If you are concerned about health and physical sense of wellbeing, getting an ergonomic adjustable desk at work is a great way to get yourself on your feet without undermining productivity. But you may worry about how coworkers will respond to an adjustable height standing desk and the site of you standing at work for half the day. Simple things like the ability to see over the divider in a cubicle could cause problems.
The first thing to remember is to discuss it with coworkers and supervisors before you make any significant changes to your workspace. And you’ll probably have to pay for the desk even if everyone at the company supports the experiment. But what about common reactions?
If you’re smart about it, there’s a lot you can do to get coworkers on your side before you switch to a standing desk. Even if you don’t you might not face much opposition. Studies and test cases have shown that people are primarily curious. There are those lone individuals that cherish the relative privacy cubicle walls provide while everyone is seated, but for the most part you are going to get a lot of weird looks from people responding to the fact that you stand out differently, followed by questions about standing desks.
You will probably hear multiple variations of “Why are you standing?”, “Does it actually make you feel better?”, “Doesn’t it make you tired and achy to stand all day?”, and “Doesn’t standing make it harder to actually use your computer and do work?” You can easily explain your experience and point to all the data about how unhealthy sitting for extended periods of time is and how standing is actually much better for you. You may have to deal with some frustration from supervisors if they feel that all the attention is distracting to other workers, but once the hubbub of something new dies down, things should return to normal.
That’s when you can expect the real fireworks. Once people accept that it’s just different, not bizarre or problematic, they will wonder if you are actually feeling better and being more productive. When your boss sees that you are focusing better and you show everyone the happy face that comes from feeling better and sleeping better, their minor curiosity will become outright interest.
The only thing you have to worry about is people who continue to feel that you are disrupting their ability to work by standing at your desk. But as long as you aren’t on a treadmill desk, aren’t making a lot of noise from frequent transitions, and are being a productive team member, this is a minor concern. You may just want to have a plan for this because a disgruntled coworker is unpleasant. But for the most part, as long as you prepare people and ask beforehand, you don’t have to worry too much about negative responses to your ergonomic adjustable sit stand desk. However, you should worry about the distractions that everyone asking you for advice might cause.
