Earlier this year CoreNet Global released its projections that by 2017, the average U.S. worker will be allocated less than 100 square feet at work. This compares to an average of 225 square feet in 2010. This sounds like a whopping drop, and is perhaps precipitated by our recent economic woes. Regardless, will cramming more people into the same space make people even more stressed and less healthy? Less space is just one aspect of our offices that might affect our health, but there are many more. Perhaps it is time to rethink how we create healthy workplaces.
Because of a phenomenon called situational blindness, we tend to become so familiar with the usual places that we inhabit that we stop noticing things about them. Think of a messy kid who seems not to notice the pile of clothes and other garbage on the floor of his room. A similar effect makes us oblivious to the layout of our office space and its effect on our health. Two recent articles from the New York Times suggest that long periods of sitting each day can lead to a reduction of a few years or more in expected length of life, even if you exercise each day.
