What you need to know about the latest standing desk research
Earlier yesterday morning, I caught up on the latest from Hurricane Michael. Gainesville, FL, where I live was fine, but our friends in the panhandle struggled a bit.
I had the TV on ABC’s Good Morning America and to my surprise, Michael Strahan talked about standing desk research!
I couldn’t believe my ears!!!
Can this be true, an ex-NFLer talking my passion?!?!
Then, Time.com’s “magazine cover” flashed with the headline:
“Want a Standing Desk? Show this study to your boss.”
Will this be the one study to put an end to all standing desk debates? Are standing desk jockeys actually getting more done at work and healthier, and not just pushing their health values on their fellow employees?
(And before we get into the details…unless your boss is a researcher or knows how to navigate p-values, then leave them alone).
The article gave this overarching message
- People given standing desks reduced sitting time over a year, and
- Reported improvements in work productivity and fewer work-related symptoms
Standing desks are the solution! Case closed!
These conclusions are true, but there is more to the story, the study, and how we should think about our upcoming years in front of the computer screen.
Here are 5 things you need to know about the latest standing desk research:
1. It’s a Kitchen Sink Intervention
This study followed the basics of most large research studies. The experimental group gets EVERYTHING and the other group gets nothing.
Give a group of people: standing desks, 1:1 coaching, educational workshops, frequent check-ins, motivational posters, fancy vibrating cushions, and pamphlets.
Now compare their progress to others.
What do you think is going to happen?
2. The title “Want a Standing Desk? Show This Study To Your Boss.” is misleading
The ABC news coverage and Time.com article make it appear that the standing desk is the one and only variable responsible for the change. What if that experimental group received everything I described about, but WITHOUT standing desks? What would happen then?
To really test the golden standing desk idea would be to:
- Give one group: the kitchen sink + standing desks
- Give the other group: the kitchen sink + no standing desks
Then, you would be better equipped to figure out standing desks were the secret sauce.
3. Productivity Isn’t Really Affected.
I talked about this elsewhere (Health and Productivity at Work: Are We Using The Right Metrics?), but, while improving productivity always sounds nice, there is no evidence that you are actually changing anything.
The researchers talk about presenteeism (showing up to work and slacking) and absenteeism (calling off too much), but there is a clear disconnect between what the data say and what you hope they imply.
People with standing desks show up to work more, but bosses are interested if you are actually doing things on the daily, not how your attendance is impacted over the year.
These type of results matter more to large companies looking at BIG data. The study and write up implies that, getting a standing desk is going to change how much work you get done each day.
Let me say that again,
“a standing desk isn’t going to miraculously change your work ethic.”
4. Data Were Only Collected 4 Weeks Out Of The Year
This matters more to us nerdy researchers, but it is still important to discuss.
Participants had their sitting time measured when the study started (at baseline), and at 3-, 6-, and 12-months. Basically the researchers measured sitting time at four points in time over the course of a year.
Why should this matter?
We don’t know how much individuals sat during the other 40+ weeks of the year!
But the data are still meaningful right?
Well, maybe…
I suspect reactivity could be at play.
“Hey Johnny Stand-a-lot, it’s time to wear this gadget to measure how much you stand at work because you are part of this standing study. Thanks Johnny, I will see you two more times later this year.”
See the problem here?
I would like to see sitting/standing time in between those measured weeks.
At best, I think we can only say…”this year-long intervention improved standing and other workplace factors during these 4 weeks”
5. Too much emphasis on what people say, instead of what they do
This is the fun part of navigating these large studies with their many, many supplementary tables.
The devil (or the truth) is in the details.
The Time.com article regurgitates what the original article says, but in a digestible way:
“By the end of the trial, they found that people using sit-stand desks were more engaged at work and better at their jobs than their chair-bound peers, with less job-related fatigue, less daily anxiety and higher overall quality of life. They also reported fewer lower back issues than the control group.”
(I added the bold)
An impressive list right?
What you need to know is this: most of these findings are based on Likert scales— subjective rating scales from 1-7 or 1-9, from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
And even when you look at the tables, it is hard to glean anything meaningful for yourself or your boss because these findings don’t translate to everyday application.
(NERD HINT: these are differences of the averages of two groups of people)
So comparing yourself to what the average of a group isn’t useful to you.
Well let’s entertain ourselves and see what’s going on in those mysterious supplemental tables…
Here are the differences that the Time.com article reported on:
- More engaged at work: Intervention score of 4.19 compared to 3.67, how does .52 more engagement translate at work?
- Better at their jobs = 5.51 compared to 5.31, really? This is not meaningful!
- Job-related fatigue = .48 compared to .40? A .08 difference of need less recovery time at work? C’mon we can do better!
- Daily anxiety = Intervention group improved by .05, what does .05 less daily anxiety look like?
- Quality of life = Intervention group improved by .17, what does a .17 better life look like?
Okay, okay….so I want a little crazy with looking up the tables, findings those numbers, and adding my brief commentary.
What would make these findings better?
If some sort of work performance was measured…be it reports completed on time, workshops given, or sales made.
Something.
Some sort of work-related behavior that was observed, measured and reported.
Again, like the point above. These outcomes make it seem like the standing desk magically affected all of these things.
Do you think the extra attention, coaching, and SWAG the participants got would make them like their jobs better, regardless of content (standing desks)?
I would like my job better if I received all the extra attention and goodies for sure!
Should I Still Tell My Boss About This Article?
Of course, you should! There are clear health benefits to moving more and staying active at work.
The problem that I have is…saying standing desks will cure all of your workplace productivity woes is short-sighted.
Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t.
But this study doesn’t show that, because the study reports on what people say, not what they do.
And if your boss buys you a standing desk, will they give you the kitchen sink to go along with it?
If they don’t, do yourself a favor and measure your activity some way during the whole process.
Did you sit less? Take more steps? That’s wonderful!!!
Do you feel better about your job now that you have removed a little risk? Even better!
If need help navigating standing desk land, or have other questions, then drop me a line!
Check out these other article about standing and sitting:
- If Sitting Is So Bad, Should I Stand All Day?
- But Can I Sit At Work?
- Do You Need 10,000 Steps Every Day?
(I love standing desks just like the next person…I mean I created The Standing Initiative after all!)
Just please don’t be that annoying standing desk jockey claiming standing is curing all your work issues.
You are. Not your desk.
Keep moving,
Nick
[/fusion_text][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””]
References
Research Article
Edwardson et al. (2018) Effectiveness of the Stand More AT (SMArT) Work intervention: cluster randomised controlled trial
Time Article:
http://time.com/5420362/standing-desk-health-benefits/
