Workplace wellbeing is essential (not a nice-to-have) and more and more businesses now recognise the importance of investing in staff health and wellness.

Work is about more than having a team of employees who turn up, do the job then go home again. Workplace wellbeing covers every element of office life, ranging from productivity, company ethos, corporate responsibility and sustainability to work hours, working conditions and recruitment practices.

Some are easier to address than others, particularly for smaller businesses which can make improvements faster with limited resources. Among the simplest and most effective change is to make sure that your workplace set-up is promoting staff health rather than damaging it.

Health and safety legislation gives a baseline for ensuring we do not come to harm while we work, but Government and health services are increasingly urging both workers and employers to think more and act beyond the minimum in order to improve staff experiences and outcomes.

An unhappy, unhealthy workforce poses an existential risk to your company. Healthier staff, however, are more likely to perform well, take fewer sick days, act as ambassadors for your company and remain in your employment for longer

Whether your staff operate from home, from the office or a mixture of the two, our expert team can advise on the best active working solutions for your bespoke budget and location.

We recommend a combination of four key items for healthy working habits:

1. An adjustable standing desk. Our broad selection of recommended desks includes the Yo-Yo Standing Desk Converters which comes in a variety of widths and styles and is designed to sit atop an existing desk or table, transforming any surface into a standing desk. See too our full-sized electrically operated standing desks the award-winning Yo-Yo DESK PRO range - with a variety of settings, desktop finishes and shapes to fit every work lay-out
2. An anti-fatigue mat. A supportive mat is vital for healthy active working. Our Yo-Yo MAT and other active standing solutions both support joints and encourage gentle ongoing movements to keep your metabolism engaged and keep you moving through the working day.
3. A monitor arm. Key to health and comfort is setting your monitor at the correct height, angle and distance. A monitor arm enables this while also improving your productivity by helping keep your desk clear and maximising space in your working set-up.
4. Active seating. An active seating solution differs from a chair in that it encourages frequent movement even when you are in a seated position, making it difficult for you to remain static. This engages core muscle groups, helps keep your hips slanting forwards and moves your back into positive alignment to help prevent back problems and slouching.

The beauty of buying through Yo-Yo DESK® is that our expert team can advise on which solutions will suit you and help you choose the best value combination throughout our exclusive bundle offers.

Medical research is clear: prolonged time spent seated without getting out of your chair is disastrous for your health. Some suggest that hours spent sitting are as bad for your health as smoking, even if you are an active person outside working hours.

Public Health England advises that adults should aim to do at least 30 minutes moderate intensity activity daily in order to help prevent or manage many common conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Evidence shows that regular activity also helps keep symptoms under control and prevents additional conditions from developing.

However, half an hour a day of moderate intensity activity accounts for just 3% of your waking time. It’s clear: 30 minutes of daily exercise is not enough to overcome the health risks of sitting too much. But researchers have found that by achieving the right balance of time spent stationery and moving, it may be possible to counteract the negative effects of sitting.

In addition to the health risks, prolonged sitting is also harmful to your productivity. Studies on the effects on productivity of breaking up sitting time with light activity - standing, stretching, moving around - are ongoing, but it is known that regular movement improves metabolic, vascular and endocrine functions, which in turn may improve cognitive functions and thus boost work performance.

Anecdotally, many Yo-Yo DESK® customers find they work more effectively and efficiently when using one of our adjustable standing desks. Checking emails, reading reports and taking calls are among the tasks that we find are best done while standing.

We believe it is crucial that all Yo-Yo DESK® customers know how and why to use their standing desks, which is why we send out a set of our evidence-based user guidelines with every sale.

Additionally, we offer free, short DESK Yoga videos, with moves which can each be completed within minutes and will get you into the habit of taking a regular stretching break to ease work-induced aches and prevent chronic pain. Yo-Yo DESK® customers also get FREE premium access to yoga classes with our DESK Yoga partner YogaTonic UK.

Our in-house physiotherapist Linda has put together a series of short videos which explain how and why to get moving in your workplace and at your standing desk. They range from simple moves to stretch out your joints and limbs, to a demonstration of how best to use our anti-fatigue mats. Do take a look: they will revolutionise your working style.

Three ways to improve your workday activity profile:

1. Take regular mini-breaks throughout your working day. Set a timer to remind yourself to move more, sit less at regular intervals. And always take a movement break at lunchtime, even if you just walk round the block.
2. Stretch, use the stairs and walk around when you don’t have to be staring at your screen – especially while you are on phone calls.
3. Swap your desk for a standing desk and /or your seat for an active seating solution.

Whatever your workplace set-up, at home or in an office, we have the standing desk or standing desk converter to meet your needs, fit your space and budget.

Our Yo-Yo DESK® CLASSIC range offers standing desk converters which sit on an existing worktop; the lightweight, portable Yo-Yo DESK® LITE can be used anywhere then folded up and tucked away. Best-sellers include the Yo-Yo DESK® 90, and the Yo-Yo DESK® GO for taller users (up to 6’ 6”).

All our desks come highly recommended with customer ratings (read them via our website) that reflect their high quality and longevity.

