It's great to see New Zealand business embracing a healthy sit/stand workplace. We get enquiries from a broad range of customers so our VARIDESK Case Study Series serves to provide insights from real NZ businesses that have made the change to a sit/stand office and the benefits, challenges and ideas they had. We hope that if you are looking to make the change some of the questions, comments and suggestions in the Case Study will assist you. If you need further information or assistance you can call our office on 09 972 2139 or email contact@varidesk.co.nz
Company: Baileys Insurance
Products ordered:
- 8 of Pro Plus 48 Desks
- 8 of The Mat 34
Time they've been used: 3 months and counting...
For our first VARIDESK Case Study we had the pleasure of visiting Baileys Insurance in Rosedale, Auckland to see first hand their sit/stand office in action. Baileys Insurance is a NZ owned and operated business offering intermediary insurance to a wide range of customer from small business to larger enterprises. Their work is predominantly computer based but there are times when they are shuffling a bit of paperwork. As you can see in the gallery below most people have additional devices on the VARIDESK such as fans, telephones and extra computer peripherals. They have had their VARIDESK's for 3 months now and chose the largest option the Pro Plus 48 due to their multiple monitor setups and requirements for extra space when standing.
On my walk around the office I noticed that everyone was using at least 2 monitors and a desktop or tower PC. Pete McEvoy is the managing Director and was the person who originally made contact to visit our showroom and look at our desks. Pete has just recently completed staff reviews and commented that feedback from staff on the new standing desks has been very positive. During our visit we got the chance to chat with each staff member to get their feedback on the whole experience and have compiled the answers below.
Why did you decide to get standing desks?
Staff well being is high on our priority list and we had been discussing the option of standing desks, we chanced upon VARIDESK and it looks like a good option.
Why did you choose VARIDESK over other options on the market?
VARIDESK was a good fit for our business as we didn't want to remove our existing corporate desks. With no installation costs and minimal setup times it was very easy to get up and standing quickly.
How has the team responded to the new workstations, how are people feeling now that they can sit and stand working during the day?
At the last performance reviews staff mentioned how much the like the ability to sit and stand during the day. All users mentioned how they felt less sluggish, had less back or neck pain and felt better overall. One user had heard standing desks could contribute to weight loss so she measured her waistline when she started with her VARIDESK, 3 month's later she has noticed she's lost "several" centimeters of her waistline and hasn't felt better in years.
How many hours/day were you sitting before and how has that changed?
Except for the occasional trip to the kitchen, bathroom or printer we were sitting for the whole day (about 8 hours). Now that staff have the option of sitting and standing this has changed dramatically. On average across the office people are standing for 60% of the day and sitting for 40%. People had their own patterns for using the product but most start the day sitting and will sit around midday. Then back to standing around 2pm for a few hours and finishing up the day sitting.
Why did you come back and purchase the mats?
Users complained of sore feet/legs when standing so we ordered an initial mat to test the concept around all the staff. The verdict was a resounding yes and so we added a mat to everyone's setup. Most people feel that the anti-fatigue mat should be bundled with the desk as it makes the whole experience that much better.
We get a few questions around cables, did you use standard cables or purchase additional extra-long ones?
We use standard cables on all standing desk setups, we haven't needed to purchase any additional cables to make this work.
Any other comments or suggestions?
- One user said they stood too much initially and are now doing a 50/50 split which suits them better.
- Most users prefer to sit when eating/drinking.
- One user commented that you need to be conscious of any objects under the desk when standing to make sure you don't hit them when coming down to sitting mode, e.g stray coffeee cups and pens, not a major issue but something to be aware of.
- When working with large amounts of paperwork most users preferred to bring the VARIDESK right down to sitting mode so they could also utilize the rest of the desk to spread out.
We took our camera along to capture some images of Baileys Insurance staff Standing UP For Their Health! Thanks for having us along to visit.
Take a look at the gallery below
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