Standing at work can heighten health risks, researchers and advocates say
Workers who spend long hours on their feet are pushing for expanded seating access on the job, arguing that restrictions can clash with workplace health needs. The push is showing up in individual accommodation requests, employment policies, and labor negotiations in the United States, according to interviews and contract discussions reported by The Associated Press.
Cashier Margaux Lantelme said she has noticed different work arrangements in France and the U.S. Lantelme, who works a register at REI, said that in France store cashiers do their jobs sitting down, while in the U.S., cashiers typically spend eight hours a day standing. She said prolonged standing triggers flare-ups of chronic pain that limit her mobility.
Lantelme said she initially requested and received a chair for her shift. She said that after a change in management, she had to fill out paperwork to keep the chair, requiring multiple doctor visits and insurance co-payments over several months, and she said she was still waiting for final approval.
“Not having access to a chair without approval from a doctor, which costs money and time and energy, is really ridiculous,” Lantelme said. “I personally think that people should be able to have access to seating at work anytime they need it.”
Health experts cite movement and seating options
The reported account links prolonged standing to a range of health hazards. A review conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the article said, found that standing for long periods can lead to low back pain, fatigue, muscle pain and leg swelling, and can increase the risk of cardiovascular problems and pregnancy complications. The review concluded that movement—whether walking or shifting from standing to a seated or leaning position—appeared to be the best way to reduce those hazards.
The article also cited chronic venous insufficiency, described as a disease in which damaged veins impact blood circulation. It attributed that connection to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, and said the group recommends fatigue-reducing techniques.
In the article, Lisa Spruce, senior director of evidence-based perioperative practices at AORN, said AORN recommends “fatigue-reducing techniques such as alternate propping one foot on a footstool, the use of anti-fatigue mats, using a sit-stand stool and wearing supportive footwear.”
Employees describe limits on chairs and informal workarounds
Cecilia Ortiz, 43, said she previously worked as an airport wheelchair attendant in Phoenix. She said standing took a “really hard toll on the knees,” and said the break room had three or four chairs, which wasn’t enough for everyone. Ortiz said workers sometimes went to the hallway and sat on the floor.
Ortiz said she was written up by her boss for sitting down at an electronic device charging station for 15 minutes after she had been on her feet for five hours without a break. She later took a job in a warehouse that supplies the airport, and she said seating is easier to access there.
“It’s not so strict over there. If we needed to sit down for any reason there wouldn’t be a problem,” Ortiz said.
In response to Ortiz’s account about the earlier job, Prospect Airport Services said it follows labor rules on breaks. The article quoted Jackie Reedy, a company spokesperson, saying employees are welcome to take breaks and meals in the company’s designated break room or in any common-use space throughout the airport, and that “This policy allows our employees to choose the location that best suits their needs.”
Union demands and contract language at retail stores
The seating debate also is appearing in contract bargaining. Unionized workers at a Barnes & Noble store in Manhattan’s Union Square, the article said, made access to chairs and the right to sit down under certain conditions part of their negotiations for their first contract.
Bookseller Bear Spiegel, 28, said he has started noticing knee issues over time, especially because shelving books, showing customers items and creating displays often involves bending down and standing back up. He said a stool would be useful so he could rest his knees for a couple of minutes throughout the day while doing computer work at registers.
Spiegel said solutions such as knee braces and athletic tape helped, but symptoms vary depending on the day. He said there were days he requested a stool and managers allowed him to take them out and use them when needed. A company spokesperson said chairs or stools are used routinely for workers off the sales floor when sensible, and that much of a bookseller’s work is done on the move, including unpacking, sorting and shelving books.
The article said the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union—representing about 100,000 workers—has been pushing for contract language guaranteeing the right to sit during work that can be done seated. Stuart Appelbaum, the union president, described a bargaining session in which an employer objected to the demand, and negotiators used a break that emptied the conference room to underscore the point. “I think the point was made,” Appelbaum said.
Appelbaum said that in the end, the union secured contract terms that included chairs it wanted written into the agreement. “In the end, the union got the chairs it wanted written into the contract,” he said.
“Right to sit” laws and how they took shape
The article placed today’s seating demands in a longer legal and labor context. It said that around the turn of the 20th century, most states had laws requiring seating for female workers, as women were increasingly entering the workforce. Eileen Boris, a labor historian and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said there was a fear that if jobs were too physically taxing, women might not become pregnant.
Boris said women were viewed through that “mothers of the human race” framework. The article quoted her saying, “Women were seen as the ‘mothers of the human race, and thus we have to protect motherhood,’” and added that “Almost every state had laws, but they weren’t enforced.” Boris said the laws were repealed over time because they applied only to women and because the women’s movement pushed for equal rights rather than special treatment.
Boris contrasted the U.S. experience with other labor movements. She said, “The English shop movement was much stronger and had more men in it than the U.S.,” and the article noted that other countries were more successful in establishing workplace seating requirements.
The article said that in 1964, the International Labour Organization adopted workplace standards requiring employers to furnish sufficient and suitable seats and provide reasonable opportunities for workers to use them. It said more than 50 countries ratified the agreement, but the U.S. did not.
Today, the article said, states including California, Florida, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon and Wisconsin have “right to sit” laws requiring suitable seating for all workers regardless of gender, citing the National Conference of State Legislatures. It also reported that the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan approved an ordinance in October requiring certain businesses—such as manufacturers, retail stores and restaurants—to let workers sit down as long as sitting does not interfere with their duties, and that a statewide bill was introduced in Michigan last fall.