How to build a perfect standing workstation?

Standing workstations have become vastly more common during the past years. Almost without exceptions offices buy height adjustable desks and all sorts of equipment and accessories for standing workstations, and specially the past “covid years” have got people to invest their home offices as well. However, it isn’t all the same what the standing workstation is like. But how to build a perfect standing workstation? What to take into consideration?

The very first thing when building a standing workstation is of course making sure that the height of the desk is suitable for standing. There are lots and lots of different choices on the market for heigh adjustable desks. At home offices all sorts of different products that can be placed on a regular desk and lift the working surface up to standing level, have become more and more popular. Whatever the choice may be the one key factor is to choose the kind of solution that enables working standing up in a way that arms can rest relaxed. This significantly decreases upper back and shoulder discomfort and pain and reduces the pressure on the joints of arms and hands.

After choosing a proper standing desk solution for the standing workstation, the next thing to do is make sure the computer screen is adjusted to the right height so that both head and neck will be in a proper position. The screen height is optimal when viewed at slightly downwards, it reduces the pressure on the eyes and neck. Separate computer screens are nowadays pretty much height adjustable, but if at the standing desk is only a laptop, it is very important to get an accessory (like Gymba Laptop Stand i.e.) that lifts the laptop screen to optimal height. If done so, it’s recommended to have a separate keyboard as well to ensure that arms and wrists are in ergonomic position.

The third essential thing to take into consideration when building a standing workstation is to think about the surface you stand on and how you stand. Unfortunately, often this aspect hasn’t been taken into consideration at all even though it is just as important as the previous two things. The worst option is to stand statically on a hard surface. Our bodies are not meant to be staying still, they need movement. This leads to the fact that rather quickly standing becomes unpleasant and we start to shift the body weight from side to side, and when on a hard surface it means that we lose good posture. Standing on a hard surface starts also to weigh on our feet faster. If the surface, you stand on, isn’t taken into consideration the standing workstation is often rarely used because working at it doesn’t feel comfortable.

What kind of surface should you then have at the standing workstation? On the market there are a lot of different kinds of mats and boards designed to be used at a standing workstation. Some kind of standing mat is probably the minimum purchase to be made if wanting the standing workstation to be more pleasant. The challenge with standing mats though is that often the standing is too static, too passive, which isn’t ideal from health and ergonomics perspective. (Read more about the difference between static and dynamic standing from health’s point of view here.) Standing on a board instead of a mat changes the standing from static to dynamic, which is good, but the challenge with many boards is that standing on them might be experienced as difficult, which makes it harder to focus on working. So, the best surface is the kind that helps to keep good posture, enables natural movement and is easy and pleasant to stand on. The Gymba Board meets all criteria and is specifically designed to be used at a standing workstation to add ergonomics and activity.

So, when building a perfect standing workstation make sure to take into consideration at least these:

• A height adjustable desk or a solution to be placed on top of a regular desk
  -> optimal position of the upper spine and shoulder line
• A height adjustable computer screen or a laptop stand
  -> optimal position of head and neck

• The surface to stand on
  -> helps maintain good posture and reduces the pressure on the legs making standing pleasant