In this issue, we introduce data that we can reference when setting benchmarks for office design, such as how much space should be allotted per employee, or how many meeting rooms are necessary.

Regarding the shape of the desk top, bench desks are the most popular, accounting for about 70% (Fig. 5, top). Bench desks make it easier to adjust to fluctuations in the number of users, compared to single desks that are joined together.

Online meetings are a means of communication that is characterized by the sharing of visual and aural information among multiple people who are in remote locations, unlike telephone calls, which rely exclusively on audio information.

Professor Keita Matsushita specializes in media and urban studies, and has been studying work styles for many years. We asked him on his views regarding the sense of distance that exists between the job, the workplace, and individual workers.