Now’s the time to invest in your team’s home office setup
A direct investment in their long-term focus and well-being…
2020 has taught us that life can change radically, from one week to the next. We know businesses are defined in times of disruption, and we’ve learned that employees need a home office setup that protects their focus and well-being through these times. So regardless of what the headlines read, and what eras we go through, your entire team has the support needed to produce. Their energy is your lifeforce, especially when your team is small.
Flexible or remote working is no longer just a “perk” but a key part of your risk management. The key is ergonomics.
The ergonomic home office: a small business owner’s hedge against stress, distraction, and chronic back pain
Help your employees protect their focus. For people with pets, spouses, or children in the house, a more professional setup is an invaluable shield against distraction.
A home office helps your teammates maintain a boundary between “work” and “life” and prevent burn out. Have some of your people become much less engaged than they were in the office? Check out this article from Occupational Health & Safety: Work from Home Burnout? It’s Real, and It’s Common Nowadays — though we’re all at risk, work-from-home “newbies” are typically in greater danger of burning out. A sleek, ergonomic setup can help by acting as a physical queue to switch gears into and out of work mode.
An ergonomic desk also helps prevent serious Repetitive Stress/Strain Injuries (RSIs) and Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) like carpal tunnel syndrome and back pain. Without a “legit” setup, even work-from-home pros fall prey to ergonomic “sins” like working slouched into the couch or hunched over their laptop at the dining room table. The problem is, by working in cramped up, unnatural, un-“neutral” postures, day in and out, your employees put their bodies at serious risk of developing insidious RSIs and MSDs that are costly to relieve — in dollars, health, and productivity. Check out EHS Today’s article How Ergonomics Impacts the Cost of Doing Business — author and ergo professional Cynthia Roth writes, “In difficult economic times, ergonomics programs can help businesses cut costs, reduce workers’ compensation claims and increase productivity.”
An investment in each of your employee’s home office setup is a long-game investment in their focus and well-being. An investment that pays dividends of output, happiness, and job satisfaction, regardless of how volatile the times.
Did you wind up with unexpected “work from home” savings? Why not invest in your team’s home offices?
“…a typical employer can save about $11,000/year for every person who works remotely half of the time.”-Kate Lister, President of Global Workplace Analytics
A recent Global Workplace Analytics report calculates an average savings of $11,000 per part-time role transitioned from in-office to remote working. This, thanks to overhead savings like lower real estate, equipment, and supply expenses, or “non-employee spending.” What does your balance sheet look like? Why not invest a portion of these savings into each employee’s home office — to protect their focus and health for the long-haul, and give them the ability to thrive on the home front, whenever they need to.
Start with a standing desk — the centerpiece of an ergonomic home office
And the biggest bang for your buck if you want to start with just one purchase.
We have two pieces of advice on standing desks. First, pick a sit stand height adjustable one rather than a fixed-height one. Sit stand desks make the “switch” to a “standing” easier and more enjoyable. We’ll explain how in the next section. Second, focus on pneumatic sit stand desks, specifically, not electric ones. Pneumatic desks make for longer-term, more cost-effective purchases on account of their dependable design. And their ease of use is unmatched. So you can be sure your team will actually use the product — and not only that but enjoy the heck out of it.
One note: If you’ve considered desktop converters as a less expensive, more non-committal way to give your team the sit-stand function of a standing desk, you may want to read this: The 3 things you’ll wish you knew about standing desk converters before you bought yours. Or watch our 30-second video: People want Standing Desks Not Desktop Converters. — converters are awkward, ugly, and ergonomically questionable. Fun fact: our Ändern and Lüften pneumatic desks are priced comparably to the industry’s best desktop converters, too.
Why your teammates will have more success with a height-adjustable (or “sit stand”) standing desk than a fixed-height one
What’s the difference? Just as the names imply: a height-adjustable desk goes “up” and “down,” while a fixed-height standing desk is fixed at standing height.
A height-adjustable desk allows you to switch comfortably between sitting and standing throughout the day. With “sit-to-stand freedom,” your employees can transition to standing more at their own pace. What follows is real change. On the other hand, a fixed-height standing desk forces the user to stand for hours straight. For anyone accustomed to sitting all day, this is virtually impossible and leads to lower back pain, leg and feet fatigue, and overall exhaustion. Which is why many people fail with the standing desk, returning to the chair.
A sit-stand desk also pairs perfectly with a standing desk chair (sometimes called an adjustable-height or perching/leaning stool) — which is basically a super adjustable chair that supports you from sit to perch to stand. It’s an awesome companion to a height adjustable desk that makes standing more comfortable. But a standing desk chair doesn’t shine at a fixed-height desk, where only two postures are possible: sitting or standing.
The sweet cherry on top: a sit stand desk will allow your teammates to move much more than a fixed-height one will. Especially if equipped with an anti-fatigue mat that facilitates “micro-movement,” a footrest to allow postural variation, and/or one of those standing desk chairs to provide that extra support and cushion through multiple postures. Worth noting that movement is a proven creativity booster and stress reliever, serving equally in “normal” times and “not-so-normal” times.
Why pneumatic sit-stand desks are the better choice for the home office (than electric desks) — for your employees and your bottom line
Pneumatic sit-stand desks are a more long-term, cost-effective investment than electric desks
While electric desks are more prone to breaking down because of their complexity, pneumatic desks are dependable and maintenance-free. Pneumatic products have no electric motor or wiring, so they have no inherent risk of motor burnout, an electronic wiring failure, or requirement to reset due to power spikes or losses. A quality pneumatic desk can last a quarter of a century. Take our Ändern and Lüften as icons of high-quality pneumatic desks — with Swiss steel legs and commercial-grade materials, both desks promise a lifespan of 30+ years.
