Ergonomics

Sit-Stand Workstations

Miami's Healthy Miami initiative allows us to offer sit-stand workstations to employees.

Integrating movement and physical activity into the work day is important for supporting employee health and well-being. By avoiding static workstation postures (i.e. sitting for more than 1 hour or standing for more than 4 hours) employees can lessen their risk for many chronic diseases.

Sit-stand desks are one of the many ways to add movement and posture variety into an employee’s workday. While the research is fairly new in this area, below are recommendations to inform your decision to transition to a sit-stand workstation.

Recommendations:

• Discuss any musculoskeletal concerns with a medical provider before, during, and after a workstation transition.
• Sit-stand workstations must easily toggle back and forth between sitting and standing. The keyboard, monitor, and mouse should all move up and down easily.
• A combination of standing and sitting throughout the day is recommended for the most benefit.
• Avoid standing too much too soon. Pay attention to how much time is spent in each position (seated vs. standing) and gradually increase standing duration.
• Research suggests, start with 2 hours of intermittent standing and then gradually build to half the work day (but no more than 4 hours per day).
• Sit-stand desks should be used in addition to regular physical activity and/or exercise, not a substitute.

Purchasing

You should make your request for the sit-stand workstation to your supervisor. The funding is handled at the departmental level, and the decision to provide a sit-stand workstation is at the discretion of the department manager.