Standing Desk Height: Why Adjustability Matters More Than Standing

You’ve bought a standing desk, or you’re about to, and it still doesn’t feel right. Sore shoulders by mid-afternoon, aching calves, a nagging sense that swapping sitting for standing hasn’t actually fixed anything. The real issue is usually your standing desk height, and just as often, whether your desk can move at all. Plenty of “standing desks” on the market are fixed at a single height, which just trades one static posture for another. This guide shows you how to set a correct sitting height and a correct standing height using one simple test, match your monitor to both positions, and understand why an adjustable sit-stand desk gives you more flexibility than a fixed-height one. For the fuller setup beyond height alone, see our ultimate guide to an ergonomic desk setup.

What to Check Before You Start

A fixed-height standing desk can’t get you through this guide, because Step 1 below sets a sitting height, and a fixed-height desk has no sitting position at all to set. Only an adjustable sit-stand desk, whether electric or manual crank, can do both. Before you start, check three things:

• Adjustment mechanism: confirm your desk actually has a working height-adjustment mechanism, electric motor or manual crank, and run it through its full range once so a stuck crank or a slow motor doesn’t catch you out mid-step.

• Footwear: decide what shoes, or bare feet, you’ll be wearing while you measure, since even a couple of centimetres of heel height changes the numbers you land on.

• Chair height: check that your chair height is already set correctly, browse  our range of ergonomic chairs or read The Science of Ergonomics: How to Choose an Office Chair That Supports Your Posture if it isn’t.

BDO’s own height-adjustable desk range spans single, dual and triple-motor electric models, built specifically so this two-height process is possible on one desk, not split across two different pieces of furniture.

How to Set Your Standing Desk Height: 4 Steps

Step 1: Set Your Sitting Height First

Sit down, relax your shoulders, and adjust the desk until your forearms sit level with the desktop at a 90-degree elbow bend, feet flat on the floor. This is the step a fixed-height standing desk skips entirely, it was never built to be a sitting desk too. An adjustable desk lets you dial this in exactly, rather than locking you into whatever height a fixed frame happened to ship at.

Step 2: Set Your Standing Height With the Elbow Test

Standing desk height isn’t a fixed number, it’s a position you find for yourself. Stand tall, relax your shoulders, and raise the desk until it meets your forearms at the same 90-degree elbow bend, the same test, a different position. This is exactly where a fixed-height standing desk gets stuck, it locks in one number that can’t flex between different staff members, different shoes, or a change of desk location. An electric sit-stand desk makes this easy to adjust at the touch of a button, which is why Pinion Advisory moved its team onto electric sit-stand desks.

Step 3: Match Your Monitor to the New Height

Position your monitor about an arm’s length away with the top of the screen just above eye level, per guidance from Comcare, the Australian Government’s workplace safety body, and tilt the screen back roughly 15 degrees. This isn’t a one-off setting, it needs rechecking every time you move between sitting and standing, since your correct eye line shifts with the desk. A monitor arm makes this quick to redo, where a fixed monitor stand makes rechecking this step at every height change far harder.

Step 4: Change Position Regularly Throughout the Day

Once both heights are set, the goal is to change posture regularly throughout the day and avoid prolonged periods in either position. The benefit of an adjustable sit-stand desk isn’t simply standing more, it’s giving you the ability to change position rather than remaining in one static posture for extended periods. Safe Work Australia’s guidance recommends designing workstations so workers can vary postures and movements, and notes that sitting for longer than 30 minutes without a break is likely to be bad for health, and that over 7 hours a day of sedentary behaviour is too much. Research also suggests that standing more isn’t a cure-all on its own. A 2024 University of Sydney study, led by Dr Matthew Ahmadi and Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, used wrist-worn wearables to measure overall sitting and standing time in 83,013 UK adults over seven to eight years. It found that standing more compared with sitting did not improve cardiovascular health, and could increase the risk of circulatory issues such as varicose veins. It wasn’t a standing-desk study, though: the University notes that standing-desk use likely made up only a very small fraction of the standing measured, and the researchers recommend regular breaks and incidental movement throughout the day. A fixed-height standing desk only offers one working height, while an adjustable sit-stand desk lets you move between sitting and standing as often as you need. An anti-fatigue mat under the desk can make the standing half more comfortable too.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

A few mistakes come up again and again once the desk arrives:

• Buying a fixed-height standing desk expecting it to solve a sitting problem, which only swaps one static posture for another, upright instead of seated. Fix: choose an adjustable sit-stand desk that lets you change position throughout the day.

