The 21st century is not only about record achievements and discoveries, but also about the fact that there are more and more jobs that require sitting at a computer for a long time.  In 2016, a group of researchers led by Leandro Resende from the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of São Paulo School of Medicine, Brazil conducted a study involving more than 1.1 billion people in different countries. 
Their findings are staggering: sitting for 3 or more hours a day was responsible for 3.8% of all-cause mortality; even a modest 10% reduction in sitting time can have an immediate impact on reducing mortality. By the way of comparison, a 50% decrease in sitting time, reducing it by 2 hours, would lead to three times fewer deaths versus the 10% or 30-minute reduction scenarios. The findings of this study were made public in 54 countries through the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 

Office workers are at greater risk, according to the National University of Singapore (Assessing and understanding sedentary behaviour in office-based working adults: a mixed-method approach Clarice N. Waters, Er Pei Ling, Anne H. Y. Chu, Sheryl H. X. Ng, Audrey Chia, Yee Wei Lim, and Falk Müller-Riemenschneider) , as they spend 77% of their waking hours in sedentary activity. To this bleak statistical data, one should be adding the fact that a sedentary lifestyle is the root cause of over 35 chronic conditions (Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases Frank W. Booth, Ph.D., Christian K. Roberts, Ph.D., and Matthew J. Laye, Ph. D). 

Therefore, the ergonomic furniture trend has been accelerating by the year. Everyone makes their own choice regarding their body and health. We at TEHNOTABLE can only support your decision and guide you to the world of ergonomic furniture by selecting for you the option that will perfectly satisfy your needs and wishes.  

What are the benefits of being able to work while standing?
First of all, reducing the time spent in a sitting position increases life expectancy. Secondly, a study by the Danish behavioural design firm KL.7 shows that the use of lift desks improves employee performance: they take fewer sick days, become more focused and attentive, and grow more resilient in stressful situations. Meanwhile, a number of studies saw their participants reporting a 32% reduction in lower back pain after just a few weeks of using lift desks (Breaking up workplace sitting time with intermittent standing bouts improves fatigue and musculoskeletal discomfort in overweight/obese office workers Alicia A Thorp, Bronwyn A Kingwel, Neville Owen, David W Dunstan   Impact of a Sit-Stand Workstation on Chronic Low Back Pain: Results of a Randomized Trial Grant T Ognibene, Wilson Torres, Rie von Eyben, Kathleen C Horst.

How should an ergonomic workplace look like?

When done right, ergonomics is guaranteed to reduce muscle fatigue, prevent joint disfunction and blood circulation disorders. Medical statistical data show that the right furniture can correct emergent curvatures of the spine, preventing them from developing into disorders. Specialists have developed a number of requirements for organising the workplace (most often it is made up of a desk and a chair).

Ideal office chair

Orthopedic furniture aims to guarantee the optimal position of the body during the performance of all job duties by the employee. 

Under ISO 9241-5: 1998 (Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs)), an office chair should have the following parameters:

1. The appropriate seat height for a user for sitting in the upright position is the popliteal height plus the thickness of the footwear.

2. The seat depth should be less than the buttock-popliteal length.  

3. The width of the seat should be wider than the width of the hips.

4. Support for the back – the special role of the back rest is to give support for the lumbar region. A low-level back rest should commence at a level which clears the major protuberances the buttocks, have a maximum prominence in the mid-lumbar region (to aid lordosis and to prevent kyphosis) and conclude below the level of the shoulder blades, so as not to inhibit upper body movement.

5. Arm support – for special working tasks and if work is interrupted, armrests can support the muscular system of neck and shoulders and can be an aid to standing up and sitting down.

Seat design should allow various posture adjustments by the user. Four major aspects of seat design contribute directly to this goal: seat angle, movement of the seat pan and back support, castors and swivel.
The seat angle should allow users to vary their posture forward and backward. The benefit of changing postures in these directions is to ensure a good blood flow. The movements of the seat pan and the back support should allow users to vary their posture to suit user comfort and changes to task requirements. The swivel should enable users to easily and safely rotate their body orientation without rotating the spine or twisting the torso in order to facilitate desired proximity to equipment.

Recommended sedentary work time is 50% to 70% per hour.

Ideal computer desk 

1. It allows the user to change the position of the body from sitting to standing and to intermediate positions so as to use various seats (active chair; saddle chair; office chair; fitball, etc.). 

2. Minimum desk height depends on the user’s height and body proportions. Average parameters under the BIFMA international standard: 

2.1.) 65 (sitting) -110 (standing) for users with height of 160-170 cm 

2.2.) 70 (sitting) -115 (standing) for users with height of 170-180 cm 

2.3.) 75 (sitting) -123 (standing) for users with height of 180-190 cm

How to establish your own height: you need to sit in a work chair so that your legs are on a flat surface, and the angle at the knee is 90 degrees. At the same time, the arms should be placed along the body and bent at the elbow joint at an angle of 90 degrees. Now measure the height from the forearm to the floor, and this will be your working height in a sitting position. When standing, the algorithm is the same, only measurements should be taken when you are standing straight, and the forearm is parallel to the floor (elbow joint at an angle of 90 degrees). The distance from the forearm to the floor will be your working height in a standing position. 

3. Forearm rest. The correct position of the body is when your elbow joint is on the tabletop at an angle of 90 degrees, while your shoulders are lowered and relaxed. In this position, the load on the belt and trapezius muscles (neck and upper back) is reduced. Support can be obtained thanks to an ergonomic tabletop (TEHNOTABLE even holds a patent for our own ergonomic tabletop shape) or with the help of armrests.

One can further improve the ergonomic furniture with special accessories, including a balancing board, a foot massage mat, a monitor bracket, a humidifier, a rehabilitation platform, Sun Like lighting, a posture control sensor and much more.

Furniture that cares for your health

At TEHNOTABLE, we create not just furniture, but your assistants in taking care of your health. TEHNOTABLE’s products do not just meet international standards set by ISO. Each item is developed in accordance with the recommendations of medical specialists – orthopedists, ophthalmologists, phlebologists, traumatologists, neurologists and others (there are many articles and videos in the Blog section), taking into account technological progress and the latest research and development.

TEHNOTABLE office desk is special:

• It is the only one to be born in UKRAINE – a land of free and brave people!
• it is equipped with an electronic height adjustment mechanism –just touch it!
• it transforms a sitting workplace into a standing one in just 20 seconds!
• it adjusts height almost silently (noise level under 40 dB)!
• it is sturdy and stable – you can safely lean on it while working!
• it can be customised for you thanks to the company having in-house production!

We can customise and produce any cabinet furniture to accompany our desks.  This applies to the general design of ergonomic furniture as well as to accessories, such as monitor stands, wireless chargers, and network filters.