My Desk is my Castle: Exploring Personalization Cultures 9783034610421, 9783034607742

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Uta Brandes & Michael Erlhoff (Eds.)

My Desk is my Castle Exploring Personalisation Cultures Authors Nadine Adrian, Jan Blum, Bastian Boss, Andreas Breilmann, King-chung Siu, Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul, Sofia Fernández, David Gödel, Sabrina Halbe, Vera Hausmann, Anne-Mette Krolmark, Katharina Leistenschneider, Mara E. Martínez Morant, Carla Otto, Anne Kathrin Rochna, Tanja Steinebach, Nadine Wessler, Daniel Zander

Birkhäuser Basel

Advisors and Participants City Advisor(s) Student(s)

New York (USA) Jonsara Ruth Anne-Mette Krolmark

Uta Brandes Michael Erlhoff Nadine Adrian Jan Blum Bastian Boss Andreas Breilmann Sofia Fernández David Gödel Sabrina Halbe Vera Hausmann Katharina Leistenschneider Carla Otto Anne Kathrin Rochna Tanja Steinebach Nadine Wessler Cologne (Germany) Daniel Zander Luisa Collina Milan (Italy) Fiammetta Costa Elena Rovati Mara E. Martínez Morant Sara Guilarte Arizkuren Barcelona (Spain) Lídia Embid Balsells Guillem Rodriguez Bernat Gerard Porres Canals Berta Belascoain Comaposada Elisenda de Tomás Creix Luz Marina Ariza Dualde Jennifer Moreno Espelt Berta Aillón Folch Mariona Ruaix Martí Irene Serrano Robredo Laura Navau Sabanés

Ronaldo de Oliveira Corrêa Ken Flávio Ono Fonseca Henrique Baptista Corrêa Eduardo Ponzoni Dognini Erika Hegenberg Rodrigo Mazurek Krüger Curitíba (Brazil) Bruna de Souza Michelin João Pedro Marques Mion Marcio Fagundes de Oliveira Pimentel Mariana Amaral Tomaz

Wan-Ru Chou Ahbiee Chen Song Chen Kirs Chang Chien Shamtic Guo Raymond Hong Bryan Hsieh Chun-Yen Hsieh Lisa Hsieh Sky Hsu Moses Hu Grace Huang

Anne Krefting Léa-Jeanne Sachot Participants Engy Allam Cairo (Egypt) Nervana Diab Yasmin Kandil Khadiga Sany Yomna Seodi Nour Tawfikqo

Haly Huang Oliver Huang Wilson Huang Megan Ko Mingming Lee Chih-Ching Li David Li Frank Li Natasha Li Sheng-Da Li Vanshr Li Anita Liao Tower Liao Huey Lien Xin-Feng Lien Cyrus Lin Nathan Lin Tno Lin Daniel Liu

Dhimant Panchai Pune (India) Sakhi Bansal Priyanshi Bhargava Kishore Kumar Pranay Ratan Ashish Sanklecha Chaitanya Shete Bharat Singhal Heena Trivedi

Henry Liu Light Luo Pony Ma Yu-Hao Peng Kevin Seng Super Weng Jeff Weng Kaichu Wu Elt Xu Wuba Yang Jamie Yao Robin You Woody Young Eliaot Zhang Avon Zheng John Zhuang

Minako Ikeda Yoshiko Houkabe Yuka Kobayashi Keigo Kuwano Takahiro Misawa Hiroaki Ohnishi Pilar Camila Zarate Ortiz Yuri Uemura Fukuoka (Japan) Iwama Yasuhiro Kensei Yarimizu Taipei (Taiwan)

King-chung Siu Hong Kong Yoko Budijanto Christiantine Chan Karen Bobo Chan Sindy Chan Karen Cheng Haru Cheung Chin Chin Winny Choi Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul Sarah Chui Nabiha Buksh Kelvin Chung Justine Bulog Eric Kung Jeffrey Chen Anna Lam Wenjuan Chu Rachel Lau Dominique Dick Annie Law Mima El-khopary Keziah Law Aimee Joe Corinna Law Frances Kim Eil Lo Raie Kim Shelagh Ng Cathy Lee Carol Pak Jee Su Lee Marco So Nan Li Cindy Suen Lu Liu Ling Tam Ludoic Maignot Kanas Tsang Briana Mellsop Carol Yeung Sunita Patel Mona Yip Auckland (New Zealand) Sophie Paul Helen Yu Dana Qasem Katie Scott Nicole Taylor Audrey Wee Joshua Wilson Sheila Ye

Translation from German into English: Susanne Dickel and Tim Danaher Copy editing: Clara Sofia Fernández, David Gödel, Vera Hausmann, Daniel Zander Layout, cover design and typography: Clara Sofia Fernández, David Gödel, Vera Hausmann, Daniel Zander Book Production: ActarBirkhäuserPro Barcelona - Basel www.actarbirkhauserpro.com

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA.

Bibliographic information published by the German National Library The German National Library lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in other ways, and storage in databases. For any kind of use, permission of the copyright owner must be obtained.

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© 2011 Birkhäuser GmbH, Basel P.O. Box, 4002 Basel, Switzerland Part of ActarBirkhäuser Printed on acid-free paper produced from chlorine-free pulp. TCF � Printed in Spain ISBN 978-3-0346-0774-2

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Table of Contents

About This Book ­—  9 Action Space ‘Office’ ­—  13 Research Methodology ­—  23 The Places ­—  33 Four Representative Business Sectors ­—  43 The Clusters ­—  47 Little Number Games ­—  51 Intercultural Comparison ­—  55 Object Worlds as Gender Staging ­—  91 Comparative Analysis of the Business Sectors ­—  127 The Desk as a Thriller ­—  169 Personal Office Upgrades ­—  177 The Desk as a Geodesic Space ­—  187 King-chung Siu: The Desk as a Miniature World of Events and Identities: Musings from Hong Kong ­—  197 Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul: Gobalised Desktop Skirmishes? Reporting from the Colonies ­—  210 Visions ­—  229 The Concepts of ‘Public’ and ‘Private’ ­—  231 Mara E. Martìnez Morant: Reflections on Anthropology and Design ­—  239 From Chessboards to Monopoly Games ­—  253 Anne-Mette Krolmark: The New York Experience ­—  261 Potential Practical Design Implications ­—  301 Bibliography ­—  313 Authors ­—  318

Kolumnentitel

8

About this Book The office is indeed a meaningful space: a space of action, a space offering possibilities for communication and consultancy and much more besides. That’s why there are numerous books and studies on the subject, why many design studios work in the field of office design, why there are different trade shows on office management and design and why there are very many companies focusing on office interiors. But what might be even more important is a different perspective on office life based on the fact that most of us are familiar with offices, be it as workers or clients. This not only entails a routine ‘knowledge’ or experience of how offices work but also – especially as a visitor, client or customer – the frequent impression of having entered a private space upon which you are intruding. And those who work in these offices know (at least secretly) that these spaces are indeed formulated in very special – and also somehow in very private or at least individual – ways.

