Now, standing desks are extremely popular among health conscious corporate employees, so some readers might be surprised that Propst's designed them about 55 years ago. Stand-up offices were used even in the year 1900. The stand-up desk of the past usually had a roll top so that workers could safely leave their work out overnight, rather than clean them off every day before heading home.
Probst's stand-up workstation usually had a moveable display feature for source documents or magazines and even a communications center stand that was insulated for better sound. Why did these stand up desk stations not become more popular back then? Well supervisors disliked them since standing employees outputs were harder to observe than when their employees were sitting.
Modular furnishings fulfilled a variety of functional requirements which allowed a variety of arrangements. They were able to grow as companies staff and shrink when companies reduced their workforce. Modular furniture layouts soon became the benchmark for decades as it morphed into the dreaded cubicle farm.
Around 1980, companies began to expand the layers of mid-level managers. Cubicles then became the sites for this level of employee. The middle manager was too important for a simple exposed desk but not yet elite enough for a window private office. Move them into a semi-private and cheaply configured cubicle! Voila! Cubicle farms are born with a purpose.
It's interesting looking back at how we came about our modern office settings as well but that's another story to tell. If you would like assistance with your office ergonomics call Ergobility today.
San Francisco, CA - Ergonomists Provides Ergonomics Employee Assessments
SYNOPSIS: If you have new employees, you can overlook an ergonomic assessment as part of their onboarding. An ergonomic consultant in San Francisco can help your employees work safely right from the get go!
New employees most efficient with ergonomic assessment
BY: Allen Yagjian, Ergobility LLC
I'm wondering why no one is talking about "action" office systems in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1960, a man named Robert Propst took a closer look at a workers' creativity and productivity. He did this by interviewing workers, psychologists, and industrial experts. He then reviewed his own workstation and analyzed the drawbacks and advantages. Through his analysis, he found that an office environment is a wasteland. It saps the vitality out of people, blocking their true talents, and leads to frustration.
It is a daily scene of unfulfilled intentions on repeat. This is why he set out to redesign office spaces. He started with modular desk units, including a stand-up desk and a writing desk. This is a system and the "action" was a modular business furniture system with low dividers and flexible work surfaces. This design is believe it or not still around today. However, we know it more familiarly as the "cubicle."
Now, standing desks are extremely popular among health conscious corporate employees, so some readers might be surprised that Propst's designed them about 55 years ago. Stand-up offices were used even in the year 1900. The stand-up desk of the past usually had a roll top so that workers could safely leave their work out overnight, rather than clean them off every day before heading home.
Probst's stand-up workstation usually had a moveable display feature for source documents or magazines and even a communications center stand that was insulated for better sound. Why did these stand up desk stations not become more popular back then? Well supervisors disliked them since standing employees outputs were harder to observe than when their employees were sitting.
Modular furnishings fulfilled a variety of functional requirements which allowed a variety of arrangements. They were able to grow as companies staff and shrink when companies reduced their workforce. Modular furniture layouts soon became the benchmark for decades as it morphed into the dreaded cubicle farm.
Around 1980, companies began to expand the layers of mid-level managers. Cubicles then became the sites for this level of employee. The middle manager was too important for a simple exposed desk but not yet elite enough for a window private office. Move them into a semi-private and cheaply configured cubicle! Voila! Cubicle farms are born with a purpose.
It's interesting looking back at how we came about our modern office settings as well but that's another story to tell. If you would like assistance with your office ergonomics call Ergobility today.
Now, standing desks are extremely popular among health conscious corporate employees, so some readers might be surprised that Propst's designed them about 55 years ago. Stand-up offices were used even in the year 1900. The stand-up desk of the past usually had a roll top so that workers could safely leave their work out overnight, rather than clean them off every day before heading home.
Probst's stand-up workstation usually had a moveable display feature for source documents or magazines and even a communications center stand that was insulated for better sound. Why did these stand up desk stations not become more popular back then? Well supervisors disliked them since standing employees outputs were harder to observe than when their employees were sitting.
Modular furnishings fulfilled a variety of functional requirements which allowed a variety of arrangements. They were able to grow as companies staff and shrink when companies reduced their workforce. Modular furniture layouts soon became the benchmark for decades as it morphed into the dreaded cubicle farm.
Around 1980, companies began to expand the layers of mid-level managers. Cubicles then became the sites for this level of employee. The middle manager was too important for a simple exposed desk but not yet elite enough for a window private office. Move them into a semi-private and cheaply configured cubicle! Voila! Cubicle farms are born with a purpose.
It's interesting looking back at how we came about our modern office settings as well but that's another story to tell. If you would like assistance with your office ergonomics call Ergobility today.
