Full Desk Upgrade vs. Standing Desk Converter

For far too long the emancipation of the office worker from the confines of the sitting desk have been delayed by seductive gadgets like the standing desk converter. One of the biggest sellers of desk converters is Varidesk. You’ve probably sat through at least one of their commercials while watching your evening television shows. A giant platform engulfing most of the workspace that can be raised to allow for standing. Truth be told, the marketing is pretty fantastic. However, the standing desk converter has its disadvantages as well when compared to a full height-adjustable desk.

Before we take a look at what the desk converter is lacking, let’s go ahead and see what they do right. Most people spend the majority of the day sitting which has an adverse impact on health. The standing desk converter and the height-adjustable standing desk give those sitting people a way to stand up and take a break from sitting without having to cut into their work flow.

Now let’s take a step back for a second. The point of the standing desk converter and the height-adjustable standing desk is to allow hard working individuals to go from sitting to standing and vis versa. Notice how we didn’t remove sitting from that equation? That’s because it is a rare and maybe slightly masochistic person that can stand for 8 hours a day and not feel at least some discomfort. So just like you need to take breaks from sitting, you also need to take a break from standing. This is where the standing desk converter starts to fall short. Converters by design, have to have some sort of platform on which the keyboard rests. This means that while seated, standing desk converters actually raise the surface of the desk while you’re seated by the thickness of the platform. This can cause discomfort, especially in the wrists and if the platform is thick enough, it can actually force your arms into a position that can lead to some ergonomic issues down the road and potentially impact your productivity. What’s more, standing desk converters can take up a lot of desk real estate which means less room for your other office tools and accessories.

This is where the height-adjustable standing desk has the advantage. Since the desktop surface itself is what’s being raised and lowered, your work surface stays consistent leaving your wrists and arms to rest comfortably at a more natural position. The best part is that since the lifting mechanism is your desk rather than a separate contraption sitting on top, you can maintain use of the entire surface, increasing your productivity.

Now, while height-adjustable desks like the UPLIFT Desk are much better for users ergonomically, there are instances where the standing desk converter is appropriate such as work environments where you are for whatever reason unable to update the furniture. But in scenarios like this, it’s far better to have a keyboard platform that doesn’t sit on the desk surface as it creates an inconsistent height when you go from sitting to standing. This is why standing converters like the UPLIFT Plus Height Adjustable Standing Desk Converter or it’s slightly smaller sibling are a much better design as the keyboard platform can hang below the desk surface, supporting the keyboard similar to how a keyboard tray would.

We all spend far too much time at our desks and computers to not invest in proper ergonomics and comfort. As a bonus for businesses... worker comfort, employee retention, productivity, and work quality gains can even help the business bottom line. If you’re ready to take a stand for your health or maybe even for the health of those employees that work hard to support your business, definitely give a call to 1-800-531-3746 for a quote.