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The workplace seems like the last place you’d ever have to worry about getting injured.  Many people believe that sitting around on a computer all day is a completely innocuous activity.  What harm could befall a desk worker? As it turns out – quite a lot.

Sedentary workers are particularly prone to repetitive motion injuries and musculoskeletal disorders resulting from improper posture and lack of regular movement.  Prolonged sitting can also induce hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, which taken together can significantly reduce both quality of life and longevity. All of these maladies mean more time out of the office for employees receiving treatment and lower production in the office due to pain and reduced morale. Indeed, the workplace plays the slow con when it comes to harming employees, and companies may not realize what’s occurring before it’s too late, costing them thousands in the long run.

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The need for ergonomic furniture and routine physical activity throughout the workday has thus never been so critical.  And, according to a new survey conducted by Keas, a provider of employee health and engagement programs and applications, employees are extremely willing to get on board.

In fact, 43 percent of respondents indicate that better health is their primary goal for 2014, ranking above more money, more sleep, more time, more love and more sex.  This same percentage expressed a desire to escape being chained to a desk all day long and take time to get up and go for a walk, with more than half of all respondents believing that sitting all day at work is having the most negative impact on their health. 

Perhaps the workplace doesn’t seem all that harmless to most after all.

More importantly, the employees surveyed seemed quite willing to buy into workplace health initiatives and adopt ergonomic furniture solutions.  Forty-two percent expressed a willingness to use a standing desk in exchange for great health in 2014 and nearly two-thirds are either willing or currently use health tracking apps and gadgets to gauge fitness and habits.  Moreover, while 38 percent say that a cash reward would most motivate them to participate in a corporate health program, a nearly equal amount (32 percent) say that improved health and energy is motivation enough.

 “The trillion dollar question for employers today is how to not only boost employee engagement and productivity in the workplace, but keep it growing.  Engaging employees by making health part of the company culture has become a key factor in this equation,” said Josh Stevens, CEO of Keas. “Healthier employees are happier employees, and happier employees are more engaged and productive.”

A combination of furniture solutions and corporate health initiatives will likely be necessary to best help such employees reach their goals and successfully avoid the dangers of a sedentary work environment.