CHANGES IN WORK PLACES REFLECT
CHANGES IN TASK STRUCTURE
Robert Propst, President, H erman Miller Research Corporation, Ann Arbor,
Michigan, explores many of the psychological and physiological considerations
of workplace functions and how they affect work place design
Undoubtedly one of the most thorough
and original thinkers about the of-
fice and furnishing systems, Robert
Propst, president of Herman Miller
Research Corp., answers questions re-
lating to desk, design put to him by
CONTRACT's editors. At the outset, he
prefers "work station" instead of
"desk" as the name for. the office
workplace, for reasons outlined in the
article.
The reader also will recognize much
of the philosophy and r esearch con-
ducted by Propst in his book The
Office: A Facility B ased On Chatng e,
which delved into man's relationship
with people and furnishings that had
never been examined so minutely and
incisively before.
Action Office II was the outgrowth
of that research. CONTRACT's editors,
while recognizing t his irrevocable re-
lationship, have attemped to probe be-
yond it in this question and answer
article.
Editor: You generally avoid use of the
word "desk," preferring "work sta-
tion" instead. Is there a difference be-
tween t he two? How would you define
each of them?
Propst: The word "desk" has been
used so long that it suffers from mean-
ing fatigue. For most people it sim-
ply conj ures up in their m inds a styl-
ized image with little mobility, fresh-
ness, or relevance to their actual work
life. We are, in fact, not very decisive
about using furniture to do work. Us-
ing the term station as a place to do
office work seems like a useful direc-
tion.
Editor: Doesn't the traditional desk,
which can vary ·i n size, material, and
shape, help establish rank, 'O r status?
JUN E 19 70
T
How important is a "status symbol"
desk to the user? T'O the visitor?
What are the exact psychological or
behavioral forces at work on both the
visitor and user with the traditional
desk?
Propst: We are very interested in
status and certainly desks have be-
come part of this m~aning. The diffi-
culty we see with traditi'O nal status
symbols is their misdirected emphasis
and, in many cases, their obsolete con-
notation in contemporary organiza-
tiona! management. Certainly, people
need strong identification. "What is
iny authority" is one of the things
desks tend to express. However, other
critical new statements are emerging
with greater consequence. An office
should tell us more; who I am; what
kind of work I do; what is its variety
and diversity. The problem is to re-
tain a tangible grip on a complex
world and to make t his all eloquently
expressive to others. The traditional
status symbols are not only simplistic,
they are a communication hazard in
a world requiring clearer, and at the
same time, more complex expression.
Editor: You advocate t he open plan-
a modified office landscape. Yet most
offices are still enclosed cubicles. Can
Action Office II function effectively
for the user within t his framework of
four walls, a door, and (hopefully)
windows? If so, how?
Propst: Action Office II can function
effectively within four walls, a door,
and windows. This may, in fact, be
what some office users still need. How-
ever, t his is part of a rapidly declin-
ing professional population, who are
aside from the exceedingly dynamic
world of typical organizational com-
munication structures. And, unless
they can stand excessive delay and
cost in expressing office facilities, they
are bound to .b e frustrated with un-
resPQnsive facilities . We are a change-
oriented society and we expect our
change desires to be accommodated.
But I would re-emphasize that it is a
communication deprivation that is the
most .c ompelling reason for leaving
overly containerized office concepts.
Editor: The office and meth'Ods of
working are changing. How does this
73
Propst: "A large desk provides
a fortress feeling of security ."
affect t he desk or work station and
its configurations ?
Propst: Office work has become more
complex, tasks overlap each other in
time, and we are discovering that
"work" in offices has important struc-
tural qualities. A traditi'Onal desk
comes from a departing era of simpler
tasks, conducted in sequence and of
short time duration. T his kind of
work is rap idly disappearing into ma-
chines, especially the computer. We
see that tasks are generated, that they
become mental meaning structures
that properly should be maintained,
sometimes for days or weeks. We see
that our complex affairs may require
places f'Or numerous simultaneous
task structures. We also can see that
conversations across our sensitive per-
sonal paper work structures are not
very satisfactory. Within this context,
I think you can see why we tend to
think in terms of multiple surfaces
and a very different kind of office
geography.
Editor: Some people like to face \vin-
d'Ows, others the door. Psychologically,
how does the user react to the position
of the desk within an office?
Propst: I like to face windo·w s or
doors if they have the right meaning
ingredients. Psychologically they have
the potential to keep us tuned to an
outside world and more important, in
tight office situations, to give us a
distant vision relief from too much
close vision surroundings.
It is gradually being · discovered
that spacious interior open space has
more meaning potential than windows .
A vista across an attractive and rele-
vant space that is a part of our im-
medite organizational family wins
hands down as a choice of what we
might want to see beyond our ovnl
immediate turf. This has to be defi-
nitely part of a planning s+.rategy.
which gives everyone some distance
vista potential.
Our preoccupation with windows is
74
part ly a cult ural inheritance from the
days wh en being near w indows was
part of get t ing enou gh li ght and n
reasonable whiff of fresh air. Interior
spans were short. We are just dis ·
covering wh at interior viewing is all
abo ut.
Editor: You cla im that the traditional
desk encour ages a sedentary work po-
sition. Does the stand-up desk reall?J
solve this pr oblem ? F or psychological
and physiological reas'Ons, what about
an exercise room where an employee
can, say, ease a tense moment by tak-
ing jabs at a punching bag, or by just
reclining on a cot?
