A few years ago, standing desks started to appear in our offices. At first, the idea of standing at your desk to work seemed a bit out there, akin to bosses decreeing that chairs would be removed from meeting rooms to “energise” team gatherings or treadmill desks being landed in the middle of your formerly staid office.
This was accompanied by breathless headlines about the dangers of sitting for too long. Could it be worse for us than obesity? Would too much sitting down have as bad an impact on our belts as smoking?
And exactly how much sitting was too much? Knowing the point at which you crossed the line seemed to be important, but no one could really tell you that.
What the experts (and expert adjacent) seem to agree on is that a combination of sitting and standing will be better for your back, will improve your sedentary lifestyle and might even help you live longer. (Whether you will spend that extra time you eke out locked in the workforce is more a matter for future governments and their retirement policies.)
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Standing all day seems like a special kind of torture, though. So sitting-standing desks have evolved. Although they aren’t the standard workstation for everyone, no one really bats an eyelid at their use these days.
There are plenty of different types available. There are risers you can put on top of your existing desk to raise your monitor, mouse and keyboard up to standing height, allowing you to keep the desk you like while also tapping into the benefits of a standing one.
Ikea has even got in on the act, with a desk you can raise up or down via a crank, satisfying the more budget end of the market.
If you are feeling fancy, though, you can go for the electric option. This is where the Leap desk from office supplies company Codex comes into the picture. With this electric standing desk, you can set your favoured heights and alternate between them at the touch of a button.
One thing not to forget: invest in a decent chair
It ticks all the right boxes. It is big enough to use as an office desk, with plenty of space for your computer, an external monitor and all the other accessories you need to make your work life as easy as possible. Would it make me more productive, though? Or solve my niggling but persistent back pain?
On first impression, the bamboo version of the Leap desk looks impressive. There is plenty of space, and the cables are all tucked neatly away so you aren’t tripping over them or catching them with your office chair.
It seems strange initially to have to plug in your desk. However, it already has to be within reach of a power outlet anyway, and one extra plug probably doesn’t make much of a difference. Plus the idea that sitting all day at a desk is worse for you than smoking is a tough idea to shake, even if the experts can’t quite agree on how to quantify the harm from your sedentary lifestyle.
The controls for the desk are subtle but not too small, and can be positioned on either side of the desk to suit your personal preference. There are three settings, one of which can be used to set the desk at the seated height, another for the standing height, and a third for whatever you feel like. It is a simple process to assign these buttons: hold the memory key for a few seconds, and then the desired number.
The control panel also has a small display with numbers to indicate the height of the desk so if someone (in this case, a curious seven-year-old) should happen to accidentally reset your seated preference, you can easily adjust it back.
There is a good height range on the desk, too. It goes from 595mm to 1,245mm, which should be enough to satisfy the requirements of even the above-average-height worker (or, in my case, below average).
Putting it together didn’t take too long. For this review, Codex assembled the desk; it is part of the deal when they sell to businesses or home workers. If needed, you could assemble it yourself, though it would be best to get a second person involved to keep things simple.
Once in place, the desk probably won’t be doing a lot of moving about. At almost 53kg, it isn’t easily portable to other floors, for example. But it also means that the desk is sturdy and doesn’t feel as though extending it to its full height will make it unstable – which is probably more important than being able to shift it to another room, considering my existing desk hasn’t moved position in 4½ years (and only then because we moved house).
One thing not to forget: invest in a decent chair. The Leap desk came with the NV Ergonomic office chair as part of the review, something that adds to the overall cost of the desk if you needed to upgrade your existing set-up. Even if you spend half your time standing, you will still need a decent chair, preferably ergonomic, for the time you spend sitting down. No point in undoing any of the good work the standing desk does for your posture.
Good
If you want something simple to use that also looks professional, the Leap desk is ideal. Once you have the correct heights figured out, you can save them to the desk’s memory and then access them at the touch of a button.
The desk itself has plenty of room, even after loading it up with all the usual workplace accessories.
Bad
It is sturdy but heavy, so assemble it close where you plan to position it.
Everything else
There are two portals for cables, one on either side of the desk, so you can keep your cable management streamlined.
The same base can be used for a number of different desktop sizes, too, with a frame that expands from 1,200mm to 1,600mm.
Verdict
A sleek addition to your office – home or otherwise.