Cairo, Administration, Female

It is exactly this privatisation and individualisation of office space with all its complex dimensions that is the subject of this book. Or, looking at it from a different angle: these forms of privatisation represent, in terms of research and design, an exciting opportunity for the observation, representation and analysis of cultural diversity, the differences between the various business sectors and special characteristics based on gender-defined connotations. Especially when looking closely at how we use all these designed things on or around our desktops, we become aware of the differences that have developed on the basis of socio-cultural and gender aspects and in various strategies of appropriation. So the findings presented in this book should allow us to better understand our own workplace or, at times, simply be amazed by how others make themselves at home in the office and what kind of virtual individual dramas are played out on our desktops. Simultaneously, however, this book provides exemplary and well-grounded insights into an important area of design research that, with its unique social and analytic abilities, provides significant support in understanding our present-day societies and their complexity.

9

About this Book

Uta Brandes, Michael Erlhoff 10

Barcelona, Administration, Female

It is also important to mention how this book came about: it was created in the context of a student project at the Köln International School of Design (KISD), during which the concept and, based on initial studies, the questions for further research were developed. We then used our international network to select other universities offering qualitative design education, and asked the respective faculties whether they were interested in participating in this study. Such an intercultural comparison is extremely important in localising the reality of everyday life behind the more general theses on globalisation. Getting such a project off the ground certainly was a lot of work, and we had to circumvent numerous bureaucratic hurdles. But, as you can see by the results documented in this book, eventually students and faculty from five continents and from 11 countries participated in this project with a great deal of enthusiasm and commitment. Participants came from Auckland (New Zealand), Barcelona (Spain), Cairo (Egypt), Cologne (Germany), Curitíba (Brazil), Fukuoka (Japan), Hong Kong, Milan (Italy), New York (USA), Pune (India, formerly known as Poona or Puna) and Taipei (Taiwan). – You can find the complete list of schools and participants at the beginning of this book. This list contains an unusually large number of names appearing in connection with various roles, because we wanted to explicitly name everyone who has contributed to the creation of this book: students who took photographs and cooperated in organising the material, workshop leaders who provided introductions to our empiricist approach in many countries, faculty members at the various schools who made the project possible and supervised its implementation and, of course, everyone who contributed any texts or visuals. As you will see, this cooperation has resulted in fantastic studies, visuals and analyses. We hope that, besides being an entertaining read, this book will provide the reader with new insights and perspectives and might even contribute to a more thoughtful and humane future office design. We would like to thank all students and faculty of the participating universities, the International Office of the Cologne University of Applied Arts (which provided the bursaries to cover the researchers’ travel expenses), and we would also like to thank Susanne Dickel and Tim Danaher for the translation of the German articles and Robert Steiger for supervising the production of this book.

Barcelona, Banks, Male

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Cairo, Administration, Female

Barcelona, Administration, Male

12

Action Space ‘Office’ – and the Many and Mysterious Ways of Customising Desks Design and Use Regardless of which area of everyday life you focus on, you will be amazed at the high degree of designerly capability involved in the practical use of objects, processes, services and also documents. Whatever designers, manufacturers or engineers might have intended, more often than not the practical appropriation in use significantly changes these intended forms. This is best made possible within a design frame that allows a certain openness in use. There are two reasons why it is very important to precisely observe and demonstrate this: on the one hand, this is proof of our, at times quite idiosyncratic, human abilities or of the aspirations, desires and real problems of the people who interact with these objects, processes and documents and, in so doing, change or appropriate them. We use a chair as a wardrobe or ladder, for instance, we open letters or clean our fingernails with a paper clip, we turn mustard jars into pen containers, we sit on stairs that were not initially designed as seats, we use newspapers to protect our heads from rain or sun and so on. In other words: usage is an intervention in which we appropriate our designed environment according to our immediate needs, and this has to be understood as a very creative human skill (see Brandes, Stich, Wender, 2009 and Brandes, Erlhoff, 2006). It is very important for designers and companies alike to be aware of these everyday acts of conversion because, on closer inspection, they would not only discover potential shortcomings in their products, but also many new and realistic ideas for a more accurate and humane design. This is because design, by definition, only comes into its own in the context of social activities, i.e. in use. It would otherwise be obsolete and merely circle around itself. Therefore usage research is an indispensable element of design practice and of the critical reflection of design. Studies about real office life, i.e. about actual forms of privatisation or customisation, can substantially contribute to this area of design research because, in the developed countries, the majority of people (almost two thirds) work in offices – a trend that is still on the increase. The single most important object in each office workplace is doubtless   ­ 13

Action Space ‘Office’

the desk. Therefore, it makes sense to focus this research on the desk and on the personal objects on it, as we have done in this study. Since customisation in the office mainly happens on desks, additional questions regarding the interior design of the office space or looking at what items have been attached to the walls or inspecting the contents of the shelves would not be tremendously useful. However, looking into the top drawer (the ‘secret’ drawer, as it were) and below the desk can at times be quite enlightening since, together with the desktop, these places frame the private space of the desk owners. It is obvious that the desk represents much more than just a practical, functional work tool, a fact that has not been changed by the digitisation of the office. The desk is highly charged with subjective-emotional connotations: it marks the territory of its owners and informs us about their status, their private preferences and desires. Practical-operational and emotional-communicative layers are blended, resulting in a twofold identification of the desk: it is both a material and a symbolic thing. And furthermore: people do not work at and live with these desks as neuter beings but as men and women within specific, sociocultural constructions of gender, i.e. cultural identifications that are mirrored in surprisingly distinct ways in the various individual forms of desk design. In particular the visible desktop, but also the hidden contents of the drawers, display to a greater or lesser degree proprietary characteristics: ‘this is my personal space and this is how I organise my work’. They become archives of factual and emotional memory. The desk as a stationary object reveals to the external world something about the (gendered) individual who works there and owns it. However, the number and type of the so-called private objects that are not subject to the practical demands of work can vary considerably depending on the prevailing corporate identity and explicitly – in spite of globalisation – on the respective cultural context: the spectrum of the private, at least as far as the visible desktop is concerned, can range from almost nothing to something approaching a reliquary. That is why the observation and analysis of desks can yield illuminating insights. Desks tell us something about the people who work at them, but also about the type of work, about forms of communication and the degree to which the official display of privacy is tolerated and individually desired. Leaving aside ubiquitous items such as computers and peripherals, it is especially interesting to look at the collection of objects on desktops and their arrangement on this surface because, and this is documented 14