Propst: I don't believe in encouraging
a life style of physical work that is .
so bad that we have to go through
constant recovery activit ies t'O escape
the dehabilitating consequences. Dr.
Cooper of Aerobics fame makes it
clear that mild physical activity helps
maintain our capacities better than
sh or t time h igh st ress exercise. Nap
taking, on t h e oth er hand, is a great always in sight. Why is this more ac- Wl
idea and would do wonders for us if ceptable than the conventional desk ten
we fin d a way to allow it in offices. I drawer , file cabinet, or compartmen- sur
have a pad t hat hangs on a wall. When talized credenza? Or simply several wh
I want a ten minute nap, I throw it stacks on a large work surface? arc
on the floor and I don't need a bed Propst: One of the clearest things that Pre
in my office. emerges for our research and the in-
ca:t:
Editor: Based on your research, what formation management research of obs
types of components should a desk or others is t h e disastrous consequences goc
wor k station have? of information sent into files and hid- fac
Propst: Surfaces for work gener ation, den storage. E xpensively generated era
open storage fm tangible information information dies and t h en we pay rent big
assembly, roundish clear tables for to keep the body around. we
conver sation, perhaps cover s for some Wor k in meaningful a r ray, if it has ing
kinds of work in process, and a mini- the right supportive tools, h as a work
wh•
mum of drawer storage. Working esthetic that can have a beauty of its is c
with th is kind of vocabulary, a tre- own. T his is the m eaning of what I tha
mendous variety of 'Offices · can be es- am doing. It is interesting and I can ten
tablished. Everycne has different needs control it. We have to place this for
and some of us obviously need much against the vapid blankness of too pie
mor e elaborate work areas than many offices. We need to recover from intE
others. Equally important, some of us the idea that the only good looking I thi~
need simpler offices t h at are very office is the one in which all work and I Ed i
good at self purging. individuality are missing . ( divi
Editor: Action Office II keeps most Editor: Action Office II provides rela- virc
papers out in the open where they are tively little work surface in one spot.
[ pon
CON TRACT
JUN

What are the advantages of this sys-
k tem as opposed t'O a continuous, large
surface, perhaps a U-shape desk
where the user can simply swivel
around within the slot?
t logically implemented.
Propst: Action Office II is designed in
.- capacity to fit the work structures we
f tation from another direction, mana-
observe as natural. This is based a
s good deal on straight forward human ·
factoring. We are inclined to give sev-
j really counts. In this context, it is be-
eral smaller stations, instead of one
t coming exceedingly pound foolish to
big one, to all'Ow task separation. And
we are also quite interested in avoid-
s ing the "Mussolini effect" achieved
(
when we sit behind huge desks. This
is a heavy-handed authority statement
that shuts off good conversational in-
terchange. A large desk provides a
fortress feeling 'Of security and peo-
ple who tend to be insecure or overly
interested in d'Ominating others seek
this effect.
Editor: With Action Office II, the in-
dividual can alter his own work en-
vironment by selecting different com-
ponents. Just how important is this
JUN E 1970
provision? Does it not create a prob-
lem for the office manager, who may
find an employee asking for more com-
ponents than he really needs?
Propst: Survey of the levels of equip-
ment accumulation were part of our
long periods of test installation study
for Action Office II. We were con-
cerned that people would gather
equipment as a new kind of status
game. We found that in the begin-
ning there is a mild tendency to pull
in more than needed. But this is fol-
lowed by a very interesting purging
back out of. extra equipment. From
then on, equipment levels tend to be
quite appropriate to actual work
needs.
Editor: The computer and other elec-
tronic equipment are fast dominating
the office. The computer demands-
and gets- a highly controlled environ-
ment 'Or it will simply quit. What has
been done for the employee so that he
can function as effectively and com-
fo.rtably as the computer he operates?
Action Office II in executive private
office combines wall-hung rolltop work
surface, file bin with cover and lock,
shelves and display shelves. A round
table is used for conferences.
Propst: The idea of what will domi-
nate needs to be turned around. The
need for high quality human mental
performance is beginning to dominate
the office. As your question suggests,
we need to apply mon~ attention to our
human performers. Unfortunately, not
enough has or is being done .
Editor: We understand you have de-
siined new accessories for the com-
puter-related office and work stati~m.
Are these "add-on" accessories to the
existing Action Office II line, or is new
furniture needed?
Propst: The computer-related compo-
nents we have developed are system
extensions of Action Office II.
Editor: If you were not bound by the
constraints of price, marketing, and
development of a specific product line,
what would you incorporate in a desk
or work station that does not now
exist?
Propst: I don't see pricing, marketing,
or development as particular con-
straints. The real constraint is the
still substantial lack of understanding
of the office environment. When we
really understand the problem dimen-
sion, the product programs can be
Looking at new concept implemen-
gers are finding that it is the effective
support of their human inventory that
under facilitate office workers.
But this doesn't necessarily mean
we need costly elaborate furnishings.
What all of us are most interested in
is maintaining an open option posi-
tion . In other words, as new demands
in performance or new discipline un-
derstanding comes along, we want to
have the options to pick up the new
advantages. This is far more impor-
tant than over-specialized office design
which can be pretty gruesome to set
aside when we want to grow or to
change our mind. Ill
75