Stand-up
routine
Oi,
desk jockey! You're dying, man. DYING! At least that is what everyone
seems to be telling us these days; spend all day sitting at a desk
and your health will suffer. However, not sitting at a desk can be
tricky for some, especially if their job demands it. To that end, we
were interested to take a look at the WorkFit-T Standing Desk from
Ergotron.
No,
this isn't an entirely new replacement desk that will set you back
thousands of pounds. The WorkFit-T is actually an all-in-one unit
that sits happily upon your existing desk, and then gives you the
option to stand or sit while working throughout the day. How?
Unlike
some standing desks, the Ergotron WorkFit-T is completely manual,
meaning you hoist up the work surface yourself when you want to go
from sitting to standing. Fortunately, even those of us with big
chunky laptops or complicated monitor set-ups will be fine here, as
the WorkFit uses tension springs to aid in the lifting and lowering,
so no hard work trying to 'get it up', so to speak.
The unit itself (which comes in white or black) features a front-side keyboard tray which sits flush on your normal desk surface. Everything else goes on top, so even when you are sitting you can benefit from the raised level offered to your screen. No more craning over your laptop and getting a bad back. The two handles to release the locks and adjust the height are situated on either side, and both need to be gently pressed at the same time.
As
the raising and lowering all happens within the same footprint, you
don't have to worry about having a cluttered desk, or the things that
you place off of the WorkFit-T. Nothing gets caught or crushed when
adjusting, and as the motion is slow and steady, even cups of liquids
will be fine.
So what is it actually like to live with? Well, we've been working daily on one for about three weeks now, and we truly have seen the benefits. Not one of us spent the entire day standing up to work, but rather we all settled into a routine of raising the desk to stand at about 11am and working through till lunch, after which we sat for a couple of hours. The great thing is that it doesn't require a commitment either way; you can chop and change depending on your mood, energy, or task at hand.
From this...
As more and more of us find jobs that require long hours of typing on a computer, something like the Ergotron WorkFit-T is ideal. Standing to work isn't tiring, and it certainly doesn't involve awkward stretching and leaning. But by simply standing up you are getting a workout of sorts, and we've certainly felt that happening.
...to this.
Seriously guys, we love this thing. If your job is somewhat monotonous and you can feel your bum changing shape to better fit into an office chair, get one. After getting used to standing up while working (it takes about three days), you'll feel energised and refreshed, knowing that at any point you can slump back into the chair should you wish. Nice.
£310
Visit
www.ergotron.com