Pneumatic desks unlock their promised return on investment — each teammate will actually use the thing!
Pneumatic desks adjust about 8X faster than electric desks. Rather than interrupting focus and flow, pneumatic desks contribute to it, adjusting at pace as the user alternates between sit and stand. The desk’s smooth glide “up” and “down” will encourage your teammates to move as often as comfortable. Pneumatic desks are also easy and satisfying to operate, adjusting quietly and effortlessly, unlike electric desks, which typically produce a loud motor whirr when lifted or lowered.
The ease of use you get with a pneumatic desk makes it a joy to operate. Users gradually build the muscles for standing and the habit of moving more throughout the day — because zipping up and down is so effortless. We guarantee your teammates will discover new energy in movement at the desk, and your ergonomic purchase won’t be made in vain.
>> Read more: 8 reasons pneumatic desks are better than electric ones
Pneumatic desks are also power free, totally mobile, and insanely nestable — great for the small home offices where space may be limited or multi-use
Are some of your employees working out of a small or shared side office? Perhaps set up in the corner of the living room? Or similar area that needs to be flexible for the needs of a whole household? Send out an email and get a gauge of each teammate’s needs and limitations — typically, people need their setup to be minimal and versatile at home.
Incidentally, the pneumatic desk’s superpower is its minimal design and versatility. Unlike electric ones, pneumatic desks are power free. This means two things: you won’t be gifting your employees with an increase in their electric bill, and they’ll be able to set their desk up wherever they want (they won’t have to be stationed near an outlet). The lack of an electric motor or power cord also makes a pneumatic desk totally mobile, with no risk of running over the power cord when the desk is moved. To boot, pneumatic desks are natural “nesters” — a helpful function for some, when space is especially tight or serves multiple activities.
>> Speaking of the electric bill, check out our blog post: Standing desks for the eco-buyer: the environmental cost of electric v. pneumatic desks
Rather than rolling the dice with Amazon, Wayfair, and other eCommerce sites, connect with a rep at The Standing Desk, for a real partner with the best pneumatic desks
Who is The Standing Desk team? We are a subsidiary of Kessebohmer Ergonomics, a 50+ year proven partner in height-adjustable solutions for offices, schools, and other commercial spaces. In 2017 we decided to bring our German-designed, Michigan-manufactured pneumatic desks directly to our people through an eCommerce site, which became adamb180.sg-host.com. Since then, our small team has sold the signature Ändern and Lüften Made in the USA pneumatic desks like hotcakes.
Meet the Ändern and Lüften pneumatic desks — our signature designs
Our Ändern is a single-column design with a 30″ x 48″ work surface ideal for a desk weight of 25-40 lbs. Our Lüften is a dual-column with a 30″ x 60″ work surface ideal for desk weights of 40-50 lbs.
>> Confused about weight and pneumatic desks? Check out our blog post: Weight Capacity & Pneumatic Desks
Both desks were designed in Germany, where European furniture makers have perfected the craft of furniture-making over hundreds of years. Generational craftsmanship like this equates to unbeatable quality. We use only commercial-grade materials, like Swiss steel — steel that gives both Ändern and Lüften some of the longest lifespans on the pneumatic desk market.
On account of their German design, both Ändern and Lüften are minimal and clean-lined, complementing any room’s aesthetic. For an idea, check out our Desk Designer: Ändern Desk Designer or Lüften Desk Designer. Your employees can “spec” their dream desk, picking the base color and tabletop finish that blends into their home office space. If you’ve got a team member who loves their current work surface and doesn’t want to give it up, just add our Swiss steel pneumatic legs onto their work surface to give them that same beautiful pneumatic sit stand flow.
Both Ändern and Lüften are also BIFMA-compliant (BIFMA X5.5), while most pneumatic height-adjustable desks on Amazon, Wayfair, and other eCommerce sites are made with lower quality steel shipped directly from Asia.
We’re based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where we will build and assemble each and every one of our products — our manufacturing plant meets the highest standards. Big producers like Asia lack comparable build quality standards yet.
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Designed in Germany by generational furniture masters
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Made using Commercial-grade materials
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30+ Year Product Lifecycles
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BIFMA X5.5 Certified
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Michigan-manufactured, Made in the USA
Ändern and Lüften introduce no installation costs or hassles — and there is no “training” needed to use the product. Because they both boast such simple, minimal designs, they’re both install easily, in 10 minutes or less. With no power cord, electric motor, or complex cable management, setup is fool-proof. And while many electric desks are complicated by control boxes and presets (to digitally adjust the desk), operating a pneumatic desk is simply a matter of holding down the handle as you lift or lower the desk to the right height. Your employees can get started “standing” in a half-hour or less.
How about a 30-day risk-free trial?
We’re positive our Ändern and Lüften will surpass employee expectations. So positive, we’re running a 30-day risk-free trial: https://thestandingdesk.com/try-it-30-days-risk-free/
We want to hear from you! What moves are you making to set your employees up at home? What purchases have you considered? What are your thoughts on “work-from-home” being a permanent fixture? Drop us a line: https://thestandingdesk.com/contact/ — we’re sitting ready to answer all of your questions and help you find the right product for every teammate.
