Varidesk Cube Plus 40 Adjustable Office Desk Review

Obviously, a lot has been said about the need for office workers who stare at a screen all day to take regular breaks from the screen to preserve eye-sight (and sanity), but the other side of screen-surfing for extended periods is talked about less. Stagnation is a real killer and a silent one that sneaks up on you.

Working in an office can play merry hell on your back, your neck and your well-being generally: it's way too easy to get into a cycle of inactivity over the 7 or 8 hours a day you sit at your desk answering emails, crunching numbers of day dreaming absent-mindedly out of the window.

Inactivity breeds ill-health, and while it's not possible to simply stop working to go for a jog midway through your shift there are small wins you can gain without having to stop working. The best, in my opinion, is investing in an adjustable height desk, allowing you to stand and work at your work space without compromising on productivity (hark the sound of delighted bosses everywhere).

That's where the Varidesk Cube Plus 40 comes into play. The adjustable desk top unit offers the chance for multiple heights (for shorter and giant-like tall people), it's sturdy and comes in a range of colours to suit your desk. It's slightly smaller than the Cube Plus 48, so it's perfect for standard sized office cubicles and it's still more than large enough to fit dual monitors.

Meanwhile, your keyboard and mouse are set lower than the screen for a more natural stance, and the mechanism has been designed so ergonomically that it's mostly impossible to not learn how to adjust even without instructions. The patented two-handle, spring-assisted lifting mechanism is smart and takes no strength to use - though, word of warning, the springs are strong and will catch you off guard if you don't keep holding on.

Nobody wants your computer launching comically across the room.

The biggest benefit here is that the desk's makers claim that it can burn an extra 52,000 calories over a year if used every day, which has to be a big bonus if you struggle with inactivity at work. It's the small steps that start the marathon, after all.

The one slight draw back is the material the desk is made of isn't entirely suitable for Macs, as their burnished metal can slip all over the place and if you're not paying attention, the monitor can fall off when you adjust. Just something to bear in mind more than a criticism.

Verdict: Highly Recommended.

You can buy all of Varidesks' range of adjustable height desks here.