Let’s talk about the benefits of standing desks for home offices.
Before I became a full-time WFH writer, I was a waitress. I had been waitressing on and off for many years, ever since I squeezed my way into the food service industry the summer after my freshman year in college.
In hindsight it seems obvious. But it was only after I started working from home full-time that I realized how sedentary my new profession was. Especially in comparison to waitressing.
A waitress or waiter is on their feet moving for almost ALL of their work day – 97 percent of their workday, to be precise, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. I went from that to SITTING at a desk for six to eight hours a day, EVERY DAY.
If you too are working from home the odds of your being sedentary are high. Research on the association between working from home and sedentary behaviors published in 2023 in BMC Public Health found that “individuals that WFH show higher odds of sedentary behaviors exceeding eight hours/day.”
That’s not just true if you are switching from a more active job as I did. The BMC Public Health study reports that working from home is associated “with greater volume and intensity of work and thus a longer and heavier workday compared to conventional work.” In other words, working from home in itself generally involves more time sitting.
Prolonged physical inactivity is linked to a range of illnesses and an overall increased risk of mortality. This makes the characteristically sedentary nature of the WFH lifestyle a big concern.
But how best to counter all that sitting?
One suggested way to mitigate the health risks associated with sedentary work is to use a standing desk. But is this really the best way?
What are the benefits of standing desks for home offices?
Introduction to the standing desk
• What is a standing desk?
• A brief history of standing desks
• The increase in sedentary work
• Advantages (and disadvantages) of standing while working
Integrating a Standing Desk into Your Home Office
• Should you buy a standing desk?
• How much should a standing desk cost?
• Brands to consider
• How to choose the right standing desk for your home office
• Don't forget about wall outlets
Introduction to the Standing Desk
What is a standing desk?
The common term for any desk that allows work to be done while standing is simply “standing desk.” Beneath that umbrella there are some distinctions.
Height-adjustable desk. Today, “standing desk” most often refers to a height-adjustable desk also known as a “sit-stand” or “sit-to-stand” desk. The height of such a desk is typically changed by means of an electronic motor that allows the desk to be easily raised to standing height or lowered to seated height. Height-adjustable desks can also be raised and lowered pneumatically or by hand-crank.
Stationary standing desk. Still available, but less common today, historically a standing desk would have been a fixed-height or stationary desk, one designed to permit “writing, reading or drawing while standing up or while sitting on a high stool,” writes Wikipedia. DIY standing desks commonly wind up being fixed-height, providing only the option of remaining standing throughout the workday.
Standing desk converters. Standing desk converters offer a third option. Converters sit on top of an existing desk providing a secondary, higher (and often portable) work surface. Reviews of standing desk converters are mixed, however. Arguing in favor, Wirecutter (a product recommendation service from The New York Times) declares that for those on a strict budget (or on the fence) standing desk converters “offer more stability and a better height-adjustment range than any budget standing desk.” Arguing against, Michigan-based standing desk manufacturer, The Standing Desk, assesses them as poor substitutes for “real” and comparably priced, height-adjustable desks.
A brief history of standing desks
In the 2000s, standing desks emerged as a top wellness benefit at many companies giving them the appearance of something new and trendy.
According to the 2019 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) article, “Employers Boost Benefits to Win and Keep Top Talent,” the “largest increase in any wellness benefit” offered by employers “over the past five years has been the purchase of standing desks.” The SHRM goes on to report that 60 percent of respondents to their 2019 Employee Benefits survey reported providing their employees with standing desks or subsidizing “the cost of switching from a sitting desk to a standing desk.”
But standing desks, even height-adjustable desks, are not a new invention. The world’s first standing computer desk may be a relatively recent contrivance – dated to 1998 – but there is evidence of standing desks in general as far back as the 1400s. Even height-adjustable desks have been around for some time, reports The New York Times in the 2014 article, “Who Made That Standing Desk?” Evidence of the existence of height-adjustable desks in the 1800s is supported by 19th century patent filings.