Action Space ‘Office’

in this study, individual concepts of organisation and appropriation as well as cultural, work-sector related and gender differences reveal themselves in these aspects in particular. It goes without saying that, as should be the case in every research study, we should take nothing for granted, but should instead constantly ask ourselves why things are the way they are and happen in the way they happen. This, together with an awareness for the permanent strangeness of everyday practices, is the only way in which particular characteristics reveal themselves to us, or can be discovered by us, thus providing a basis for a deeper understanding. Globalisation and Regional Cultural Differences It is understandable that companies and their marketing departments like to talk about globalisation because, if we assume globalisation, then we do not need such a variety of products, services and designs. If all people are the same, then everything can be marketed in the same way. Even the most general empirical observation shows that products and services that are intended to be ‘global’, do indeed exist globally but are appropriated in markedly different ways depending on the culture under investigation. The product ‘espresso’ will serve as a simple case in point: in Italy, you go to a bar, stand at the counter, order and receive your espresso. You add some sugar and within a minute or so you drink it and leave. In Germany, however, you sit down in a café, order your espresso, add sugar, stir it properly and stay maybe for an hour. In the US, you often get your espresso with lemon peel and sometimes with cinnamon, in Tokyo and in some Chinese urban centres your espresso will cost you fives times the amount you pay in Milan since it is regarded as a status symbol. Thus a product labeled as ‘global’ is substantially altered in use and the cultural appropriation of use. This can easily be substantiated for many objects, services and other design products. The first-and-foremost ideological thesis of globalisation must be contradicted in order to recognise, to acknowledge and also to stress the social and, therefore, human dimensions of regional cultures as guiding principles for design. The thesis of globalisation only serves to subject human beings to a general standard – a tendency that can be observed in both the business and the design world. This is, however, inhumane and, like Taylorism, turns human beings into mere appendages of machines and marketing.

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Action Space ‘Office’

So, besides the entertainment value, we should take seriously what happens on our desks and should understand it as a common, everyday articulation and expression of our cultural ties, our education and also our desires, fears and dreams. In this respect, the ‘privatisation’ thesis (with regard to desks) proposed in this book is not quite correct because privatisation would simply subject these phenomena and their verisimilitude to a somewhat pale arbitrariness (comparable to mere opinions or personal views). Instead we will see that – considering different cultures, business sectors and, significantly, cultural constructions and forms of gender – although there are certain commonalities, these are by far outweighed by the differences. The reason for this study was to research these differences, to look at them seriously and to regard them as a means to better understand human life in all its various forms and cultural characteristics and also to use this insight for a more intelligent future design. States, Nations and Cultures Since the exploration of cultural differences forms a significant part of this study, one important initial question was that of which countries should be included in the research. The authors are aware of the fact that classifying cultures by nations always involves a certain degree of abstraction since more differentiated regional aspects cannot be taken into account. After a deeper discussion – and for practical reasons – it seemed fair to limit the focus to the context of ‘national’ cultures (for a more detailed discussion see chapter ‘Globalised Desktop Skirmishes?’) since this already implies a broad variety in each case, sufficient for the purposes of comprehension and illustration. The final choice of countries was based, on the one hand, on existing intensive relationships to particular schools or faculty members and, on the other hand, on the goal of wanting to integrate all continents and, in so doing, considering a number of very different regions – a goal that we think we have achieved. Business Sectors After initial discussions on the question as to which business sectors we should look at, we decided to focus on different forms of work organisation in the office, resulting in the following selection: –– Banks and insurance companies: in these cultures, we can assume a certain rigidity and hierarchical order and at least limited public access;

16

Action Space ‘Office’

–– Administration departments within their broad contexts: employees usually stay in these jobs for longer periods of time and therefore have a greater inclination of making themselves at home in their offices. Additionally, the administration sector accounts for a large part of office work in general; –– Call centres: presumably the most anonymous workplace of all, since workers do not have any direct contact with customers and have to work in shifts without any guarantee of working at the same desk each shift, something which allows only very limited and temporary forms of privatisation; –– Design studios: here we can assume a certain level of design expertise and therefore a high level of awareness in terms of desktop organisation and, if there is any public access, clients will expect a ‘designed’ environment. These initial assumptions have been confirmed, and the results of the study show very clear differences between the sectors, although, as documented in the analyses presented in this book, the particular characteristics of these differences were, in parts, quite unexpected. Finally, we should note that it was not possible to study all four sectors in each country: due to time pressures, some of our research partners were not able to include all sectors and in some places access was denied due to legal regulations or restrictions. Altogether, however, this had no adverse effects on the study since we were able to collect sufficient material to justify our conclusions. Gender So far, we have defined two variables that guided our research design: different countries (intercultural aspect) and different business sectors. However, the study would have been incomplete or, even worse, would have resulted in skewed representations and interpretations had we not introduced the third variable ‘gender’, because the genderisation of desks – in the sense of Butler’s ‘doing gender’ (see Butler, 1990) – is obvious in such a blatant way that it is almost stunning. At times, this aspect overpowers and dominates the two other variables and it permeates through cultures and business sectors: the aspect of gender is an omnipresent one.

