Rocking horses, tricycle chairs, sit-stand chairs are all conceptual prototypes designed by Haworth's industrial design team to encourage movement and promote standing. Standing intermittently throughout the day can counteract some of the adverse effects of prolonged sitting. Prolonged sitting increases compression stresses on the intervertebral discs by roughly 40 percent, and reduces a person's height by about 1.1 percent during the day. Office employees who stand for two out of eight hours shrink significantly less compared to those who sit the entire time. In addition, the use of a sit-stand chair or stool, in comparison with a regular chair, mitigates spinal shrinkage, reduces foot swelling and enhances blood circulation in the lower extremities.
Employees also feel more energetic and less stressed.
Some of the current comfort thinking seems to be a carry-over from the home. Focus on comfort and inactivity is not just a workstyle issue, it is a lifestyle issue. We as a society think comfort is the answer to our physical woes. We become tired at work, so we go home and sit in front of the television. Come summer, we go to the beach and spread out on towels and chairs.