The Best Standing Desks in Melbourne
Choosing a standing desk
There is no shortage of standing desks on the market, which doesn't make it easy for you to choose one! In our work as ergonomic consultants we've played around with just about all of the different brands available in Australia. At the end of the day, if a sit-stand desk rises up and down, it essentially does the same thing as the next one. However, if you're going to invest the money and upgrade your office to a standing desk, you might as well make sure the standing desk you've purchased is going to last the test of time.
Here are the key reasons why we recommended the Erg1 standing desks:
Why Sit-Stand?
Sitting is an extremely easy activity on the body from an energy output perspective. Despite this, we see many office workers who have developed overuse injures as a result of sitting for prolonged periods. The reason for this is that prolonged postures such as sitting result in small physical stresses accumulating in the same areas continuously.
With this in mind, an obvious way to address this problem to is to avoid prolonged sitting. That is where standing desks come. Standing desks allow the user to switch between sitting and standing regularly throughout the day, changing where physical strain accumulates throughout the body, thereby helping to prevent overuse injuries from occurring.
Keep in mind however, that standing is also a prolonged posture. As such, unless a medical or health professional has advised you to stand for prolonged periods to treat a specific condition, the best way to get the most out of your standing desk is to regularly switch between sitting and standing throughout the day.
There is no shortage of standing desks on the market, which doesn't make it easy for you to choose one! In our work as ergonomic consultants we've played around with just about all of the different brands available in Australia. At the end of the day, if a sit-stand desk rises up and down, it essentially does the same thing as the next one. However, if you're going to invest the money and upgrade your office to a standing desk, you might as well make sure the standing desk you've purchased is going to last the test of time.
Here are the key reasons why we recommended the Erg1 standing desks:
- Warranty - Erg1 standing desks have an industry leading 10 year warranty on all components, including the frame, electronics and motors. To our knowledge, there is no standing desk in Australia that has a longer warranty, which is a great indicator of quality.
- Stability - There will always be a little bit of wobble when working from a standing position. That's just what happens when telescopic legs extend. However, too much wobble, and the standing function becomes useless. The Erg1 standing desks have minimal wobble when standing which is perfect.
- Height range - It is important that the height range of your standing desk goes lower enough for you to be able to work in sitting with your feet firmly planted on the ground, and high enough that you're not leaning forwards in standing. The Erg1 standing desks have a huge height range of 60cm - 125cm, making them suitable for users between the heights of 145cm - 220cm.
- Smoothness / noise - The noise a standing desk makes when it moves up and down is an indication of the quality of the linear actuators and motors in the legs. The quality of the motors, and how the electrical components of the desk interact with each motor, determines how smoothly the desk moves. The Erg1 standing desks only generate 40db of noise when moving (which is low), rise at 36mm/sec, and easily lift 140kg, all indicating amazing quality linear actuators and motors.
Why Sit-Stand?
Sitting is an extremely easy activity on the body from an energy output perspective. Despite this, we see many office workers who have developed overuse injures as a result of sitting for prolonged periods. The reason for this is that prolonged postures such as sitting result in small physical stresses accumulating in the same areas continuously.
With this in mind, an obvious way to address this problem to is to avoid prolonged sitting. That is where standing desks come. Standing desks allow the user to switch between sitting and standing regularly throughout the day, changing where physical strain accumulates throughout the body, thereby helping to prevent overuse injuries from occurring.
Keep in mind however, that standing is also a prolonged posture. As such, unless a medical or health professional has advised you to stand for prolonged periods to treat a specific condition, the best way to get the most out of your standing desk is to regularly switch between sitting and standing throughout the day.
Our Recommended Standing Desks
Standing desks or on the desk sit-stand desk converters?
Where practical, we recommend complete sit-stand desk units to our clients, as opposed to the on-desk standing desk options that are available. The reasons for this include:
With all of this said, the reality is that sometimes you are unable to modify your existing workspace. In such circumstances, sit stand workstation converters are the next best option. Please feel free to contact us if you would like our assistance in selecting the correct sit stand workstation converter for your employees.
- A lot of people use sit-stand desks because they have a back or neck injury. Leaning forwards and exerting force through an injured back or neck to raise an on-desk sit-stand desk is not recommended.
- On-desk units tend to cramp your working environment, making it very difficult and uncomfortable to do any handwriting or keep your workspace organised. A cramped workspace encourages you to sit further away from the desk, making it very difficult to make the most of their chair, as well as increasing the likelihood of pain or discomfort developing due to leaning forwards.
- The keyboard tray on many on-desk units provides inadequate space for the keyboard and mouse to be positioned correctly. This tends to result in increased shrugging of the shoulders, potentially leading to neck and shoulder pain.
- The height range of many on-desk units is inadequate for users who are above 175cm in height. This is because the keyboard trays often do not rise high enough.
- The on-desk unit increases the static height of the desk when sitting. The average office desk in Australia is already too high for the majority of people. The additional height increases the likelihood of shoulder and neck discomfort, due to the need to hunch the shoulders to get the forearms parallel with the desktop. It also increases the likelihood of back pain developing, as the individual is more likely to lean forwards.
- Electric sit-stand desks are easier to use than on-desk units, which makes them more likely to be used.
With all of this said, the reality is that sometimes you are unable to modify your existing workspace. In such circumstances, sit stand workstation converters are the next best option. Please feel free to contact us if you would like our assistance in selecting the correct sit stand workstation converter for your employees.
