My Standing Desk Story And What I Have Learned

My Standing Desk Story 

Not too long ago I started a new job at a retail display company in Oceanside California. On the day of the interview, while on a tour of the facility, I noticed a great deal of people at the company standing at elevated desks and lacking traditional office chairs of any kind.

I'm a pretty open minded guy, but I wondered if this was some type of sweatshop where upper management had decided to punish employees by committing them to 8+ hours of standing at their stations or if rough economic times had forced individuals to sell their office chairs to help keep the lights on. I then came to realize that even upper management was standing at their desks. Had the upper management attempted to be martyrs and demonstrate their devotion to some cause?

After the interview, I arrived home. When my wife asked me about the company all I honestly could say was "Well, they do a lot of standing around." to which she replied "Well that's not good."

I was offered the position and decided to accept because I genuinely liked some of the people and challenge the position offered - standing or not.

After about a week on the job, my co-workers encouraged me to stand while I work. I wasn't opposed to the idea because I noticed that someone at a standing desk is much more approachable than when they are sitting and have their heads buried in a computer screen.

I wondered if I could stand for 8 to 10 hours while I work. This seemed like a pretty big deal. A few days later, one of my co-workers brought me a Standee (It's our version of a bamboo standing desk).

Day 1-  was a bit strange while I got used to it.

Day 2- I was a bit sore in my back and legs

Day 3- The soreness began to dissipate

Day 4- I noticed myself standing much more while not at work and even while watching some occasional tv at home.

Day 5- I suspect my muscles had adjusted to the new posture, and I felt like I had a lot more energy throughout the day.

It has now been a month, and I rarely ever sit down at work. I stand almost all day at my workstation and with an ironic twist, find sitting to be somewhat uncomfortable for more than 30 minutes at a time. Soreness and exhaustion that I had often dealt with over the years seemed to be gone too. I think there's something to this standing and working thing.

So as the marketing guy for Standee, I can honestly say that I stand behind the product and the concept (pun intended).