When we opened the Brilliant Ink NYC office earlier this year, one thing we made sure to get were desks that would allow us to stand while we’re working (check out the photo at left to see one of our desks “in action”). Don’t get me wrong – we don’t stand and work ALL day, but it is nice to have the option to stand up for periods of time throughout the day. There’s a wealth of evidence showing it’s not healthy to sit all day, and I also find it’s a great way to boost my energy and focus, particularly when I’m hitting that late afternoon slump.

But if standing desks were the hot thing a year ago, the latest trend may be standing meetings. A recent study sought to look beyond the physical benefits of standing up at work to find out if people actually do better work while standing. The researchers looked at the outcomes of collaborative work teams – some meeting and working together in rooms with no chairs, and others with chairs. What they found is that working in the room without chairs “increased group arousal, decreased territorial behavior and increased sharing of information and ideas to statistically significant degrees.”

The conclusion? Companies might want to think differently about traditional meetings and meeting spaces. According to the researchers who led the study: “Our results suggest that if leaders aspire to enhance collaborative knowledge work, they might consider eschewing the traditional conference room setup of tables and chairs and, instead, clear an open space for people to collaborate with one another.” Getting people up and moving will raise their energy level, encourage creativity and collaboration, and ultimately result in better work products.

While doing an entire meeting standing up might not be realistic depending on the topic you’re discussing, this evidence suggests it might be beneficial to stand up for a portion of the meeting – perhaps standing up for initial introductions or a review of the agenda would be a great way to start every meeting on the right foot. Or a standing ice breaker would help break up a lengthy working session. Whatever you do, it’s clear there are lots of benefits to be had by incorporating a little more standing time into your work day.

And if you think all of this standing up business is a whole lot of hullabaloo, this article will amuse you.