Health concerns associated with prolonged sitting are also not new. In the late-1700s, English minister Job Orton, an early proponent of standing desks, cautioned: “A sedentary life may be injurious.” Similar early warnings against sitting have been attributed to others, such as Swiss physician Samuel-Auguste Tissot (1728-1797) and American minister Ebenezer Porter (1772 -1834), though the attribution to Porter is oddly posthumous. (That is commitment to an active lifestyle!)
The increase in sedentary work
What is new is the growth in jobs that are sedentary or require only light activity.
According to a 2018 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association over the past 50 years labor-saving technologies (including the desktop computer) have made the workplace increasingly sedentary. The study reports:
Sedentary jobs have increased 83% since 1950; furthermore, highly sedentary service jobs now account for 43% of all US jobs. Employees working in office jobs spend more than 89% of their time sitting, placing them at increased risk for inactivity-related pathologies and in need of interventions targeting hazardous sedentary work time.
In a 2020 study titled, “Sedentary Lifestyle: Overview of Updated Evidence of Potential Health Risks,” researchers from Jeju National University Hospital in Korea listed “inactivity-related pathologies” known to be associated with sedentary behaviors:
Sedentary behaviors have wide-ranging adverse impacts on the human body including increased all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, cancer risk, and risks of metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia; musculoskeletal disorders such as arthralgia and osteoporosis; depression; and, cognitive impairment.
Yikes!
Advantages (and disadvantages) of standing while working
Though there are many studies substantiating the health risks of a sedentary lifestyle, there are few proving standing desks to be the cure. Moreover, detriments of prolonged standing have also been identified and added to warnings about the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting.
For instance, online articles by health information provider, Healthline, and by the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin identify improved circulation; reduced back pain; improved posture; increased energy, productivity, focus, and overall mood; higher caloric burn rates; and other possible benefits of standing desk use.
But the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin also cautions that it’s not practical to stand for every task and that “[s]tanding for a long time with your knees locked or wearing heels can cause stress to your legs and even your lower back.”
The New York Times article mentioned above also ends with a warning about prolonged standing. The article cites Cornell University professor (now professor emeritus) Alan Hedge, a scholar of workplace ergonomics. Dr. Hedge observes that “[m]any people who use standing desks end up leaning awkwardly as they work.” He further cautions that, though the problems may be different, like too much sitting, too much standing can also cause health problems including varicose veins and musculoskeletal injuries.
To the extent that we tend to move more when standing, standing desks may help combat the inactivity that is “linked to a host of chronic diseases,” and to “musculoskeletal discomfort,” reports Buy Side (a reviews and recommendations publication of the The Wall Street Journal). However, in their 2022 review of standing desks Buy Side points out that prolonged standing is also quite bad for you with consequences that may include “‘preterm birth, varicose veins and lower back pain.’”
In its own 2024 review of standing desks, Wirecutter likewise notes the health risks of prolonged standing including “degenerative joint damage, muscle injury, and circulatory diseases, such as venous disorders, increased stroke risk, and carotid atherosclerosis.”
More recent and more temperate assessments of the benefits of standing desks concur. Health and wellness benefits are not obtained from standing alone, but from being able to go back and forth between sitting and standing throughout the workday.
Integrating a Standing Desk into Your Home Office
Should you buy a standing desk?
While neither prolonged sitting nor prolonged standing are desirable, there are still benefits to standing desks – specifically height-adjustable desks – which might encourage you to purchase one for your home office. Height-adjustable desks shine when it comes to ergonomics.
They can be customized to your height. A standard seated desk height is fixed at 29″ to 30″ from floor to table top. The height of a height-adjustable desk can be customized to fit YOU with ergonomic precision.
They can be adjusted to fit other users. You can adjust that same desk with the same precision to fit other users. This can help you make good use of limited space while ensuring the comfort of anyone else who might use your home office.
Their height can be optimized for specific tasks. You can flexibly change your desk’s height not only for the purpose of alternating between users or alternating between sitting and standing, but also to make adjustments – small adjustments – that better position your desk for specific tasks. This can help you maintain a neutral posture or good wrist position as you use different tools or engage in different types of work, another ergonomic boon.
But how to go about choosing a height-adjustable desk?
Here’s some guidance on selecting the right standing desk for your space and needs.
How much should a standing desk cost?
Standing desks may not be the pricey ergonomic office furniture you think.