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Action Space ‘Office’

What is special here is the fact that we do not identify ‘genderisation’ by directly looking at individuals, their behaviour, appearance, interactions or by interviewing them, but exclusively by the objects people surround themselves with at work. In this study, the activity of ‘doing gender’, i.e. the permanent creation of gender for oneself and others, is observed on the basis of objects and not on that of the acting subjects. We observe and interpret interaction indirectly via things that tell us a lot about the social gender conventions of their owners. The term ‘convention’ is an operative one in this context, because the personal desktop designs confront us with a double dilemma: they embody the social construction of bipolar gender affiliation (the desks of men look like male desks and the desks of women look like female desks), while our interpretations also follow these bipolar affiliations. The gender stereotypes, implicitly yet subconsciously created and externally exhibited by the desk owners, are repeated by us, the researchers, by applying the same stereotypes: in other words, by using the social framing of ‘typically male’ and ‘typically female’ and, on this basis, evaluating ‘genderconforming’ behaviour and interaction. This is an inevitable contradiction. ‘Gender attribution’ (Hirschauer) results from the ideological general knowledge of two alternative, biological sexes, which in turn creates the cultural imperative of clearly delineated gender identities. Hence, for the interpretation of gendered actions and object appropriations there are no other categories at our disposal than those that define these genderstereotypical actions and object appropriations. Gender attribution derives from two imposed responsibilities: on the one hand, from gender presentation, meaning that each individual must present their gender using a socially accepted repertoire such as clothing, gestures, voice, names, designations and specific activities. On the other hand, there is gender attribution that results from gender presentation: a sexualisation process of people, objects, names etc. is required in order to create gender (doing gender), which Hirschauer refers to as the “circular creation of the context of meaning” (transl. by the authors). This process not only applies to the interaction between people or between people and objects, but can already be observed by simply looking at the objects themselves: “The context of meaning of such heterogeneous cultural objects is created in a circular fashion: the characteristics and behaviours attributed to a specific gender are themselves implicitly attributed a gender. And, conversely, the sexualisation of many cultural objects carries the meaning of the person-gender.” (Hirschauer, p. 103, transl. by the authors) 18

Action Space ‘Office’

Hence analysing private objects on desktops on the basis of gender aspects is only possible by accepting existing gender constructions and, in so doing, applying criteria that simultaneously expose themselves as gender stereotypes: many pastel-coloured or pink objects on a desk make this desk a typically female one, whereas many dark or metallic objects indicate a male desk. This is not only true for colour schemes: genderisation is created by a vast repertoire of aspects such as materials (soft or fluffy: female; hard: predominantly male), type of object (mirrors, handbags, photos of children: female; car keys, car models, tech-toys: male), the number of objects (women have more objects than men), etc. The object worlds in the action space of the desk comprise “telling objects” (Mieke Bal). However, these collectively generated visual worlds are also gendered telling objects. And in this respect, the gender aspect, some gaps still needed to be filled, which we hope we have achieved with this study. “While (…) the gender coding of specific object types, groups or relationships has been sufficiently researched, there are still gaps in the systematic and also theory-driven study of gendered objects with regard to object categories (…) and also regarding the related knowledge systems.” (Humboldt University, transl. by the authors) Structure and Implementation of this Study The study started as a project at the Köln International School of Design with a group of some 14 students (for a detailed description of the methodology, see chapter ‘Research Methodology’). After an initial literature survey, first assumptions were formulated on the basis of in-depth discussions. Furthermore, different potential research methodologies and, using examples, the particular characteristics of design research were discussed intensively. We then selected the approaches that seemed most suitable for this study. In a next step, we carried out a pilot study in Cologne to collect initial experience in dealing with the companies or institutions from the different sectors, in explaining the project to them and in gaining access to their offices (which was not as difficult as expected and often even met with keen interest by those who worked there). Simultaneously, a first systematic observation sheet was developed to facilitate the analysis of the material. This included precise instructions for structuring the photographic material so that other researchers would be able to adopt the same format.   ­ 19

Action Space ‘Office’

During this research stage alone we gathered some 400 photographs that were then structured and discussed in the project group. And, of course, the participating businesses and employees were guaranteed absolute anonymity. (The participating ‘desk owners’ and the authors are aware of the fact that it might be possible to identify individual participants due to the high degree of desk personalisation. However, this did not seem to be a problem at most places and a keen interest in the study outweighed any reservations of this kind.) On the basis of the carefully structured material and many further discussions, we revisited our initial hypotheses and extended them to include some tentative, preliminary conclusions. We then presented this part of the project at KISD, which turned out, as expected, to be of great value for our further work because we were able to test whether the topic was of any interest to a broader research community and whether its relevance had become sufficiently obvious. Additionally, the opening up of the discourse helped us in identifying which parts of the study needed to be changed or framed more precisely. In parallel to these activities, we made initial contact with the schools that were on our list to participate in the project. Not all of them were prepared or able to take part, and in some cases we had to stretch our powers of motivation and persuasion. This resulted in initial project tasks and timelines for our cooperation. On this basis, faculty members and students from the many participating schools started with their own studies, initially according to the guidelines developed in the KISD project. Over the course of the process however, certain aspects and perspectives of the overall study were improved and extended in mutual consultation: this included the objects to be observed and the ability of gaining access to the relevant offices, as well as the different ways of working at the participating schools. In order to further improve the cooperation, teams of two KISD students each visited the participating schools for 2-3 weeks, taking on the role of ‘teaching assistants’. They supported the work on site and, in many discussions, collected further ideas that became relevant to the overall project. In the following semester, based on the preliminary work at the participating schools, the same students structured the material that had been collected so far, developed more precise hypotheses and examined whether the planned analytical steps would still be valid or had to be amended or extended. This was followed by an in-depth analysis phase that also resulted in initial visualisations that evoked the first 20

Action Space ‘Office’

outlines of potential research results. This is further proof of how important design skills are in research, since research takes on form in these representations that, in turn, also shape the research results. Often the meaning of particular research results and further specific research questions only become apparent during a critical reflection of the representation of these results. The structuring and analysis of the material and the development of initial reports and writings concluded the first part of the project. In a follow-on project, a different group of students subjected the work carried out so far to further critical reflection and developed additional reports and writings as well as new or amended visuals. These students were also responsible for the final design of this book. Hence this book is the result of an intensive cooperation with many faculty members and students from five continents, and in particular of the thorough and comprehensive work of some twenty students of the Köln International School of Design and also of the editors.

