CNA938 Tech Talk: Gear For Work From Home – Electric Standing Desks

CEO of TakeAseat.sg, Mr Dale Tan, was recently invited to be a guest speaker for the Channel News Asia radio Programme, CNA938 Tech Talk with Daniel Martin, to share on standing desks which can drastically improve the lifestyle of those spending long hours at the desk, and is exceptionally useful for those working from home amidst the pandemic. Globally, doctors advocate that people avoid staying in the sitting position for extended durations of time and should try to stand up to stretch and move about to prevent potential health problems such as backaches. Standing desks can be a good solution and it comes with different designs and functionalities which allows users to pick and choose the ideal desk to fit their desired lifestyle. For example, there are some standing desks with neon lights which are designed specially for gamers.

On the market, there are both manual and electric standing desks. In Mr Tan’s opinion, manual models are more suitable for multiple users sharing the same desk as it involves winding the table up and down to the suitable height. Though there is a cost difference of about $200, he recommends the electric standing desks as it only requires a click of the button to make table height adjustments, which can be more effective to ensure frequent use and a real improvement to one’s lifestyle.

The number of motors on the electric desk will determine the amount of uplift force created. To ensure that the table height can be adjusted smoothly, more motors would be preferred for heavier tables holding multiple gadgets and devices. As a guide, a single-motor electric standing desk such as the SIRIO electric desk would be able to hold up to 50 kilograms in weight while a dual-motor such as the VIGOR 2020 electric desk can hold more than 100 kilograms in weight.

Another consideration may be the noise level of the desks. Standard desks generate sound levels that are less than 50 Decibels but more high-end models from Taiwan, European countries and the United States can generate sound levels at around 40 Decibels.

Mr Tan strongly recommends electric standing desks which comes with memory presets as it allows users to record their desired height settings for standing, sitting and other purposes such as exercising with resistance bands or bosu balls. They costs about $50 more than standard models with a simple up-down button, but it is a lot sleeker in design.

Some electric standing desks also comes with an accompanied mobile application which can not only control the table height but also records how long the user has been spending at each height setting so that it can send reminders in the form of blinking lights to remind the user to change his/her position after a specified duration.

Most electric standing desks come with simple cable management options, but users with bigger cable management requirements can add on cable management trays or power rails to fulfil their needs. There are multiple options on the market, a high-end option includes the power rail system by Singaporean company, Eubiq. Though it costs $400 for installation, it has a compact design with light features. The compatibility with commercial products allow easy access to power points while maintaining the overall tidiness of the table set-up.

Besides electric standing desks, there are also sit stand desk converters available that sits on top of your existing desk if your entire workstation cannot be replaced. These sit stand desk converters also allows you to change your position after a period of time.

Check out our other articles on the health benefits of using a standing desk and giving your work an instant boost with our standing desk.