The work environment

Abstract

In this chapter we shall be concerned with the physical environment that people inhabit at work, how they relate to that environment and how it affects them. In Part IV when we turn to the future of work we will return to the work environment (in Chapter 10) to consider the effects upon it of introducing new technology, and the changes that can entail for our working lives. Central to everyone’s physical work environment are the machines and equipment that we use, from pencils to cranes, microscopes to video screens, pocket calculators to supercomputers. And all the furniture, furnishings and fittings that surround us.