How much time do you spend time sitting at your desk during work hours? If you’re like many office workers, who spend the longest time sitting at your desk. You need to know that sitting isn’t the real problem – the real problem is remaining static in any posture. With a broader view, you will be able to strike a balance between sitting, standing, perching, lounging and walking, which will help you remain active at work.
Take a seat
Sitting is an important part of the day, which one cannot practically and shouldn’t want to eliminate. A high quality ergonomic task chair can be tuned to fit people of different sizes and will also accommodate a range of different seated postures.
Supportive, ergonomic seating will encourage active sitting and encourage you for regular movements, for example, the chair back changes shape, just like your spine. This encourages movement which is good for the human body.
Stand Up
A height adjustable desk is another strong foundation for increasing activity at work. Alternating between sitting and standing helps to increase movement and blood flow, improving our physical wellbeing and sense of alertness.
Standing is also a great posture for collaboration. If a colleague comes to join you at the desk for a discussion, try raising it into a standing posture, it will help you change position and let you speak eye to eye. Better yet, consider moving further to a different work zone to collaborate.
An eco-system of spaces
People at work need to focus, collaborate, rejuvenate, socialize and learn throughout their day and no single setting can support all of these needs.
Activity based working lets us use the whole environment to help transition between tasks and work modes, while minimizing distractions to others and allowing the benefit of postural changes. In an ecosystem of interconnected zones and settings, the workplace offers you the control over where and how you work. You are not restricted to your desk and can easily add activity and movement into your day.
A range of postures
It’s okay to lounge at work. Since working in a collaborative, lounge and casual meeting spaces are very important for better workstyle and these spaces are designed to support various postures. Settings away from your desk may offer you the chance to recline, lounge or perch. You may want to huddle together in a group for one type of interaction or sit in a more relaxed and casual setting for another. These social and informal settings are designed to help you connect in different ways with colleagues and build trust.
In supporting wellbeing at work, the key is to vary postures as much as possible and utilize the whole work environment.
