ST. PAUL, Minn., May 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Prolonged sitting is detrimental to employee health, but it may also be killing your businesses' productivity and culture. A new survey commissioned by Ergotron (a Nortek company) found that 61 percent of full-time U.S. employees are more likely to get up and move when they are feeling restless from sitting versus cyberloafing (39 percent) - an activity currently estimated to cost U.S. businesses upwards of $85 billion a year. The report, JustStand® Index: Getting Productivity Up and Moving, captures the attitudes and actions of today's workforce in order to measure the adverse effects sedentary behavior has not only on an employee's personal health, but also on the overall health of an organization.

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The JustStand Index analyzed the following five categories: 


    --  Company productivity is adversely affected. While taking regular breaks
        is important, the data suggests that employees are spending excessive
        time away from their desks due to restlessness and physical discomfort
        from prolonged sitting. This situation is hurting overall productivity
        and is easily avoidable.
    --  Office culture is taking a hit from exposure to prolonged sitting. Over
        60 percent of employees dislike or even hate sitting, yet nearly 70
        percent do it all day, every day.
    --  Employee health is in question. With the influx of wearable technology,
        people are presumably more health-conscious than ever before, but are
        they being lulled into a false sense of fitness and health? Sixty-two
        percent of employees indicated that they get the recommended 2.5 hours a
        week of exercise. However, sitting too much at work, despite physical
        activity undertaken throughout the week, is detrimental to the human
        body.
    --  Wellness programs are lacking awareness and variety of offerings.
        Despite health and wellness programs in corporations being a stated
        priority, only 23 percent of employees are aware of a wellness program
        at their company and of that small population, only 35 percent of those
        programs offer alternative workstations as a benefit option to help
        avoid prolonged sitting and encourage more movement throughout the
        workday.
    --  Sitting disease awareness is increasing. Since the JustStand Index was
        introduced in 2013, awareness has doubled but has yet to achieve
        widespread understanding. While 86 percent of people believe that
        prolonged sitting increases the risk of early mortality, only 48 percent
        of people believe they are personally at risk. This demonstrates the
        need for further education and conversation throughout the business
        community.

"Over the last decade or so, employees have become much more health-conscious - being more mindful of the food they eat and the importance of exercise," said Betsey Banker, Wellness Manager at Ergotron. "This focus has made its way into the workplace as expectations for employers to provide healthier work environments have escalated. Workers are beginning to understand that sitting disease - the term used to describe the metabolic impacts of a sedentary lifestyle - can cancel out the benefits of the positive behaviors they've adopted."

The makeup and mindset of today's workforce has altered corporate priorities drastically. The workplace is riddled with distractions, and business leaders are striving to offer benefits that increase employee satisfaction and comfort while also improving business outcomes. Employers are investing in a variety of new perks and company benefits, such as flexible work schedules, wellness programs and even nap rooms or healthy snack deliveries. However, the data indicates that organizations are missing one of the most obvious points of employee dissatisfaction: sedentary work environments.

"In the last five years, we have seen sit-stand workstations be embraced by many companies as a key part of their wellness initiatives. We attribute that to a combination of advancements in research and expansion of affordable sit-stand product offerings. But we remain in the early stages of adoption," said Pete Segar, Ergotron's CEO. "At Ergotron, we are collaborating with academic and research organizations to continue advancing our understanding of the impact of the sitting disease on health, and we are investing in continued product innovation to provide solutions for a wider range of users."

Resources


    --  Download Ergotron's JustStand Index eBook here.
    --  Are you at risk of sitting disease? Try our sitting time calculator.
    --  More facts about the negative effects of prolonged sitting can be found
        here.

Methodology
 The second JustStand Index was commissioned by Ergotron and fielded by independent panel research firm Research Now from September 23 to October 2, 2015. The responses were generated from a survey of 1,000 people who self-identified as full-time employees. All respondents are age 18 or older and living in the continental United States.

About Ergotron
 Ergotron, Inc. is a global manufacturer of leading digital display mounting, furniture, and mobility products that have been improving the human interface with digital displays for over 35 years. This history of innovation and passion for differentiation is evidenced in over 192 patents and a growing portfolio of award winning brands--OmniMount®, LearnFit®, StyleView®, TeachWell®, WorkFit®, Anthro, Neo-Flex® and ErgotronHome(TM)--for computer monitors, notebooks, tablets, flat panel displays and TVs. Ergotron's products incorporate patented CF(TM) lift and pivot motion technology to achieve less effort and more ergonomic motion for a healthier and more interactive user experience when viewing any digital display. Whether to enhance computing wellness or entertainment excitement improve workplace productivity or create business process efficiencies, Ergotron's products are positioning your digital world. Ergotron is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with sales efforts in Phoenix, Amersfoort, London, Tokyo, and Singapore. Ergotron is a subsidiary of Nortek, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK), a global, diversified company whose many market-leading brands deliver broad capabilities and a wide array of innovative, technology-driven products and solutions for lifestyle improvement at home and at work. Please visit www.nortek.com for more information.

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SOURCE Ergotron