According to The Standing Desk, a stationary or fixed standing desk costs between $100 and $600 while a height-adjustable desk, a “real” sit-to-stand workstation, runs from $150 to $2000.
Wisconsin-based office furniture dealer BTOD (for “Beyond the Office Door”) notes that the cost of “electronic standing desks” depends on “adjustment range, weight capacity, speed, and materials used” among other specifications, but generally ranges from $349 for an entry level standing desk base to $2,000-$3,000 for a higher end model.
The Buy Side review of standing desks mentioned above recommends one $4000-plus option from Copeland Furniture, but the other adjustable-height desks featured by Buy Side range in price from $599 to $999. Similarly, all the desks recommended in the Wirecutter review of standing desks are priced between $499 and $900 dollars.
Tech Radar, an online publisher of tech product news and reviews, featured motorized height-adjustable desks for as little as $329.99 in a recent article while a review of standing desks by online consumer electronics and technology products review, news, and information resource, Tom’s Guide included motorized height-adjustable desks for as little as $129.99.
Be careful when it comes to budget options though. Wirecutter warns buyers away from “inexpensive standing desks” having found that those with “seemingly reasonable price tags of $200 to $500 were invariably accompanied by major flaws.” Buy Side echoes this warning, cautioning, “Just because you can now find an electric sit-stand on Amazon for under $150 doesn’t mean it’s a smart buy.”
Brands to consider
If you are considering purchasing a standing desk for the first time, the number of choices may be overwhelming. Models from UPLIFT Desk, Branch, and Vari received top marks from Buy Side, Wirecutter, Tom’s Guide, and TechRadar in their most recent reviews.
UPLIFT Desk
Founded in 2002 by CEO Jon Paulsen, a mechanical engineer and Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE), UPLIFT Desk pursues a mission of providing “the best selection of beautiful, functional, sustainable, and affordable standing desks and ergonomic office furniture.” As noted on their website, UPLIFT Desk offers “innovative product designs, direct to consumer pricing, same day shipping,” two free accessories with every desk, free 30 day returns (including free return shipping within the contiguous United States), and a 15-year warranty.
Buy Side selected the UPLIFT 24-inch Deep Standing Desk as their top choice for tight spaces or a second workstation in their 2022 review. The UPLIFT V2 Standing Desk was Wirecutter’s overall top pick in their 2024 review and has been their top pick “for years.” Tom’s Guide deemed the UPLIFT V2 as best for customization (e.g., options in desk tops, frames, and other accessories) in 2024 while TechRadar judged the UPLIFT V2 as best for accessories.
Branch
Branch was founded in 2018 by CEO Greg Hayes whose previous experience furnishing offices for “a commercial real estate startup” acquainted him with the challenge of finding an office furniture company that offered affordable, high-quality furniture and top notch end-to-end service (including the ability to trade in used furniture). Like UPLIFT Desk, Branch sells direct to consumers helping customers save “up to 50% compared to office furniture of comparable quality,” according to Branch’s website.
Branch standing desks are noted for their “wide adjustability” by Buy Side. The Branch Duo Standing Desk is described as “also great” by Wirecutter, falling just outside their top three picks in their 2024 review. Tom’s Guide selects the Branch Duo Standing Desk as the best compact standing desk of 2024 and TechRadar as the best “minimalist” standing desk of 2024.
Vari
Founded in 2013 by CEO Jason McCann, “workspace innovation company” Vari (formerly VariDesk) began with the creation of a standing desk converter. Like UPLIFT Desk and Branch, Vari uses a direct-to-consumer business model and seeks to provide its customers with “speed, simplicity, and flexibility” in office furniture.
Vari doesn’t get a mention in the 2022 Buy Side article, but Tom’s Guide rates the Vari Electric Desk as best overall in 2024 and TechRadar describes the Vari Electric Desk as “a great choice for anyone looking for a quality desk that is quick and easy to set up.” Meanwhile, Wirecutter found the Vari Electric Standing Desk to be the sturdiest they tested, naming it among other “good standing desks” though noting its more limited options for customization and comparatively shorter warranty.
Narrowing your options to an established, reputable, and generally well-regarded brand like UPLIFT Desk, Branch, and Vari is a solid place to start.
