With longer working days, lunch meetings and more time glued to our computers we have obviously become a more stagnant nation of workers than we were 50 years ago.
Instead of stretching our legs on the commute into work, taking proper lunch breaks and strolling to see colleagues in different parts of the building to communicate, we now spend hours in our cars driving to the office, work through meal times and use email to message people without having to move around. It’s no wonder really that boffins have been assessing the impact of all of this sitting around and perhaps even less of a surprise that they have found it’s not very good for our health.
An academic study recently published has found that prolonged sitting on our ever increasing behinds increases the risk of stroke, heart problems, diabetes and cancer. And in a bid to knock the risks on the head the research recommends that people should spend at least two, ideally four, hours a day standing rather than sitting at their desks.
Up and down the country you can hear the collective horror of business bosses whose zealous health and safety staff are readying themselves to advise bottom breaks as well as screen breaks in order to protect the health of the workforce. While in the long-run the cost of office chairs might be saved, investment will need to be made into ‘standing desks’ where workers can toil away in a healthier position than resting on their posterior.
But every cloud has a silver lining; managers can at least look forward to making better use of office space – after all, standing employees will take up less room than sitting ones – meaning in the future when we find ourselves standing all day, they will be able to cram more of us into the office or downsize and save on rent. That is, of course, until a study finds the healthiest form of working is while using a treadmill – now that will be pricey!