Michelle's corner

To be happy is to be safe, socially active and mentally stimulated. Our workplaces should reflect this, with furniture contributing to our wellbeing.

The vast majority of my life will be sat at desks, in chairs which will either help or wreck my back. I regarded it as being in my own best interests to give this book a chance. But it actually goes well beyond furniture.

I saw a number of things; I was technical lead on a project which was part of an overall system where an organisation went to majority hot desks. It failed badly. In these pages is the explanation as to why...

We are human and our interpersonal space determines how comfortable we are at work.

 

Employees do not have any legal territorial rights over their workplaces; but that doesn't mean they have no territorial feelings. Humans are the only mammal that walks upright with our vital organs exposed and are instinctively protective of our personal space.

 

In the 1960's anthropologist Edward Hall defined our invisible personal space boundaries with, "proxmetrics," discovering that we all need room around us to claim as our personal space and use to orient ourselves with others.

 

We use this perceived ownership of space to demonstrate our claim of territory, even if it's for a short while. We also use it to define our personal comfort within any situation.

 

We need the stability of ownership, even if it's only perceived; or seen as a reward for our progress, like the coveted corner offices. Running to hot desks for everyone, is a recipe for upset people, just like not allowing a plant to set down roots.

So ... yeah... I'm reading that book.