Desk setup: To stand or not to stand?

Standing desks have become trendy in the workplace, but studies have cast doubt on their benefits to employee health and safety.

Most employers are not properly incorporating standing desks into the workspace, meaning these newer tools are not as effective in reducing workers comp claims as some may think, according to experts in the field of ergonomics.

When asked about standing desks — or the sit-stand workstations that permit a worker to alternate between the two positions — ergonomist Scott Smith tells the story of a towering former college football player-turned-lawyer who was using one in his office, a workplace Mr. Smith had been called to inspect in his work as director of ergonomics with Aon Risk Consulting.

“He was standing there, his feet 5 feet apart, doing the splits, his neck bent, his head down,” working at his computer, Mr. Smith said. The desk was too low, the man too tall, and he was leaning in and hunched over: all problematic, he said.

Ergonomists such as Mr. Smith, who works remotely in Laguna Niguel, California, but visits clients’ offices to ensure employee workstations — including the keyboard, mouse and chair — are set up correctly, work in loss prevention.

Their goal is to help employers avoid claims that stem from the muscle strains and carpal tunnel issues that have long been commonplace in workers compensation, but they say employers and employees are not using standing desks effectively.

“Every office I have ever visited, I saw postural or equipment setup issues,” said Thomas Hilgen, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based ergonomist and senior vice president and vitality practice leader for integrated casualty consulting with Willis Towers Watson P.L.C.

Sitting is the new smoking

It doesn’t take long in a discussion with experts regarding standing desks for the relatively new adage to pop up: Sitting is the new smoking. Mounting concerns about sedentary workplace safety risks have contributed to the rise of the trend to work standing up, experts say.

Standing desks are marketed by several companies that say such alternative desks transfer weight and pressure from a person’s lower back to their legs, decreasing pain and injuries, according to marketing materials.

They cost $500 to $1,500 per desk, and offering the alternative has become a human resources tool for recruiting and retaining workers, experts say.

“We are seeing that universally everybody wants one,” said Mr. Hilgen. “I compare it to the treadmill at home; at first we are gung-ho about using every day and then, in two weeks, it’s every other day. Two months later, we use it to hang up the jeans we wore that day.”

“Everybody wants something new, the latest, greatest sit-stand desk,” said Mr. Smith. “But does it help?”

Not always, experts say.

“They are a novelty,” said Mr. Smith, adding that when office chairs became more ergonomically sound and sophisticated — and expensive — workers failed to adjust them properly, as with the standing desks, and injuries continued.

“It’s amazing to me how many times people have the ability to adjust their space but don’t have the knowledge or time to find out how to set up their workstation,” said Lee Wendel, Bloomington, Minnesota-based loss prevention technical leader with SFM Mutual Insurance Co.

Few benefits found

But there is little proof standing desks are better for workers who sit in front of a computer all day, experts say.

A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2016 found “little evidence” that standing desks benefit health. A study published in 2017 in the International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organizations revealed the benefits of standing workstations to be “modest.”

“That doesn’t really surprise me,” said Wayne Maynard, Boston-based product director in workers compensation, with a specialty in ergonomics, for Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.

“I have not seen any studies that say (standing desks) reduce injuries,” said Mr. Smith. “This is not the end-all cure.”

Several workers compensation insurers said they do not track claim activity related to standing desks and that musculoskeletal injuries are typically not classified by cause.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration does not have specific standards that apply to computer workstations, but some state workplace safety regulators have weighed in on the sitting versus standing debate.

“Standing for long periods of time can cause health problems, too,” the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration said on its website. “Maintaining the same standing posture for long periods of time places the muscles in a constant state of contraction. Standing for too long when you are working can stress your back because muscle groups in your legs, hips, back and neck are tensed.”

Standing has transferred the pain to legs, hips and feet, and if the height of the standing desk is incorrect, shoulder and neck pain ensue just as they would with a traditional seated desk setup, experts say.

“For the people who don’t use it properly, you will get the same musculoskeletal disorders and discomfort and pain and injuries (as with sitting),” said Mr. Hilgen.

“We see poor posture even when standing,” said Woody Dwyer, Hartford, Connecticut-based vice president for workers compensation risk control for Travelers Cos. Inc. “If you sit poorly with your wrists bent (or) you stand poorly with your wrists bent, it doesn’t matter if you are sitting or standing.”