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An office innovation that has been gaining some attention is the standing desk. They are supposed to be better for your health, and the research appears to back that up.

Standing desks help you to burn more calories. They also improve a person’s attention and cognitive processes. A new study has shown that they may even have additional benefits – increasing productivity.

The Research

In the study, researchers looked at productivity differences between two groups of call-center employees. The study lasted six months. In one group, employees worked at a desk that could be adjusted, so they could stand or sit depending on how they set up their workstation. The other group of employees worked at traditional desks. The results showed that the adjustable desk group sat for almost two hours less during the day than the other group. The study found that those who worked at the adjustable desks were almost 50 percent more productive than those who sat all day.

Researchers measured productivity by how many calls each worker made during one hour. They also said that the increases in productivity more than offset the greater expense for the standing desk workstations.

Information gathered from the experiment also showed that productivity among the adjustable desk people increased over time. Researchers speculated that work output increased as the workers became more comfortable with their new desks.

Health Benefits

Standing not only increases productivity, but has a positive effect on the health of workers as well. About three-fourths of those working at the standing desks had less body discomfort.

The researchers are not yet sure what may have led to the productivity increase. It may have been the drop in body discomfort or that standing desks may have an effect on cognitive capabilities.

Although the researchers did not use a random sample, they believed the groups were similar enough that the results are valid, showing a correlation between the standing desks and greater productivity.

Moreover, people were assigned to a group, rather than choosing one on their own. This eliminated the possibility that there was some other factor which increased productivity and the likelihood of choosing a standing desk.

Winston Resources is a staffing agency that will stand up for your company when you are looking for employees. And we respond with greater productivity as well, productivity in finding the reliable and qualified workers you need. Give Winston a call today.


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