Most of us don’t sit the way we do because we want to.
We sit because work demands it. Because screens, meetings and deadlines keep us at our desks for hours at a time. And somewhere along the way, we were taught that the solution to the discomfort that follows is simple: sit up straight.
Pull your shoulders back.
Keep your spine tall.
Hold yourself “properly”.
But if good posture was the answer, most of us would feel better by now.
Instead, desk work still comes with sore backs, stiff hips, tight necks and that familiar end of day fatigue even when we’re trying our best to sit well.
So what’s missing?
The problem isn’t posture, it’s stillness
The idea of “good posture” comes from a time when work was shorter, movement was built into the day, and sitting wasn’t something we did for eight or more hours straight.
Today, our workdays look very different.
We sit for meetings.
We sit to answer emails.
We sit to focus, to create, to think.
And even when we’re sitting upright, we’re often completely still.
That’s where the discomfort creeps in.
Our bodies aren’t designed to hold one position even a “good” one for long periods of time. When we stay static, muscle tension builds, circulation slows, and stabilising muscles gradually switch off.
It’s not that we’re sitting wrong.
It’s that we’re sitting without movement.
Rethinking what “good posture” really means
More recently, ergonomics and movement experts have started to shift the conversation away from perfect posture and towards something more realistic: dynamic posture.
Dynamic posture recognises that the healthiest position is never just one position.
In fact, ergonomics experts often summarise it simply:
“Your best posture is your next posture.”
In other words, regular movement and variation matter far more than holding one “good” pose for hours at a time.
It’s the subtle shifts.
The gentle engagement of muscles.
The small changes that happen naturally when the body is allowed to move.
This kind of movement doesn’t look dramatic. You might not even notice you’re doing it. But over the course of a long workday, it can make a meaningful difference in how your body feels.
Why holding yourself still can backfire
Ironically, trying to maintain perfect posture all day can make things worse.
When we consciously brace or hold ourselves upright, we often:
• Over engage certain muscles
• Create unnecessary tension
• Become fatigued more quickly
It turns sitting into something effortful something to endure rather than something that supports us while we work.
Movement, on the other hand, distributes load more evenly across the body. It keeps muscles gently active and allows joints to move through small, healthy ranges.
This isn’t about abandoning posture (or your chair) altogether. It’s about softening our approach.
What this means for modern work
The way we work has changed, but many of the tools and rules we rely on haven’t caught up.
If your job involves long periods at a desk, feeling uncomfortable isn’t a personal failure. It’s often a design problem.
That’s why conversations around workplace wellbeing are starting to move beyond “sit better” and towards:
• Designing workspaces that support movement
• Normalising small, regular shifts throughout the day
• Letting go of the idea that stillness equals discipline
When we allow movement to be part of how we work rather than something we have to schedule around it work starts to feel more sustainable.
A more realistic way forward
Good posture isn’t something you hold.
It’s something that changes.
It adapts to how you feel, what you’re doing, and how long you’ve been there. And when we give ourselves permission to move even subtly we often find that comfort follows naturally.
At Esfera, this belief sits at the heart of everything we design. Not because movement needs to be complicated, but because it belongs in everyday life including at your desk.