Cologne, Administration, Male

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New York, Administration, Female

Research Methodology

Research Methodology

24

Research Methodology

Photo Analysis At first glance, our methodological approach may seem simpler than it actually is – one-dimensional, even. The main data collection was carried out using photographs. “Images and visual experiences are today a central component of our perception, of our experience of reality (…). Images not only represent ideas about reality, but it is also through images that we communicate and construct reality.” (Marotzki, Niesyto, p. 7, transl. by the authors) Image analysis, as an “instrument for organising visual knowledge” (Kraimer, p. 1), presents a special means of accessing everyday life as it presents itself in a particular segment (here, the work desk). It is important to stress that we did not work with any existing visual material: rather, all of the desks included in this study were photographed by our own researchers. First of all, we established clear guidelines: we wanted complete views of the desktops, both from a bird’s-eye perspective and from a 90-degree angle. The former perspective provided a two-dimensional overview of the collection of objects on the desk, as in a tableau. The latter provided more of a three-dimensional perspective, replicating the view of the person sitting at the desk. The objects photographed also included those that, strictly speaking, were not necessary in order to carry out work-related tasks. This comprised everything that could be labelled ‘private’, i.e. objects that the employees had brought in themselves in order to ‘domesticate’ their workplace (for a list of object categories see ‘The Clusters’). Where possible, the surrounding environment would also be photographed: under and around the desk and the contents of the top desk drawer. Finally, any particularly interesting private objects found on the desks were highlighted. Image analysis is, of course, a well-established method in qualitative empirical studies, although its importance has often been underestimated. Based on the 20th century philosophical discourse, qualitative research used to be equated with the ‘linguistic turn’. This has recently been overtaken, however, by the ‘iconic’ or ‘visual turn’: since the power of images has constantly become more effective, we have seen a correspondingly heightened interest in iconology and iconography in the fields of cultural and social studies. An early example is Aby Warburg’s (see Warburg) “iconological analysis” method of art interpretation, developed at the end of the 19th century. This was further elaborated in the 1920s by, amongst others, Erwin Panofsky (see Panofsky 1939, 2006) who refined and adapted this method to the interpretation of major works of art.   ­ 25

Research Methodology

However, the prevalence of text-based analyses in other scientific areas gradually led to a “Textifizierung” (fixation on texts) (Bohnsack, p. 239) in qualitative empiricism. Image analysis was, at best, accepted as a method for understanding about a picture; the analytical quality of understanding through pictures, without the use of text or language, had largely been neglected, or at least there was no attempt to distinguish between these two forms of image analysis. Even design research had shown little-to-no interest in this method, although visualisations and visual qualities are important, but certainly not the only aspects involved in the field of design. There is also another reason that makes it difficult to see why this method has been so rarely applied: the differentiation between understanding about and understanding through pictures as defined in the method of image analysis conforms to two of the three different approaches in design research introduced by Christoper Frayling (see Frayling) and further discussed in various other sources. Research about or into design: work that is “carried out under the heading of other disciplines (sociology, psychology, semiotics, economics, history, etc. ... of design)“ (Findeli, p. 2); research for design, i.e. research to “enable design“ (see Downton 2003). Research through design is perhaps the most difficult and most ambivalent category: Findeli’s association of ‘for design’ with practice and ‘through design’ with theory (Findeli, p. 2) is very one-dimensional. Jonas’s approach is more differentiated: he understands “research through design” as the sole, genuine research paradigm in design, since here new knowledge is created through an “action-reflection approach” (see Jonas, pp. 189192). The use of photo analysis in design research would then equate to research through image analysis. Hence, photo analysis is now also an accepted methodological approach for empirical research in disciplines other than art. “From the insight that the iconic character in its obstinacy is not accessible to language in an adequate way, we can (...) draw the conclusion that to approach the peculiarities of a picture means to suspend our connotations of language-mediated iconographic (pre-)knowledge as far as possible, to put them ‘in brackets’.“ (Bohnsack, p. 240)

26

Research Methodology

The methodological concept adopted for the study presented here is therefore based on the interpretation of visual data: as already mentioned, we chose the photographic medium to record the individualisation and privatisation of office desks. We must stress that the photographs do not represent an additional or merely illustrative aspect of our study: rather the medium of photography serves as the predominant research tool. In our experience, there is no better method than that of precise visual recording for a research interest like the one presented here, i.e. the organisation of desks and the private nature of the objects and media found in this space, because, in such a case, images convey in fact a sort of ‘authenticity’ of the individuals and the actual set-up of their workplaces. This is especially interesting because, fortunately, we long ago abandoned the ideological belief that photographs depict ‘reality’, that they show things ‘as they really are’. Our desk photos, however, have a certain ‘innocence’ because they are just as ordinary as the daily life and routine that play out both at and around these desks. It was, therefore, crucial to photograph the desks before their owners had a chance to rearrange anything. As soon as we had received the official permission to take photographs from the respective office management, we were allowed to photograph the desks without any further prior arrangements. In most cases, employees were absolutely fine with this approach. Many were rather proud of the importance thus attributed to their desks and some would even have been happy to be included in the photos. Others reacted in a friendly manner, albeit with a little embarrassment, and offered excuses for why their desks were so untidy (as if someone had called in unexpectedly at a normally tidy home and had found the carpets not swept and the beds not made). However, we have to add that, in some countries, it proved more difficult to secure the necessary permissions. This is why we were not able to gain access to all of the business sectors in all countries, or why the number of desks accessible to us at particular locations was far smaller than we had hoped. Also, not all of the desk owners were happy to have their desks photographed, an issue that we encountered particularly in New York.

  ­ 27

Research Methodology

Open, Non-Participant Observation Short, open observations were carried out before, during and after the photos were taken. Two students were always present during the procedure, one responsible for the photography, the other for the systematic observation of the desk, its environs and the overall layout of the office space. In some cases, additional sketches were made of the office space and the arrangement of the desks. Theme-Centred Interviews Whenever possible, short theme-centred, face-to-face interviews were carried out with the desk owners. These were, however, only conceived as an additional method to obtain complementary information regarding two types of objects: the interviews consisted simply of two questions (and, if necessary, questions about the employee’s motives): ‘which object on your desk would you miss the most if it was removed, and which the least?’ By asking these two questions, we wanted to find out more about people’s emotional relationship to their objects, about the affective ranking of these items. To our surprise, however, these short interviews added little-to-no additional useful information about the employees’ motives. Instead of focusing on their private objects, their ‘life accessories’, employees would concentrate on their work equipment: they would miss the computer the most, because that was the main way in which they got their work done, or they would miss a particular pen. Questions about the objects that would be missed the least would often be answered by stating that none of the items on the desk was so important that their removal would make a difference. Of course, these statements related only to objects that had little economic value. Although we did not expect this lack of useful answers, the interviews underlined the fact that image analysis was the right choice of method for this study. Content Analysis We regard the interpretation of our research material as a method of content analysis, even if content analysis is usually applied to transcripts of verbal communication. It therefore seems fair to say that we are breaking new ground here by combining both image (photo)- and content analysis. It makes sense, of course, to use different methodological approaches in a research project in order to minimise any gaps in the material and in the analysis. In our study, the photos function 28

