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.

With COVID-19, remote work has taken root. When people can choose to work remotely, what kind of attributes would make an office attractive enough for workers to take the trouble to come into work? Let's take a look at what makes an office inviting.

With COVID-19, the sense of distance we feel surrounding work has become more varied. We will explore what kinds of work styles workers are adopting, and what they are demanding for the future.

With the rise in remote work, we surveyed the ways in which people share status information with subordinates, superiors, team members, and collaborating members of different teams, by the holding regular one-on-one talks, or chatting informally during breaks should make it easier to share life circumstances or mental and physical conditions that are difficult to mention in emails and online chats.

In this section, we will introduce new ideas regarding spatial compositions and seating arrangements in the office, in light of the expected changes brought about by changes in working styles.

Companies make use of various ways to foster connections between members who work together, but we delved further to find out what kind of measures are effective and what effects they have.

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.