• Setting the height once and never touching it again, ignoring that a different staff member, a new pair of shoes, or even a different chair changes the numbers. Fix: treat both the sitting and standing settings as things to recheck periodically, not a one-off task.

• Changing desk height but leaving the monitor exactly where it was, which leaves your screen at the wrong height for your new position. Fix: recheck the arm’s-length, just-above-eye-level position from Step 3 every time the desk moves.

• Standing for hours straight because standing is supposedly healthier, which just swaps one static posture for another. Fix: change posture regularly throughout the day and avoid prolonged periods in either position.

Why Buy Your Adjustable Sit-Stand Desk from BDO Furniture?

BDO Furniture has more than 30 years’ experience supplying and manufacturing commercial furniture in Australia, including custom-made solutions for commercial projects, with electric and manual sit-stand desks supplied to offices, schools, healthcare providers and government fit-outs across the country. Here’s what that means for you:

• 100% Australian-owned and operated commercial furniture supplier: more than 30 years’ experience in furniture manufacturing and supply, with electric and manual sit-stand desks for offices, schools, healthcare and government fit-outs across the country.

• Price Beat Guarantee: manufacturer-direct pricing, so a genuine adjustable sit-stand desk never has to blow a bulk fit-out budget.

• Fast dispatch from six warehouses: across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Darwin, so a replacement or top-up order for your team doesn’t sit in transit for weeks.

• Product-specific commercial warranties: warranty cover varies by desk and is listed on each product page, so you can check exactly what’s covered before you buy.

Browse the sit-stand desks range or call 1300 313 495 for a custom bulk quote and we’ll help you get it right the first time.

Standing Desk Height FAQ’s

What is the ideal standing desk height?

There’s no single ideal number, it’s whatever height puts your forearms level with the desktop at a 90-degree elbow bend when you stand tall, feet flat and shoulders relaxed. That’s why an electric sit-stand desk with a wide adjustment range matters more than any fixed measurement you’ll find on a chart.

Do I need an adjustable-height standing desk, or is a fixed-height desk enough?

An adjustable desk gives you more flexibility than a fixed-height one. A fixed-height standing desk can only be set at one height and can’t double as your sitting desk, so it doesn’t let you move between sitting and standing. An adjustable desk lets you vary your posture throughout the day, which aligns with Safe Work Australia’s guidance on designing workstations so workers can vary postures and movements. Look for a genuine standing desk adjustable height range on both ends, sitting and standing, not just a taller fixed frame marketed as a standing desk.

Is standing all day actually healthier than sitting all day?

Not necessarily. A 2024 University of Sydney study measured overall sitting and standing time in 83,013 UK adults and found that standing more compared with sitting did not improve cardiovascular health, and could increase the risk of circulatory issues such as varicose veins. It wasn’t a standing-desk study, and standing-desk use likely made up only a small fraction of the standing measured. The better goal is to change posture regularly throughout the day and avoid prolonged periods in either position.

Can I get bulk pricing on adjustable sit-stand desks for my office?

Yes, BDO Furniture offers manufacturer-direct bulk pricing on electric and manual sit-stand desks for office fit-outs of any size. Call BDO on 1300 313 495 for a custom quote.

How fast can BDO deliver adjustable sit-stand desks?

BDO Furniture dispatches from six warehouses across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Darwin, so most orders move quickly without waiting on a single east-coast hub to catch up. Free metro delivery is available on selected products, and stock held locally means a fit-out-sized order doesn’t get stuck waiting on one warehouse to restock.