Research Methodology

as the communicative content, and the objects on the desks, as they present themselves in the photos, represent a narrative: they tell us about the life of the desk owners, of their longings, desires, frustrations, of the emotional relationship and the interface between objects and their owners. People attribute distinct meanings to objects and these meanings evoke specific attitudes and behaviours that structure people’s social interaction with their office colleagues. The process of discovering and decoding the emotional connotations inherent in those objects took place, as it were, behind the employees’ backs. We let the objects and their arrangement speak for themselves, and they tell us something about their owners. Content analysis is an indirect medium (usually text-based) through which we are able to identify particular motives, and photos are an equally indirect medium (image) that conveys the communicative content. Visual content analysis is particularly well suited to produce a clear and illustrative presentation of the results. However, this does not necessarily entail an ‘attractive’ presentation of the analysis. Designers as researchers also profit from their capability to produce representations of research results that might offer new views onto the material gathered and open up new exemplary research perspectives through analytical visualisation. Constraints As we will see later, our empirical ‘data’ were subject to certain influencing factors that have to be clearly stated in order to evaluate our interpretations. We are aware of the fact that we had to deal with a considerable number of variables and even uncertainties. The variables are, of course, all interlinked and interdependent and relate to different cultures, genders and business sectors (for a rationale of why the particular business sectors were chosen please see ‘Four Representative Business Sectors’). A further constraint was that we were not able to photograph the same number of desks in each country, which resulted, sometimes, in very small samples. This does not, however, constitute a serious problem since this is a qualitative, exploratory case study that does not imply counting, measuring and testing methods. However, it is regrettable that not all business sectors could be researched in all locations. In Pune (India), we were only able to look at design studios, in Japan we had no access to the banking and insurance sectors and we also had no access to call centres in Cairo, Hong Kong, Taipei and New York.

  ­ 29

Research Methodology

Controlled Understanding of Otherness Finally, we would like to add some self-critical considerations regarding our research process. We were, indeed, facing a rather large challenge, since we decided to include many different cultures in our study. Although we had qualified contact people at the various locations, it was somewhat daring to undertake a comparative analysis. Therefore, we would like to make it clear that our interpretations are influenced by the fact that we have viewed desks from all over the world from the perspective of people raised according to, and influenced by, Western and European traditions. This means that the objects, phenomena and views that appear familiar or foreign to us are different to those that would fall into these categories if researchers had come from East Asia, Africa or the USA. Hence the opposite of ‘going native’ is true for this desk study: the foreignness of some of the locations in which we carried out our research circumvents the danger of a possible over-identification, but not that of Eurocentric interpretations (for a more detailed discussion of this issue see ‘International Comparison’). A further difficulty that affects empirical research in general lies in what is often called ‘objectivity’ or ‘truth content’. Both are ideological claims, since even the formulation of a research subject changes this subject in that it becomes tailored towards the respective research interest. The epistemological interest changes that which is researched. This is unavoidable, but it should not be considered ‘unscientific’, as long as we are aware of this intervention and of the subjectivity of both the researchers and the people being studied. Even more radically, we must agree with Niklas Luhmann that there is no such thing as an objective statement: “The first degree observer focuses on the observed. (…) he lives in a probable world. The second degree observer, on the other hand, sees the improbability of the first degree observation.” (Luhmann, p. 103, transl. by the authors) It would be wrong, however, to suppose that image analysis was arbitrary or subject to a higher degree of arbitrariness than speech or text analysis. On the contrary, a picture can be analysed in a way far more distanced from its subject than can verbal or written media.Photographs also communicate a sub’text’ – in this case the meaning of objects in the context of privatising office desks – but in terms of analysis the pictures ‘speak’ directly to the researchers without any mediation through a third party, which is often the case with interviews and which puts a far greater stress on the horizons of understanding and interpretation. Nevertheless, the interpretations put forward here make no claim to 30

Research Methodology

have decoded the ‘whole’, the ‘real’ or the ‘objective’: we are offering well-grounded assumptions based on both a sense of reality and of possibility. “To pass freely through open doors, it is necessary to respect the fact that they have solid frames. This principle (...) is simply a requisite of the sense of reality. But if there is a sense of reality, and no one will doubt that it has its justification for existing, then there must also be something we call a sense of possibility.” (Musil) And, since we are now sharing our image material with a wider audience, our critical readers will have the opportunity to see whether they agree with our photographic analyses, and to add to them or to revise them.

  ­ 31

The Places

Participaiting Universities The research in the participating countries was, of course, not based on representative samples. This was not our intention and does not apply to qualitative empirical studies. Since we were working in cooperation with the design departments of (partner) universities, the studies were carried out in the cities where these schools are located. In most cases, these universities are located in large, ‘important’ cities. There are good reasons for choosing these locations as being representative of the urban conditions in their respective countries. But we are also aware that there are definite cultural differences between the regions and therefore between the cities, and partly even within a city due to multi-cultural populations. The following short descriptions shall serve to illustrate these differences and to better understand the participating universities and their locations.

Cairo, Design, Male

  ­ 33

The Places

Cologne and the Köln International School of Design (KISD) Cologne is well known for its cathedral and for the River Rhine, which passes through it, but it is also an arts-, media- and music centre, plays host to many major trade fairs and is home to numerous design studios and agencies. Cologne is the fourth-largest city in Germany, and its residents cultivate a particular identity, not considering themselves to be that ‘German’: Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam are all closer than Berlin. KISD was founded 20 years ago as the design department of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. It offers courses in Integrated Design (both BA and MA) and – like many of the other participating universities – ranks among the best institutions for design education and research, according to various rankings and surveys. New York and Parsons The New School for Design It is certainly superfluous to introduce New York City here, but it is worth drawing attention to two aspects: New York is one of the world’s greatest cultural centres, but this large and attractive East-coast city is quite different from that other great US cultural centre, the Westcoast city of Los Angeles. The Parsons school is equally famous and, besides architecture and liberal arts, offers a range of qualified design programmes including interior and trans-disciplinary design and various programmes at the highly regarded School of Fashion. Parsons is part of The New School. Fukuoka and the Kyushu University Fukuoka is a harbour city on the island of Kyushu, in the very south of Japan. The Korean capital Seoul is much closer than Tokyo. At first glance, people appear to be more open and relaxed than those in the rest of Japan, and at times the younger generation push the envelope even more than those of Tokyo or Osaka. The design department of the 100-year old Kyushu University was set up some 40 years ago and, particularly in the technical and media disciplines, offers an outstanding level of equipment. The School of Design also focuses on conceptual and theoretical areas of study.

