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Summer 2013 | p2p Magaz i ne |
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www.binfo.co.uk
Postures driven by mobile technology
A Steelcase study of over 2,000 people
in a wide range of environments in 11
countries has identified the adoption
of nine new postures as a direct result
of using small, mobile technology such
as smartphones, tablets and laptops, as
well as new workplace behaviours.
The newly identified postures that
Steelcase says frequently cause pain and
long-term injuries, disrupting concentration
and creativity are:
1. The Draw
– technology (small and
mobile) allows people to pull back
from their desks while they use it. They
recline, signalling they’re contemplating
or absorbing information and draw the
device closer to their body to maintain
an optimal focal length.
2. The Multi-Device
– this posture is
representative of how people adapt to
multitasking on multiple devices, with
one hand holding a phone to the ear
and the other tasking on a laptop. The
result is a forward lean symbolic of
concentration and an orientation to the
smaller screen of a laptop.
3. The Text
– smartphones are small
compared to other forms of technology
and require unique postures.Workers
bring arms in close, as keying and
gesturing are performed.
4. The Cocoon
– people recline, bring up
their feet onto the seat and draw their
smartphone or tablet close, resting on
their thighs. Small mobile technology
allows people to remain productive in
this cocoon posture.
5. The Swipe
– when the device is used
on a worksurface in surfing mode and
operated with one hand, typically with
swiping gestures. Because the device is
on a flat surface, a person must keep
their head a certain distance above the
tablet in order to see it and position their
head to look down at it.
6. The Smart Lean
– this posture occurs
when mobile devices create the desire
for people to temporarily pull away
from others without leaving a meeting
or collaborative environment. This is
typically a temporary posture and used
for glancing at incoming texts or emails.
7. The Trance
– was observed when people
were focused on the screen and either
mousing or using a touchpad to navigate
on the screen for extended periods of
time.
8. The Take It In
– is when people recline to
view content on the large display and/or
sit back to contemplate. This posture is
about taking in information rather than
generating it.
9. The Strunch or stretched-out hunch
– a very common posture adopted by
laptop users. As people become fatigued,
they gradually push their laptop further
from the edge of the worksurface, resting
their weight on the surface. This causes
them to reach forward to work. Since the
back and neck cannot sustain the reach
and hunch posture for a long time, the
person begins to prop themselves up
with their non-tasking arm.
Researchers also noted a more extreme
range of human sizes around the world,
which impacts postures, as well as a
trend for people to shift rapidly between
individual, focused tasks and creative
collaboration, changing postures with each
new challenge.
Commenting on the research, James
Ludwig, Vice President of Global Design for
Steelcase, said: “We love our technology;
it’s become a ubiquitous extension of
ourselves. But the way technology impacts
our bodies as we work has been largely
ignored.”
Go with the flow
Bene has launched two new seating products, both from
the drawing board of London design studio PearsonLloyd.
RIYA is an ideal task seating solution for shared workstations
thanks to its automatic weight adjustment, while its classic
synchronous mechanism makes it a comfortable seat for people
who work for long periods at a personal desk.
The Bay Chair offers intuitive height adjustment and automatic
adaption of the counter pressure in the backrest to adjust to
the user’s body weight. This delivers comfort and freedom of
movement that invites users to try a broad range of seating
positions.
www.bene.com
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RIYA
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