Sitting is the new smoking: demand for height-adjustable desks skyrocketing
21-4-2026
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Height-adjustable desks have overtaken more traditional models at full speed on Galaxus – and the gap continues to widen. Today, 80 per cent of desks ordered on Galaxus offer height variation. Working from home, lower prices and increased health consciousness have all contributed to this boost in sales.
«Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death,» says Dr James Levine (Arizona State University), the man behind the frequently quoted statement. Exaggeration or not, it’s a fact that Galaxus’s customers are no longer prepared to be sedentary throughout their work hours. This is reflected in sales figures of height-adjustable desks in the past five years.
As recently as 2021, 80 per cent of desks sold at Galaxus were the traditional, non-height-adjustable kind. At that time, height-adjustable desks accounted for just 22 per cent. By 2023, the balance had shifted, with flexible desks making up just over half of all sales for the first time. By 2025, 75 per cent of desk sales were already accounted for by flexible models, compared to just 25 per cent by fixed height desks. The figures from the first quarter of 2026 confirm this trend, with 80 per cent of desks sold being the flexible type. They include electrically or crank-operated models or the kind that can be adjusted in just a few simple steps.
A market undergoing fundamental changes
The trend is being fuelled by scientific findings on workplace ergonomics. A recent study (in German) commissioned by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) revealed that two thirds of the surveyed remote workers didn’t have a height-adjustable desk – a fact that’s explicitly classified as an ergonomic shortcoming. In other words, the study confirms the increased demand for flexible office furniture.
Antonio Manduca, Category Business Manager at Galaxus whose remit includes desks, says: «The traditional desk has seen its day. Height-adjustable desks now make up the lion’s share of our desk sales and have become significantly more attractive in terms of value for money in recent years.»
Health considerations pushing purchasing
According to the SECO study, 80 per cent of the remote workers surveyed said they practised presenteeism, meaning working from home while sick. This was also largely associated with poorer overall health. This seems to have made people want to at least invest in health-promoting equipment for their home office setup. «Growing awareness of health risks is likely to encourage employees to invest in ergonomic improvements when setting up their workspace at home,» says Bianca Suter, Corporate Health Developer at Galaxus. «We’re seeing this happen in our company as well. Two or three years ago, many of our employees were still working at their kitchen tables with their laptops. These days, more and more people are equipping their workspace at the office or at home with a height-adjustable desk and an external monitor.»
Market trends show that affordable technology for adjustable desks and increased health awareness have made height adjustability a mainstream purchasing criteria.
Header image: Epiximages / iStockphoto
Daniel Borchers
Senior Communications Manager
Daniel.Borchers@galaxus.deA soft spot for good series, loud music, science fiction and (second division) football. As PR Manager, I am available to answer journalists' questions about Galaxus and honest e-commerce.
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