If you'd like to take a deeper dive into standing desk options and specifications, I encourage you to read the reviews cited above for yourself. I have already linked to each of them, but here's the list to make it easy:
"How to Choose the Right Adjustable Standing Desk for Your Home Office" in Buy Side. (Not updated since June 2022, the reviews need a refresh, but the overall article still contains useful information.)
The following reviews are all from 2024:
"The Best Standing Desks" published by Wirecutter.
"Best standing desks in 2024: April top picks" published by Tom's Guide.
"Best standing desks of 2024" published by TechRadar.
How to choose the right standing desk for your home office
If you do decide to invest in a standing desk here are some key things to consider in order to ensure you desk is right for your home office and for you.
Overall size
There is no difference in the basic footprint of a standing desk and a seated desk. But as with any desk you will need to assess your needs and your available space. Make sure to allow for a chair or stool as well as room to move around your desk.
Worktop size
Make sure your work surface comfortably accommodates a desktop or laptop computer and the other essentials of your job.
To give you some idea of the space you may need, my two 24" x 47" desks (pushed together to form an "L") give me roughly 16 square feet of desktop, slightly more than a single rectangular 30" x 72" desk.
Between my laptop (or, sometimes, laptops) desk accessories, books, notebooks, and snacks, I need every bit of that space.
The TechRadar article includes a useful graphic of “ergonomic work zones” that might help you assess your required worktop size.
Height
If buying a height-adjustable desk, make sure you know your prospective desk’s minimum and maximum height. Most height-adjustable desks have a range of 25 to 50 inches, says Tom’s Guide.
To estimate the minimum and maximum height you may need, Buy Side recommends, "If you’re under 5 feet 4 inches, look for one that adjusts down to at least 23 inches. Anyone taller than 6 feet 6 inches should make sure the desk goes up to at least 50 inches."
Wirecutter suggests the following as a "fairly accurate" way to gage minimum and maximum height. Divide your height in inches by 2.5 to "figure out how tall a desk should be when you’re sitting." Then "multiply your height in inches by 0.6 to get a close approximation of how high you’d need a standing desk to go."
“It’s best to find your height preferences and consider your ergonomic setup” before finalizing your choice of standing desk suggests Wirecutter. Make certain that sitting or standing your arms are able to rest at a 90-degree angle while typing or writing. Also, make sure that your chosen desk adjusts quietly, smoothly, and accurately.
Weight capacity
On average, standing desks support 100 to 300 pounds. For most of us working from home, that will be more than adequate. “Even a setup with multiple monitors, a tower PC, large speakers, and typical computer accessories would add up to only about 100 pounds,” writes Wirecutter.
Nonetheless, check the weight limitations of the desk you are interested in and make certain it is able to safely support the weight of your equipment and accessories. Remember to factor in the weight of the desktop itself.
Keypad design
You’ll want a control pad that is intuitive to use and responds quickly to input.
Wirecutter recommends one with at least four memory presets to save preferred heights. This will be especially handy if two people work in your home office; each person will be able to save their preferred heights for standing and for sitting.
Stability
The higher you raise a standing desk, the more likely it is to wobble, particularly if its loaded with heavy items. To test stability at height, you’ll need to check out standing desks in person. Raise the desk to “its maximum height and then [rock] it back and forth to see how it manages,” recommends Tom’s Guide.
If ordering online, you won’t be able to give your desk the wobble test until it arrives and is assembled, which brings us to …
Shipping, assembly, and return
“For buyers in the continental US, a new desk should ship for free and be delivered within a week,” writes Wirecutter. Look for retailers who offer a least 30-day refunds and free return shipping.
As for assembly, Tom’s Guide notes that all the models they tested “came with the requisite screws, Allen wrenches, and clear instruction manuals.” And while some took longer to assemble than others many could be assembled by one person in 30 minutes or less.
Warranty
“Anything with a motor can break” Buy Side rightly observes. And a good quality, fully adjustable, height programmable desk, while perhaps cheaper than expected, is still likely a $500 investment … at least.
Look for a long warranty – 5 years minimum – and good customer service.
