Theresa Stack, MS, CPE, CSP
Assistant Professor
Safety, Health and Industrial Hygiene
Overview

Understand the benefits and limitations of standing, sitting,
and alternating postures

Review research results of using standing workstations in
administrative areas and the effects of occupational sitting

Apply cost effective solution for adjustable and standing
workstation design
Humans are designed for movement

Prolonged sitting time, independent of physical activity, is a
risk factor for various health outcomes (Pronk, 2012)
 Premature Mortality
 Chronic Diseases
○ Cardiovascular disease
○ Diabetes
○ Cancer
 Metabolic Syndrome -
Being sedentary (at
work) is not the same
as being inactive.
high blood pressure, high blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and abdominal fat. These risk factors double your risk of blood vessel and heart
disease, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. They increase your risk of diabetes by five times.
 Obesity and Overweight

Alternating sitting and standing correlated with
improved metabolic profile
Excessive sitting can cause harm
HEAD:
Cases people to
feel fatigued
STOMACH:
Contributes to obesity
and colon cancer.
Muscles that are not
used become weak
FEET:
Reduced circulation
leads to pooling of
blood in the feet,
NECK:
Fluid retention in the legs during the
day moves to the neck at night &
contributes to sleep apnea.
Stressed neck muscles can lead to
imbalances and pain
HEART:
People with a sedentary lifestyle
are twice as likely to die or develop
diabetes and heart disease when
compared to those who move
frequently
BACK:
Long durations sitting
places stress on the low
back. Over time disc
can compress leading to
pain
Excessive sitting can cause harm
The cumulative dose of sitting
(Straker 2014)
over 75% of the
 Objective
measurement has
found that,
office workday is
spent sitting
 Much of that is accumulated in
unbroken bouts of 30 minutes
 Physical inactivity
is est. to account for
 Excessive
premature morality
sitting
time (after adjusting for
physical activity)
5.5% of all-cause
accounts for
5.9% of all-cause
premature morality
Netherlands Cohort Study - Physical activity, Occupational
sitting time, and Colorectal cancer risk (Simons 2012)

120,852 participants followed 26 years
 ages 55-69 in 1986 - ended 2012

Higher occupational energy expenditure levels and fewer
occupational sitting hours were associated with decreased
hazard ratios for colon cancer.
Australian Workers - Occupational sitting time and Overweight
and Obesity in (Mummery, 2005)
Previous data suggest that activity levels are not changing
sufficiently to explain the increase in obesity
 Cross-sectional self reporting data of 2,496 found
occupational sitting time was independently associated
with overweight and obesity in men

Some individuals have no choice
Video of 800 ton press used in China manufacturing
video
Standing enables work flow

Standing provides greater range of motion and allows more effective use of
vertical space for material presentation and tool location.

Leg and abdominal muscles are utilized when standing therefore circulation and
heart rate increase

Standing increases the ability to handle large forces by enabling leverage.

Standing enables multi-process handling. When standing the worker can easily
walk product from process to process.

Standing reduces space required. No chairs mean half of the footprint per
person, resulting in more compact work cells.
Standing can be dynamic when it is ‘active standing’.
Famous people and stand up desks
 Sir
Winston Churchill
 Ernest Hemingway
 Leonardo Da Vinci
 Virginia Woolf
 Thomas Jefferson
 Donald Rumsfeld
 Charles Dickens
 Benjamin Franklin
Donald Rumsfeld
Sitting enables precision
 People
feel ‘rested’ when
sitting
 Sitting is preferred when
 the work involves detailed or
precision tasks
 highly repetitive tasks
 tasks involving visual inspection
We are becoming sedentary at an early age
 seated work should involve light
forces or weights less than 10
pounds
Benefits of posture variety
 Variation
of posture – regular interruptions of sedentary
time
 Increases circulation
 Reduces discomfort and fatigue
 Increases productivity
 Beneficially associated with biomarkers for chronic
disease
• *(Dainoff 2002) (Roelofs 2002) (Nerhood 1994)
 What
YOUR the cumulative seated dose per day?
 Commuting + work day + after work activities = ?
Take a Stand Study - 2011
 Methods
 Intervention study;
sit to stand (n=24)
vs no changes in
workstation (n=10)
 Base line – 1 wk;
intervention - 4 wks;
follow up - 2 wk
 Removal of
adjustable device
negated
improvements
Standing up on the job - 2016
 Methods
 Validate methods
to measure
standing still vs
seated activity
 Fitbit
 Observational
 Self-reporting
Study at a Navy Work Site
 Decrease
injuries – increase productivity
 Industrial and office ergonomic solutions
 Implemented adjustable workstation 2005-2009
○ 2009 administrative / office survey results
 76 / 80 surveys returned
 70% reported more productivity
 40% had a dramatic decrease in pain / discomfort
 55% had a decrease in pain / discomfort
 100% would recommend adjustable workstation to peers
Study at a Navy Work Site
Study at a Navy Work Site
Study at a Navy Work Site
The results at a Navy work site
Four year project resulted in
$2M savings from Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome
$5M savings from reduced back injuries
Savings does not take implementation into account
Average cost of a 3’
adjustable desk is $650
Average cost of a 3’
adjustable desk retrofit $300
How to do it for free …… (almost)

Design for standing
 Accommodate sitting with a tall cylinder chair and foot rest
Two surface heights
 Monitor / keyboard elevating systems
 Retro fit existing legged surfaces
 Education

Ensures every
worker station is
fitted to every
person
 Empower the workers to stand when feasible
○ How about a standing meeting or a communal printer down the hall!
 Empower the workers to stretch
 Encourage postural awareness
 Stand-up meetings
Conclusion

Enabling workers to change their posture - increases
circulation, utilizes different muscles groups, alters heart
rate, can increase productivity, and decreases fatigue
 Fatigue and discomfort are a precursor to injury

Adjustable workstations allow for changes in posture and
accommodate all the users

Low cost options and custom solutions are available

Future plans to conduct research on topic
IS
Future research

Phase one
 Questioner on occupational sitting, WMSDs, pain / discomfort
 Measure
○ physical activity, blood pressure, cholesterol

Phase two
 Intervention group 1 – sit to stand workstation with leadership
 Intervention group 2 – sit to stand workstation without leadership
 Control group 1 – no intervention
○ Measure
 Heart rate standing vs sitting
 Metabolic rate standing vs sitting
 Perceived pain / discomfort
 Physical activity level, blood pressure, cholesterol
Future research
Ho = Standing for 2 hour per day does
not alter risk factors regardless of
leadership
Ho = Standing for 2 hour per day does
not alter body weight
Ho = Standing for 2 hour per day does
not alter perceived pain / discomfort