Standing While Working Results in Better Work?

Bamafan77 asks: "I've recently become fascinated by the idea of standing while working. I've found that I'm much more productive for longer periods of time while standing as opposed to sitting. The best way to describe it is that my brain feels more 'engaged.' Apparently, many famous people feel the same way including Thomas Wolfe, Vladimir Nabokov, and Winston Churchill. Other benefits include a better ability to control weight. (Guess what? Your slow metabolism ain't the cause for that belly). The Mayo Clinic has gone so far as to do research into a treadmill workstation. Does anyone here have experiences to share when it comes to standing while working, especially in the IT field?"

And...

[Kell Bengal]

Better work and a sore back? I dunno about you,but I can't stand around typing all day without some serious pain.

My office enables standing and sitting

[Anonymous Coward]

I work for Boeing and some of the desks in our building are variable height. I rarely use the desk so high I stand but occasionaly I do. Its a nice option to do both I think since many people say that while they like it-it can hurt after more than 5hours or so.

Occasionally the big companies are nice to work for : )

Computer pioneer Prof. Donald Knuth does it ...

[retiarius]

see http://www.pbs.org/cringely/nerdtv/transcripts/001 .html [pbs.org]

Re:Typing?

[Anonymous Coward]

It is a pain.
I tried it. I work at home so moving the LCD and keyboard to the treadmill was doable.

When you walk you bounce up and down a lot more then you realize.
The text jumping up and down just makes you sick.

Playing video games is easier but you really have to concentrate. It is tougher then chewing gum and walking, but you get used to it with practice.

Stand Up Meetings

[JuzzFunky]

We have a daily stand up meeting. 5-10 minutes every morning where we let everyone know what we've been doing and where we plan to be by the end of the day. When standing in a big circle people tend not to waffle on like they do when sitting around a table in a meeting room.

As for spending all day in one position here's what I rekon:

If you spend 10+ hours a day sitting on your arse then you'll probably get a sore arse.

If you spend 10+ hours a day standing on your feet then you'll probably get sore feet.

If you spend 10+ hours a day standing on your head then you should probably seek help.

Go the middle way. spend some time sitting, some time standing and some time dancin' like a funky chicken.