That office work has it’s pains is a well researched fact: various office related injuries or repetitive motion injuries such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome have been well documented. As most of us a are spending more and more time behind computers problems like:

• neck, shoulder, and lower back pains
• headaches
• irritability
• difficulty sleeping
• deteriorated vision
• eye strain
• eye irritation
• red eyes
• blurred vision

are all becoming part of our jobs.

I have always advocated to clients that having a diverse work environment, diverse in terms of design as well as seating, will benefit communications and help staff to perform their specific tasks at hand. A recent study however even shows that diversity of seating, and better non-seating arrangements will be beneficial for the staff’s health:

“Prolonged time sitting suppresses your immune system, which may increase the risk of cancer and other diseases. And your blood isn’t circulating as it should when you’re sedentary for long periods of time. When blood doesn’t flow thru your veins up to your heart, it could lead to dangerous blood clot. It also has metabolic consequences – increasing your resting blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Researchers say the metabolic effect may explain why the association was strongest for cardiovascular disease mortality in the study.”

Some of these studies date back to the late 1950’s when

“…a study found that people with sedentary jobs (bus drivers) were twice as likely as those with active jobs (mailmen) to develop cardiovascular disease. More recently, extended daily TV watching and time on the computer–which, like desk jobs, involve long periods of time sitting still–have been linked to a greater risk of metabolic syndrome, a constellation of health problems that can lead to diabetes and heart disease.”

Another reason to have standing height tables with bar stools or exercise balls instead of chairs in the office.

Or you could try the Office Walker:

Walk and Code from 8th Light on Vimeo.