34

The Places

Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design Even though the colony was officially ‘handed over’ to the People’s Republic of China nearly 15 years ago, Anglo-Saxon influences are still prevalent in everyday culture, in urban design and etiquette: an exciting mix that makes Hong Kong an extremely modern and fast-moving city, where East meets West. As part of the large Hong Kong PolyU, the School of Design has, in the last 25 years, developed an extraordinary dynamic, displaying academic quality and earning international renown. Many international conferences are held there, and the Polytechnic carries out top-level design research. Taipei and the Shih Chien University The historically much fought-over island of Taiwan (first under Portuguese and later Japanese occupation until the arrival of the Kuomintang troops in 1949, who were escaping Mao-Tse Tung in China) has only been a democratic republic since the beginning of the 1990s. It’s remarkable how, in this short space of time, traditional Chinese culture has melded with global and Western urbanity and design. The design faculty of the centrally located Shih Chien University has long been actively involved in the international design scene. It is particularly well known for its fashion design course, but today also for its other design departments such as industrial design, visual communication and architecture. Curitíba and the Universidade Federal do Paraná / UFPR Which city in this large country with its enormous differences between the north and south and the two major cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro could possibly represent the whole country? As far as Curitíba is concerned, the city is generally recognised as the most European of Brazil’s cities. In general, Brazil is marked by its highly multicultural nature, a mix that is hard to find anywhere else on the planet. The UFPR was founded 100 years ago, making it the oldest university in Brazil. In addition, it is also one of the best in the country and, offering numerous courses of study, the design faculty of the UFPR is rightly known as one of the most important, not only in Latin America, but the world.

  ­ 35

The Places

Cairo and The German University Cairo/GUC Due to recent events, fuelled by a desire for political, social, cultural and economic change, Egypt, and particularly its capital city Cairo, have recently been making the headlines, entering the consciousness of people worldwide. The research presented here was carried out several months before the revolution took place, and already by then, at least in the University, the resistance and the desperate longing for change as well as a high level of political and cultural energy and capability, could clearly be felt. The city has always been a complex and confusing place: hectic, loud and chaotic, with the constant contrast between Arabic culture and global technology and local colour and international flair. The German University Cairo was founded in 1996 as a joint venture between the Egyptian and German governments (led respectively at that time by President Hosni Mubarak and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder), with the aim of principally offering courses in technology and the sciences. However, being aware of the importance of design with regard to the quality of products, communication, services and research, the wise decision was taken to set up a design faculty. It offers both the more traditional artisanal courses, as well as technically well equipped industrial design courses and courses in visual communication and design theory. It will be exciting to see what contribution the design faculty will make to the country’s future. Milan and the Politecnico di Milano Thinking of Italian culture used to conjure up images of Rome and the old city states of Venice, Florence and Siena. However, since the end of the 19th century, Milan has established itself as the economic capital of the country. This has also had an effect on the arts and architecture: at the start of the 20th century Milan was, alongside Florence, the centre of futurism. During the 1960s this became even more obvious and although many famous Italian designers of today studied in Florence, at the beginning of the 1970s, Milan started to attract more and more students since the region of Lombardy is home to most of Italy’s medium-sized companies. Today, Milan is a hub of activity and discourse in design.

36

The Places

Regarding the design course at the Politecnico di Milano, one has to consider that well into the 1980s, there was no explicit design education in Italy: almost all of today’s famous Italian designers studied architecture. Today, in addition to architecture and engineering, the Polytechnic, founded in 1863, offers various design courses, producing nearly 80% of Italy’s design graduates. Pune and the MIT Institute of Design Previously known as Poona, this Indian city and its surroundings used to be a famous spiritual centre that, in the 1970s, attracted guruseeking hippies from all over the world. Clearly, in this city that today wants to take part in the competition for new economic structures, there is still a residue of this metaphysical past. At the same time, however, Pune is one of the most important centres for India’s automotive industry, with factories owned by VW, Daimler, MAN and Bosch. Emphasising its academic institutions, the city is proud to be called the ‘Oxford of the East’. MIT was founded in 2002 and offers numerous design courses, from product and transportation design, through graphic and interior space & equipment design, to film, video and exhibition design. It also specialises in user-experience design. Barcelona and the Bau Escola Superior de Desseny It’s a well-known fact that many people in Barcelona would never consider themselves to be a part of Spain. Barcelona is, after all, the capital of Catalonia and this kingdom was the departure point for Columbus’s voyage to America. Later, the city became a focal point for resistance against Franco’s dictatorial regime. The people here insist on their cultural identity, with its own language and cuisine. The place has much to offer in the way of famous designers, from the great and individualistic Antoni Gaudí, to outstanding architects like Oscar Tusquets and designers like Javier Mariscal. The latter once coined the name ‘Bar-Ciel-Ona’, paying homage to the city’s bar culture and evoking associations of ‘heaven’ and ‘dream’. The BAU was founded at the end of the 1980s as a higher education centre specialising in design training. Now it is part of the Universidad de Vic and offers bachelors-, masters- and postgraduate qualifications in various design disciplines.

  ­ 37

The Places

Auckland and the School of Art and Design at AUT University Home to a third of the population, Auckland is the most densely populated area in New Zealand, comprising many city districts. Thanks to an extremely liberal immigration policy, people from various cultural backgrounds live in New Zealand, with Auckland being the most multicultural city in the country. Alongside the majority population of European origin, the South-East Asian contingent represents the second-largest group. The University is a public institution, established in 2000, as one of the eight universities in New Zealand. Major study areas of the School of Art and Design bring together digital design, fashion, graphic design, product design, spatial design, textiles and visual arts. The study, including the photographic documentation, was carried out together with students from the Spatial Design department.

