A work desk isn't just a desk - it's your home away from home. With how much time you spend at your workplace, the setup can have a major impact on your health and wellness, especially if it's not optimized to be ergonomic.
Standing desks have recently boomed in popularity because of their benefits when it comes to reducing the amount of time that is spent sitting, and making sure that the desk is placed at the right height. In fact, standing desks have benefits for physical and mental health.
But nothing is perfect! There are some common problems with standing desks as well. FlexiSpot's standing desks are designed to avoid all of these, but there are plenty of issues that can come from other standing desks. Let's look at some of them.
Common Problems Of Standing Desks
Mechanical Failure
Mechanical failures are one of the most common problems with standing desks. Because standing desks involve the use of motors, it's not uncommon for motors to fail at times. In the worst case scenario, this could happen when the desk is in the middle of a transition, which could result in the desk stopping at an awkward height that is good for neither sitting nor standing.
Sometimes, the fix is easy, but other times, you may have to replace the entire motor, which can be difficult and expensive. If there is any sort of issue with the mechanism, you can check for issues in the cords and wires needed for adjustment. Sometimes, the problem can be fixed by replacing these cords, but other times, it's not that simple.
FlexiSpot's desks are made with top quality motors to make sure that these problems don't arise.
Balance
Another issue that comes up with standing desks is that of balance. Because standing desks can rise up, they may actually be somewhat unstable! While standing-only desks (those that you can't use while sitting) are built to be stable at their specific height, sit-stand desks are meant to work while sitting and standing.
This means that extra structures for stability are not always possible, and this can make the balance of the desk become a problem. This causes problems, since you need a stable desk to make sure that your belongings don't fall over - especially if you have fragile items on it, like a computer.
FlexiSpot's Kana Bamboo Desk is a great option for a standing desk since it comes with an enhanced structure that makes sure that the desk remains stable at every setting. The dual motor system also helps boost the loading capacity which means that you can keep more and heavier items on your desk without worrying about them falling over. The desk also remains stable and sturdy no matter what.
Loud Motors
While motorized standing desks do make the job of adjusting the desk a lot easier, the problem rises when it comes to the motor being used. This is especially true when you consider that most standing desks would be used in offices where multiple people would be sharing a space and a running motor may end up disturbing the people around you.
While some standing desks produce a light hum, others will be straight up irritating to be around when the motor is running. Of course, it wouldn't be loud enough to be compared with construction work, for example, but even a whiny sounding motor can get annoying in an office setting where most people want peace and quiet to get any work done.
In fact, considering that you'd need to adjust your desk every time you switch between sitting and standing, having a whiny motor sound run for a few seconds multiple times a day may just end up winning you a bunch of enemies.
The best desks are clearly the ones that don't produce this noise. The Flexispot Kana Bamboo Desk is one of them, with a motor that produces a sound at a maximum of 50 decibels. While this level is not completely inaudible, it is very quiet and does not cause any disturbances in office spaces.
Desktop Quality
Desktop problems aren't specific to standing desks, since all desk tops are prone to chips and scratches depending on how they are used. But the problem is significantly larger with standing desks that are being moved up and down constantly. Depending on the placement of the desk itself, your desk could get noticeable wear and tear from little use.
The Kana Bamboo Desk has a bamboo desktop that is much more resistant to wear and tear than other types of wood, making it a much better quality desk than others. In fact, on top of being bamboo, the desk is also coated with carbonized lacquer that makes the desktop even more resistant to scratches. It also prevents damage from water and insects, making your desk last much longer.
A bonus quality is that being made of bamboo, this desk is also a much more sustainable option than others.
Height Range
While a standing desk is a good solution for ergonomic problems, it will really only help if the desk is of the right height. If your desk doesn't have the right height range for your body and stature, then you won't really get the benefits you're looking for.
The Kana Bamboo Desk comes in three variants, each with a different height range that makes sure everyone is catered to, regardless of their height.
Causing Damage
With a motorized desk, there is always the risk that the desk can accidentally damage your items. This is especially true if there happens to be something over or under the desk that gets caught as the desk is moving and ultimately ends up getting damaged.
The desk itself can't figure it out on its own after all! If you forget to move your things out of the way, you could be dealing with problems as little as spilt water to serious ones like broken computer parts.
The Kana desk manages this problem as well. Because it comes with an anti-collision feature, it senses when it bumps into something and stops the desk from moving any further. This way, your belongings get protected from damage, even if they are in the way, and you can move your desk to the right height again once you've moved them out of the way.
Adjusting Height
While a standing desk's main feature is the fact that you can adjust the height to whatever works best for you, it's quite a hassle having to do this every single time you want to switch between sitting and standing. After all, if you're busy working, you don't want to have to stand there and fiddle around with your desk just to make sure that it is at the right height.
Spending too much time just adjusting the desk height can get annoying at best, and can throw you out of your tempo and mess with your productivity at worst. It would be so much easier to just stay sitting!
The Kana Bamboo desk provides a solution by coming with an advanced keypad. This lets you enter preset positions that you can adjust your desk to with the tap of a button and thus manage to get your desired height immediately. With this, you only really have to test your desk height once - then you can just use a button to switch between sitting and standing at the correct height for you.
It's No Different From a Sitting Desk
One thing about most people is that forgetting things is a lot easier than remembering them. After all, when you've spent your whole life sitting at a desk, how often would you remember that you can now stand at it as well?
But if you don't actually stand at your standing desk, you would just be wasting your money and not getting any of the benefits out of it.
Of course, you could remember to stand at your desk when you're really feeling the effects of sitting too long, but that doesn't really help when the point is to stand more and sit less!
The Kana desk provides a workaround for this problem as well. The advanced keypad that is built into the desk comes with the option to set up sit-stand reminders. These will alert you throughout the day that you've been sitting for too long and should stand up now. This way, you'll remember that you have to switch between sitting and standing, and thus manage to keep yourself healthy.
There are plenty of problems with standing desks, but not as many as there are with sitting desks. A standing desk is meant to supplement a healthy lifestyle, not make it more difficult, so it's always a good idea to buy a desk that caters to all of these problems.
Flexispot has been dedicated to providing ergonomic solutions to problems, and continues to do so with trendy furniture that helps with good ergonomic practices. A standing desk from Flexispot will definitely provide all the benefits and none of the downsides that are commonly associated with standing desks.
