5 of 1,200 workers actually used standing desks
In a 1,200-seat London trading floor where every desk was height-adjustable, Bob King counted only 5 people actually standing at any given time.
Snapshot · Modern Wisdom
The Health Crisis Of Office Jobs - Bob King - #1098
Explore episode
May 16, 2026
Where this was said
The Secret to Designing a Healthier Workspace
At 10:20 · chapter starts 9:48
This chapter traces Bob King's foundational insight into what was causing the global hunching epidemic. Advised by an ergonomist friend to ask not 'why are you hunching?' but 'how do you lean back in your chair?', King went on a systematic survey of office workers in multiple countries. The result shocked him: virtually nobody — outside of specialist facilities staff — could explain how to recline in their own chair. Instructions were in drawers; knobs were hidden beneath the seat; locks prevented any movement without a deliberate sequence of physical operations. King then describes his parallel obsession with simplicity at Humanscale: designing keyboard supports that stay in position without tightening knobs, monitor arms that move with one finger, and ultimately rethinking chairs not as furniture but as ergonomic devices. The chapter includes King's visit to a 1,200-seat London trading floor where every desk was height-adjustable — and just 5 people were actually standing. [1] — Bob King "On a 1,200-seat London trading floor where every single desk was height-adjustable, Bob King counted just 5 people actually standing. Havin…" 10:02
The Trading Floor Where Nobody Stood Up
On a 1,200-seat London trading floor where every single desk was height-adjustable, Bob King counted just 5 people actually standing. Having the equipment is meaningless if using it requires constant deliberate discipline.
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