The Origins of "The Cube"...

Top of the Morning to you!

Are you plugged in? Are you just another component of the electrical circuitry of industry? Slouched in an ergonomic office chair, hands lain upon the keyboard alter, your eyes staring at the electrically stimulated liquid crystal display that transfers images of your input... A complete circuit leading from thought, to keyboard input, to a flat-screen monitor, and back to you for interpretation and response; some mutant human-computer hybrid circuit from 9am to 5pm.

Ahhh, the joys and fulfillment of being apart of the professional world...

Perhaps the greatest poster-child of the monotonous routine imprisonment of the information age is the "cubicle".

But where did it come from? Was the cubicle discovered by anthropologists studying our ancestors that tirelessly sat upon linearly-arranged stumps while they skinned animals and prepared meat for 8 hours a day under the mission statement of their Alpha Male? Perhaps Area 51 had something to do with the discovery of such an efficient solution for the modern day office?

Today we're talking about the origins of the cubicle in the workplace, its current impact, and the future of our fabric-walled holding cells.

A Brief History of the Cubicle: (http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/09/magazines/fortune/cubicle_howiwork_fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes)

• In the late 60's Robert Propst, who at the time was the Director of Research for Herman Miller (cool furniture), had an idea to create a workspace that he felt would revolutionize productivity; he simply called it the "Action Office"
• The Action Office "included plenty of work surfaces and display shelves; partitions were a part of it, intended to provide privacy and places to pin up works in process. It even included varying desk levels to enable employees to work part of the time standing up, thereby encouraging blood flow and staving off exhaustion."
• Economic factors in the late 60's such as rising real estate and building reconfiguration costs, as well as depreciation rates of office furniture, shifted demand towards "a cheap way to pack workers in"
• As a result, Bob Propst's innovative idea of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the worker was traded for the efficiency of packing workers into a limited space.
• The Action Office continually was twiddled down to basic space-conscious "systems furniture", or furniture that was basic, connectable, interchangeable, and space efficient; the birth of "The Cube"!
• Since 1970, there have been challengers to the mighty Cubicle, but none that have been as economically viable and spatially frugal.

Will the Cube continue its reign as the dominating super-power of office space furniture solutions?

Congressman Frank Wolf (much to my "shit my pants" surprise is a "Republican") is on a mission to dissolve the power held by the mighty Cube and has made telecommuting his pet project.

"'There is nothing magic in strapping ourselves into a metal box every day only to drive to an office where we sit behind a desk working on a computer,' he told a congressional committee. Wolf sees telecommuting as a way to decrease traffic, reduce air pollution, increase productivity, and frustrate terrorists. In 2004 he launched a campaign to penalize government agencies by docking funds if they
fail to support telecommuting. Now the SEC, the State Department, the Department of Justice, and four other big agencies are required to offer every eligible worker the opportunity to telecommute."

Let's take a look at some Pros & Cons to the reduction or elimination of the "Cube":

Pros:

• Lower real estate costs for organizations
• Lower expenses of commuting for employees
• Potential for better "life/work" balance for employees
• More autonomy and perhaps job satisfaction for employees

Cons:

• Less observable supervision of employees
• Higher opportunity for loafing
• Information security risk of mobile workstations & wireless internet
• Less interpersonal contact with co-workers (technically, could be a pro or con, depending whether you love or hate your co-workers; but we'll consider it impediment to communication & information exchange, unless Instant Messenger software is used)

I ask you all, cube dwellers and free birds alike, the following:

What are your thoughts on the evolution of the solutions to Office Space? Will the Cube be replaced, or will mobile work stations only be a viable solution for certain industries, positions, and persons? What other possibilities could be used in the workplace as alternatives?

What are some factors that we need to take into consideration when asked "to Cube" or "Not to Cube"? Will fewer face-to-face interpersonal interactions impact the way we relate to each other and our work? Will it further our isolation as the internet and computer have already influenced our society? What are some other Pros & Cons?

Would you be willing or able to switch to the mobile workstation solution in your current position? Why or why not?

Okay, click on the comments below, read, think, and spit some opinions...

This chimp is out!