Sitting and Standing

Many jobs require sitting, standing or a combination of both. Workers in retail may stand without taking more than a few steps for an entire shift. A worker in a hydro-generating station may sit and monitor multiple visual displays and only stand up occasionally in an entire shift. Neither of these situations are desirable.

There are working postures other than sitting or standing. They include a reclined seated working posture, a semi-standing working posture supported by a stool, or a standing posture with a raised support for one foot.

There is no single “correct working position that produces comfort for extended periods of time or that fits everybody’s personal work habits and body.

• Sitting: Best for tasks requiring high concentration, high precision or demanding visual requirements; little if any lifting or long reaches.
• Standing: Best for tasks requiring a lot of movement and time spent away from the workstation or long reaches or lifting.
• Semi-standing: Best when most tasks are suitable for standing but a worker would benefit from a break from standing.
• Sit to stand: Best when users need to be at eye level with a customer or client, when a variety of tasks are performed that require both sitting and standing positions, when a job involves movement to get to other equipment or when a user lifts

Sitting and standing involve different body regions and their effects on the body are different. However because they involve different body regions, alternating between sitting and standing is suggested.

Use the Resource Library for more details of Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment in sitting and standing.

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