New York City developer Lester Fromme has celebrated the benefits of standing desks for months. But that doesn’t mean he was willing to give up his seat during a recent commute while surrounded by two elderly people, a pregnant woman, and a man wearing an air cast.
Fromme, who informed his entire department that it’s just as easy if not easier to work while standing, apparently found it vital to remain seated while holding his seven ounce Kindle device on a crowded L train.
“It’s not that he didn’t see us,” says Ella Walsh, the pregnant passenger. “I made eye contact with him three times, and my belly was literally brushing against his hands.”
Fromme will tell anyone who will listen that sitting for more than three hours a day increases mortality rates, which is why he uses a standing desk throughout the workday. This apparently was not enough to dissuade him from sitting through his 20-minute train commute as a small child nearby desperately clutched the pole in an attempt to steady himself.
At a recent doctor appointment, Fromme informed his own doctor of the improved blood sugar and cholesterol levels associated with standing for longer periods of the day. But when it comes to public transportation, he eschews those benefits for grabbing the last remaining seat on a train full of people less able bodied than himself.
“I guess he likes the benefits of standing, but only when they benefit himself,” said Lisa Markowitz, a coworker of Fromme’s who arrived late to a meeting last week and had to wait for one of her female coworkers to offer her a seat due to her arthritis.
Asked for his reasoning behind the selective standing, Fromme says, “Well, I’ve got to give myself a break sometimes. I stood for literally six straight hours yesterday. I tracked it on MyFitnessPal. You can see it on there. Go ahead, look!”