UPLIFT Desk offers a 15 year warranty with limited exceptions on all its products.
Branch offers 2 to 10 year warranties overall, but a 10 year warranty on the Branch Duo Standing Desk highlighted above.
Vari offers 3 to 10 year warranties on its standing desks, 5 on the Vari Electric Standing Desk model noted above.
Accessories and customization
A good range of accessories and customization choices can enhance the appeal of a standing desk. Options can include a variety of desktop sizes and materials, various frame colors, cord control, key pad upgrades, and others. Here are a couple to pay attention to:
Grommets. Grommets are circular cutouts that allow you to run cords and cables through your desktop. They can be useful for keeping your desk tidy, but they also take up desk space. With some desks grommets are standard; with others they are an upgrade.
Integrated USB ports. Both Tom’s Guide and TechRadar took note of the Flexispot E7 height-adjustable desk for its built-in wireless charger, which allowed for the charging of smartphones and other devices while working. The Tom’s Guide review described the integrated USB port as a favorite feature and one that it wished “more standing desks would adopt.”
It's worth mentioning that TechRadar ranked the FlexiSpot E7 standing desk best overall and Tom's Guide described it as the desk with the best features.
Coming in under $500 the FlexiSpot E7 might be a good "budget" standing-desk pick. Wirecutter did identify stability as an issue with a different FlexiSpot model - the FlexiSpot E5 - so investigate the E7's steadiness before buying.
That said, the E7 does come with a generous 15-year warranty on "all metal and mechanical parts and components, including motors and electrical components" indicating FlexiSpot's faith in their product. (The E5 model comes with a 10-year warranty.)
Anti-collision technology. Anti-collision technology refers to sensors that detect children, pets, your knees, and other objects in the path of a descending desk. This feature might be especially important in a home office, though Wirecutter gives the impression that reliable anti-collision technology hasn’t quite arrived.
Don’t forget about wall outlets
Motorized height-adjustable desks need power in order to work.
In my article, “21 Essentials For Your Home Workspace (Prioritized!),” I encouraged you to count your wall outlets before you started shopping for home office tech. Likewise, before you buy that fully adjustable, height programmable, electronically controlled desk of your dreams, take a good look at your chosen workspace and make sure wall outlets are sufficient and located where needed.
If not, and your heart is set on a height-adjustable desk, you can still consider a hand-crank or pneumatic desk. Neither requires electricity.
If an electronic height-adjustable desk is in the cards, don’t forget a surge protector.
Final thoughts
In the years ahead, the demand for standing desks is forecast to grow.
Market research company Business Research Insights valued the global standing desk market at 6.65 billion in 2022 and projects the market to nearly double in value to 12.87 billion by 2031.
And claims of the ergonomic benefits of height-adjustable desks seem well-founded.
So if you want a desk that encourages you to move more and allows you to attain optimally stress free sitting and standing postures regardless of the task you are engaged in, a height-adjustable desk could be just the ticket.
Just remember to give your body time to adjust to your new routine of sitting and standing.
Citing a post on The Standing Desk website, which reports that ergonomists "recommend standing about 5-15 minutes out of every hour when using a standing desk," the Tom's Guide article and others caution that a routine of alternate sitting and standing work is something to build up to. Standing 5-15 minutes every hour means "you’d be standing for up to two hours each day during an 8-hour work day," Tom's Guide points out.
Initially, this made me laugh. I used to be on my feet for 14 hours straight when working a double waitressing. (You know what I'm talking about fellow servers.) But given the amount of sitting I have been doing lately, I now wonder if two hours might feel tough.
And remember that standing alone is not the cure for sitting. Moving is.
At the moment, I’m not troubled by ergonomic deficiencies. I work comfortably at my Zinus desk. Too comfortably! I might consider a standing desk as a second work station … a place where I can stand while thumbing through my dictionary and other reference materials. But I’ll keep my conventional seated desk (at least for now) and continue to set my timer and learn the habit of taking regular breaks, getting up from my desk every half-hour and engaging in five minutes of light exercise. Or trying to.
If you have any questions about standing desks (or, better yet, own one) BE SURE to LET ME KNOW in the comments below. I’ll get right back to you.
After my five minute break.