Animator's Paradox: Standing
This page is part of the BA Thesis "The Animator's Paradox" by Lukas Wind (2022)
Contents
Exercises
Quick Standing Posture Tip
Plumb-Line Assessment
Just stand?
The research on prolonged standing at desk jobs is still very scarce. The studies conducted only have small numbers of participants and the results vary. While it probably is the most simple and the most accessible, it should not just replace sitting.
A study from 2015 connected prolonged standing to lower extremity and back disorders, concluding that if we spend 6 hours standing without interruption it might affect our body in the same way as does prolonged sitting.1
Standing with poor posture will most likely lead to health compromises, just like sitting with poor posture. The exercises above should help to analyze our own standing posture.
One of the most optimistic studies suggests that productivity might increase dramatically when switching between standing and sitting at work. The researchers measured an increased productivity of 46% in call center employees over the course of six months who worked at a height adjustable workstation that allowed them to change between sitting and standing. However, this situation resulted in only 1.6 hours less sitting.2
So what now? Get up or sit down? Do both? How often and for how long?
Sources
1 Garcia, M. G., Läubli, T. & Martin, B. J. (2015). Long-Term Muscle Fatigue After Standing Work. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 57(7), 1162–1173. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720815590293
2 Texas A&M University. (2016, May 25). Boosting productivity at work may be simple: Stand up: Research shows 46 percent increase in workplace productivity with use of standing desks. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 20, 2021 from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160525220539.htm
