Pull Up a Chair

Standing Up for Sitting Down

What's going on: If you’ve ever worked in retail or customer service, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean” (shoutout to the Nautica in Daily Skimm writer Erika’s hometown outlet mall). Apparently, the only way to be a good worker is to stand like the Tin Man at all times. The TSA seems to agree: It announced on Wednesday that it’s removing chairs at ID checkpoints in airports around the US. "This welcome change reinforces both our security posture and our commitment to hospitality by having these officers on their feet and alert," a spokesperson told ABC News. The union representing TSA employees pushed back, saying the agency is treating sitting like a “privilege” when it’s actually “basic safety and common decency for the workforce.” (Prolonged standing can lead to adverse health conditions, including lower back, foot, and knee pain.) This news comes amid other changes in the TSA, including expanding TSA PreCheck and privatizing some checkpoints.

Why are we so obsessed with standing?: America is one of just a few countries where employers can require workers to stand throughout their shifts (Canada is another). And in the US, the battle over the right to sit goes back to factories in the 1880s. Some states and cities have their own “right to sit” laws, but most of the US doesn’t. The ADA allows disabled workers to request seats as a “reasonable accommodation,” and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act does the same, but these rules aren’t always honored. Experts say that culturally, we’re stuck in an endless feedback loop associating standing with good customer service, but elsewhere, they’re not so linked. Perhaps we can take a page from European retailers. As chains like Aldi have spread to the US, customers have noticed that cashiers can sit down, and somehow, the work not only gets done, but even improves.

Related: A Japanese Chain Hired Lady Gaga To Solve Its Labor Shortage (SmartCompany)