Electric sit-stand desks operated at the touch of a button are increasingly popular, and many corporate and private customers now opt specifically for a motorised version, having heard about the benefits of standing desks. A compact Yo-Yo DESK® PRO1 is the right size for almost every home (‘solid and stable’ – customer review), while different models across the PRO range provide standing desks for any space including a corner.

We recommend that every stand-up desk user opts for an anti-fatigue mat such as our Yo-Yo MAT®. Using a mat when standing supports your joints while encouraging the micro-movements that will help keep your metabolism activated and give you the full benefits of sit-stand working. Look out for our regular offers on bundles of desk, mat and supportive seating solutions.

Yo-Yo DESK | Height Adjustable Desks | Yo-Yo DESK® also offers charity and NHS discounts – get in touch for details of these and other corporate offers. Our sales team undergo regular training in our entire product range so will be happy to advise on exactly the right set-up for your needs.

A final word of advice on setting up your perfect workstation for ultimate health, comfort and productivity. Invest in a monitor arm for your screen.

The benefits of using a monitor arm are numerous, enabling you to work more productively by keeping your desktop clear and uncluttered, making it easier to locate documents, maintaining your screen at the correct height and distance for your eyesight and posture, and reducing the risks of neck, shoulder and back pain. Using a well-designed Sit-Stand.Com® desk means your screen and keyboard will also be in the optimum position whether you are working seated or standing.

Employers across the world were forced to switch from office working to home-based employment because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some have started to return to an office-based model, but many are allowing staff who want to work from home to continue to do so on a hybrid basis. You are most probably among them!

The bank UBS is one of a growing number of large employers which are allowing most staff to mix working from home and office permanently. A Computer Weekly survey found that more than two-thirds of staff will be expected to continue working remotely on an ongoing basis.

More than 80% of employees told an Accenture survey that they preferred a hybrid working regime, and the CIPD (Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development) found that of 2,000 employers surveyed, 63% intended to introduce or expand a mixture of remote and on-site working.

Working from home – on a part- or full-time basis - is the new normal. Some 80% of respondents to the Get Britain Standing Annual Sitting Survey 2021 said they had switched to home working, and almost a third of workers said they were using a standing desk – up from 19% a year earlier. A revolution in residential and office accommodation is under way.

The pandemic housing boom has affected what we want from our homes. Top of the list is space, and housing developers are already beginning to incorporate design changes for the homeworking trend.

In an American Institute of Architects survey, 68% reported an increase in demand for home offices in design / build projects. If you’re looking for a new home, an area that can be used as a workspace is definitely on the ‘want’ list, but if a move is not on the cards, where can you set up your home office? A corner of the living room, spare bedroom or niche under the stairs is popular with many. There’s also been a boom in demand for garden rooms. Most of us, however, have had to find space wherever we can.

If you’re turning an existing area of your home into a work zone, whatever you use as a desk must fit neatly and look good even when you are not working. Yo-Yo DESK® electric standing desks come in a wide offer a variety of colours and materials for legs and desktops. Best-selling sit-stand desktops include stylish pale timber, dark anthracite oak, as well as black and white. You can browse the whole range of options here.

A height adjustable desk is the perfect multi-functional work surface if you are working from home. Our adjustable sit-stand desks go low enough for a child, and high enough to use as a hobby space for crafting, electronics, model-making etc. Of course, our Yo-Yo DESK® PRO has sufficient settings to make it ideal for working whether seated or standing; the compact Yo-Yo DESK® PRO 1 model gets 5/5 from Trustpilot reviewers.

When planning your workspace, focus on two essentials: convenience and comfort.

Your desk should be easy to access and use. Having to remove all your equipment – laptop, folders etc - once you’ve finished working is necessary for some, but setting aside a bespoke space that you don’t have to clear at the end of every working day will make homeworking convenient and feasible long term.

Your seating solution should be comfortable yet ergonomic. Do not think you can use a dining chair or Swiss ball long-term if you have any regard for your musculoskeletal health. Whatever you choose, your seat needs to promote good posture. For use with a stand-up desk, we recommend a perch stool such as the Muvman or Ongo FREE which is stylish, durable and extremely comfortable. Before you decide on your active seating solution, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is it height-adjustable, does it encourage movement?
   Your next position is your best position, so any office seat or stool should nudge you to move more: up/down or from side to side, whether you are seated or using it to lean on while standing.
2. Will it improve my posture?
   Ideally, any active seating solution will encourage you to move your hips forward, and bring positive alignment to your spine. It should strengthen your abs as well as other muscles, thus reducing back strain and preventing stress build-up in your shoulders. Check out our tips on the benefits of active seating and how to make the right decision for your home office.

Yo-Yo DESK® is the expert supplier of workplace equipment – desk, seating and accessories – which will suit your working style and home at the same time as protecting and even improving your health. In seven years, we have sold 250,000 office wellness solutions to more than 30,000 home and office workplaces, enabling desk-based staff across the world to enjoy the benefits of being more active.

Our sales team receive regular training in every item and can advise which are best for your needs. In addition, we proudly offer a free trial of many of our solutions so you can road test our standing desks and standing desk converters to see whether they work in your space.

Get in touch for information about current offers. Don’t put it off: if working from home is your new norm, make sure your set-up is the best you can get.