For many of us, our workspaces become a second home away from home, where we invest countless hours. In corporate settings, your workspace could be a cubicle in a room full of others, your own private office, or part of an open, multi-type workspace. Regardless of the environment, a ubiquitous feature is the chair. How we engage with our workspace significantly influences our well-being and performance.

Body Interactions

The body interacts with the workspace in three fundamental ways: sitting, standing, and walking. The manner in which it engages during these activities is as crucial as the frequency of transitions between them. It's essential to move throughout the day to prevent the body from adapting to comfortable yet potentially harmful postures.

Movement Quality

Increased movement not only curtails the development of poor body postures but also heightens body awareness. The missing piece often lies in the specific movement patterns we choose and how we execute them, especially in a work environment. The ongoing debate in workplace design revolves around the balance between open and isolated spaces, each with valid perspectives.

Relationship to workspace

In both scenarios, workers relate to tools within their workspace, such as chairs, desks, monitors, mice, keyboards, and tablets. The critical question for all of us is: How do the workspace and its tools impact the space within and outside our bodies? Some may wonder about the space outside the body—a concept familiar to visual artists known as "negative" space.

Concept of negative space

Negative space, in art, refers to the area around and between the subjects of an image. Similarly, our bodies can unknowingly adopt comfortable yet distorted postures. Understanding how each body region relates to others and how tools shape our bodies is crucial. Consider the example of sitting: How does your head relate to your torso and pelvis, and how do these relationships change in a slouched position?

Body shape and the tools of the work environment

Another perspective is observing how tools, like chairs, influence body shape. Before sitting, assess the chair's shape and contemplate how it will impact your posture. Objects in our environment create the "negative" space our bodies relate to. How can you alter this space for an ideal sitting experience?

On-demand body awareness

The solution lies in establishing on-demand body awareness and improving the "shape" of your negative space. What steps are you taking to enhance your sitting experience? I look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback.