Tokyo-based Rakuten permits each workers’ desk at their head office to be customized for their height with standing desks that can be moved up and down. “I feel fresh and can focus,” says Ken Mukai, 25, an employee at Rakuten’s human resources department. He notes he elevates his desk and works standing after lunch when he is prone to getting sleepy. Mukai’s company debuted about 13,000 standing desks in 2015 for all its workers, including its overseas workers.
Another Tokyo-based firm, Fujikura, an electrical wire manufacturer, also started using standing desks. “We have adopted them as a management strategy,” says Kenichiro Asano, deputy manager in charge of health management promotion. “Creating a sustainable healthy environment is not a cost, but an investment.”