longer periods,” she said. “I’m fairly active outside of work, but my back pain started after many hours of sitting.”
Other proposed solutions, like sitting on a yoga ball while at her desk, weren’t working for Tami.
She was given departmental approval to purchase a new standing desk, but found a less-expensive answer through university surplus. There she latched onto an old desk that she thinks used to be part of a laboratory somewhere on campus. But it was just the right height and it has a lever on the side that no longer works, which she said adds to its character.
She added a computer monitor stand and a small keyboard shelf, and adjusted things as she went along, like the addition of a yoga mat in her workspace to add cushion.
She said the desk is not ideal, “but I make it work.”
Most important, it has led to diminished back pain.
“I am more conscious of my posture and to stretch more frequently as I work,” she said. “I was frustrated by the reduced mobility of my desk job, but standing has definitely improved that.”
Brian Baxter, the lead assistant director of the Campus Recreation Fitness/Wellness program, experienced some of the same back pain when he was given approval to purchase a new standing desk about six months ago.
“Our bodies weren’t designed to sit for the majority of the day,” he said. “Standing periodically has drastically improved my condition and seems to energize me more. I feel that I also am more alert and have much better posture.”
Baxter’s physical therapist and doctor advised him to try a standing workstation.
He ordered a specially designed adjustable desk that can accommodate two computer screens. He said the transition took some adjustment time.
“You really shouldn’t stand all day, either, because that also can cause physical problems,” he said. “I think I might have overdone it at first. But once you learn the right balance between sitting and standing, you feel much better.”
Dr. Scott A. Paluska, a U. of I. clinical professor of family medicine and the department head of Christie Clinic Sports Medicine, said there is medical validity to the value of standing over sitting, especially during long intervals.
“Sitting exacerbates the pressure on the disks in the spine,” he said, which can in turn exacerbate any number of degenerative ailments –
and in the process exasperate the person experiencing the pain.
“Sitting and leaning forward will ultimately make you unhappy.”
Paluska has applied that well-researched knowledge to his patients and regularly suggests ergonomic fixes.
“I try to be creative and find ways to improve their situation that they maybe haven’t considered,” he said. “There’s no one treatment, but a standing workstation is one tool in the toolbox.”
He said the added benefit of standing – which can reduce spinal pressure by half – is that one burns more calories.
The source of back problems isn’t always knowable, but Paluska said it is one of the most common human ailments – and is often magnified in countries with aging or overweight populations.
“Ever since we started walking vertically instead of on all fours, we’ve had back problems,” he said, which, along with a switch to a sedentary, computer-based lifestyle, is the best argument for developing easily adoptable long-term office ergonomic standards.
“It eventually leads to questions of workplace fairness and accessibility,” he said, “and people are starting to stand up for themselves in that area a little bit. They can get their own information and even a recommendation from a medical professional that a change needs to be made.”
Paluska said the real driver of workplace conditions has always been money.
He said employers are starting to recognize that responding to a common health issue like back pain can lead to savings in insurance and workers’ compensation costs.
“Knowing that makes workplaces start to listen to preventive strategies and develop ways to better accommodate their employees,” he said. “They’re starting to realize that it’s something that can be managed.”
He said he expects other common ailments such as diabetes and hypertension to be addressed at the workplace level in the near future.
“It’s the same conglomeration of issues,” he said.
Sandra Thompson, a senior systems administrator for IT shared services for the College of Engineering, can attest to the benefits of her standing workstation.
She gravitated to a stand-up mentality five years ago after experiencing degenerative spinal disk disease.
“It’s just the result of normal aging, but it made it next to impossible for me to work,” she said. “One day I told my supervisor I was going home because I simply couldn’t sit any longer. The next day she had a desk for me that allowed me to stand. Fortunately, I can do my IT support job sitting or standing.”
That move worked wonders for Thompson and her sore back.
“I am never completely pain-free, but I am much better than when I was sitting all day,” she said. “It has allowed my back to improve enough that I can do physical things again, like work in my yard or go for runs.”
Ruth Stoltzfus, a program coordinator in the School of Music, said she looked into standing work options after she was unable to find back relief through regular exercise.
“I’d read about standing desks and decided to give it a try,” she said. “It worked. My back pain was gone in a week or two. My superiors don’t really care if I stand or sit – as long as I get the work done.”
She said her workstation, made from an antique pie safe featuring hammered tin front doors was obtained through office surplus, also looks great in the office.
“It’s very attractive and was the right height to use as a computer station,” she said. “The pity is the shelves inside contain paper instead of pies.”
One of the things users of standing workstations have in common is that they are almost always proponents. And most have gotten support for the transition from their departments.
Despite proven benefits, the practice of standing at work is still unusual enough that people stop to ask about it.
“Most people are intrigued, but some don’t even notice I’m standing,” Stoltzfus said.
Thompson said most people tell her they think it must be difficult to stand all day, but she said it’s a matter of perspective.
“There are lots of jobs that require people to stand, so I think most people could adjust,” she said.
“Most people think it’s great,” Baxter said of his workspace. “Most say they wished they could have the option, even though they may not have a physical condition that covers one.”
Tami said standing at work has led to many conversations and even a couple of departmental converts.
One of her selling points is that when she’s standing at her desk and working alone, it’s easy to slip off her shoes for a little added comfort.
“It just feels more comfortable and makes it easier to work,” she said.