New Work - Agile workplaces need to be flexible
Mobile and agile are the buzz words for new workplace concepts that meet the demands of changing work requirements as well as the wishes and needs of the new generation of young employees.
In addition to the fundamental flexibilization of the world of work in the form of new working models, the question arises as to the optimal workplace equipment adapted to these new requirements.
Flexibility means mobility. In order to promote movement and thus vitality and mental flexibility in everyday working life, a flexible workplace design is advantageous, as the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft für Haltungs- und Bewegungsförderung e. V. (Federal Working Group for the Promotion of Posture and Movement) has established with regard to movement behavior in the office.
In this research project, the design of the primary desk workstation was scientifically examined for its health-promoting effects. For this purpose, the workstations of the test subjects (n=16) who already had a height-adjustable desk were additionally equipped with a height-adjustable standing/sitting aid (ONGO® Stand). The study investigated whether the height-adjustable desk function was used more often when the ONGO® sit-stand aid was available.
The studies showed that the use of an ONGO® sit-stand aid, in addition to the height-adjustability of a desk, increased activity and movement among employees and significantly reduced uninterrupted sitting at a desk workstation. The time spent standing increased by 8.74 percentage points from approximately 40% to 48%.
Since the test subjects were also equipped with a sensor to record their movement intensity, the data collected showed that equipping a workstation with an ONGO® sit-stand aid improves movement patterns and thus has a positive effect on the health and performance of employees.
And what does that mean in terms of equipping the right workplace? Workplaces need to reflect the very characteristics that will define everyday working life now and in the future - agile, flexible and adaptable to the specific work requirements and needs of the individual.