Milan, Design, Male

38

Taipei, Design, Female

Taipei, Design, Male

Taipei, Design, Female

Milan, Bank, Female

Milan, Design, Male

Hong Kong, Bank, Female

Milan, Administration, Female

Four Representative Business Sectors

Obviously, it would not be useful to study desks in random business sectors in equally random locations, because this would only produce a vast and contingent variety of results. Therefore, we had to determine representative business sectors for our study. We selected the following areas because they have distinctly different structures in terms of organisation and communication. A comparative analysis is only possible on the basis of contrasting characteristics: deviations only become visible through differences and this is the only way to focus on subtle variations. After thorough consideration, we selected four clearly differentiated business sectors, each representing a specific type of office/business culture: Banks and Insurance Companies Externally these institutions project a very trustworthy image (this was, at least, true before the 2009 credit crunch), and their internal cultures seem to be based on codices that reinforce this image, ranging from relatively strict dress codes, to those governing direct contact with customers (this can vary, however, depending on the country, and in some countries there are specific rooms for meetings with customers). Altogether, banks and insurance companies have to be customer- and service-oriented and they must establish measures that engender trust in order to project a notion of responsibility and security. Another reason for selecting this business sector was that, on average, employees stay with the same organisation, and thus use the same desk, for a relatively long period of time – this is true at least for the middle management level.

  ­ 43

Business Sectors

Call Centres The rapidly growing call centre sector is also a customer-oriented business. However, the challenge here is to create trust in spite of a depersonalised culture without any direct customer contact. In most cases, there is also a strictly disciplined work culture. The majority of workers are freelancers and their work is relatively depersonalised, stressful and strictly organised. Most importantly, they work in shifts and, in most countries, do not have their own individual desks, but have to desk-share, meaning that the desks have to be tidied up when the shift is over. The work takes place in open-plan offices, the desks tend to be small and we can assume neither a large degree of identification with the workplace nor an intensive communication between the workers themselves. We have to point out, however, that we came across one call centre with an extraordinary internal social network that did not correspond to the strict rules and emotional neutrality typically found in this sector. Administration Offices This sector is mainly inward-facing, which is mirrored in organisational and communications structures with particularly distinctive formalbureaucratic processes. In this study, we have mainly focused on public administration offices. Workers tend to stay in their jobs for a long period of time, there is ample communication between them and a high degree of identification with the workplace. Control by senior staff tends to be indirect, in that higher-level management rarely visit the offices of lower level employees and instead call them to their own offices. Therefore, administrative offices come closest to representing an independent workplace.

44

Business Sectors

Design Studios An obvious choice for a design research study. Design studios create products, symbols, CI, media and so on and are, therefore, in and of themselves sensitised to design issues of all kinds. Depending on the cultural context, this can vary from a distinctive, mandatory corporate design prescribing clear and (more often than not) white desks free of any personal items so that the focus remains on the work for the client, to the contrasting concept of desks and environments full of all kinds of objects meant to serve as inspiration for new designs. In this sector, which today is often defined as part of the so-called ‘creative industries’, we might assume a higher degree of individuality, a tendency towards originality and a more considered approach to the design of desktops. Therefore, on the one hand, design studios deviate from the standard and, on the other hand, could possibly serve as pioneers in terms of the future organisation and design of desks and office environments. Our evaluations and analyses show that the selection of these four business sectors was well justified: they can be clearly distinguished from one another and can be viewed as exemplary concepts representing the empirical reality of desktop design all over the world. This does not mean, however, that there is no need for similar studies in other business and service sectors.

  ­ 45

Hong Kong, Design, Female

Hong Kong, Design, Female

The Clusters Categories Fun, Food, Figurines, etc. In order to evaluate the variety of objects displayed on desks, it was necessary to define groups of items or categories. This was possible with little trouble, because the desks we studied did not display a random, chaotic collection of items. After taking a closer look, we were able to create meaningful clusters. Although an even more-detailed categorisation would have been possible or even desirable, we decided against this because it would have led to too much differentiation that, in turn, would have resulted in a bewildering array of object groups. Deciding on the grading of classifications for the purpose of analysis is always tricky. The large variety of objects on desks forms an equally large data set whose inherent structures need to be identified. It would certainly be justified to question the chosen categories and see whether different clusters would have been possible. We decided to apply a broader categorisation in order to avoid getting lost in the details and losing sight of the overall picture. However, the amount and quality of the photographic documentation in this book allows the reader to garner a good idea of the procedures and objects of this study, which is rarely the case with empirical studies. We defined the following categories: Plants and Greenery This category is self-explanatory: it includes potted plants of all kinds as well as flowers in vases or other types of greenery. Here, we needed to differentiate between ‘corporate plants’ provided by the companies or institutions and those set up by the workers themselves. The latter are clearly more significant for this study. Art, Fun, Memorabilia This cluster includes items such as posters of various sizes, postcards, photographs and packaging, i.e. mainly two-dimensional images. Collecting these items in one category seems justified, since they are the most common ones in general and are usually related to personal memories and relationships.   ­ 47

The Clusters Milan, Administration, Female

Health and Beauty Cosmetic and hygiene products, medication, tissues and similar items. Also considered in this group are related products such as small pocket mirrors and nail scissors . Life Accessories A collection of everything else that could be termed ‘evidence of life’. Items that people carry about their person and leave on their desks: mobile phones, car and house keys, spectacles, handbags and other luggage items, smoker’s utensils, gloves and scarves, etc. In other words, all those personal objects whose natural home is not the desk. Food and Beverages There are clear cultural differences regarding the presence of food and beverages on desks. These items can be found everywhere and they certainly point to meanings beyond the mere necessity of food intake. Whether they are little treats for in-between times, whether they are sweet, salty, sour or fresh or whether they are a cold replacement for a real lunch or one that needs to be warmed up, whether the foodstuffs are meant to satisfy hunger or quench thirst: all these aspects can be important indicators regarding the work climate or culture. If we look closely, we will see a large range of intercultural differences regarding the significance of food and drink in general, and also as goods stored at the workplace. 48

The Clusters

Toys and Figurines Toys of all kinds, model cars or other machines, manga characters and similar items such as animals made of fake fur, plastic or rubber. Awards and trophies, found only in some countries, are also part of this category. Specialities Here we collect everything that stood out as being particularly peculiar, idiosyncratic, bizarre and unusual such as an aquarium at one location, a sex toy at another and, in particular business sectors and countries, also trophies or other symbols of honour for one’s own work. We highlight these things but can only occasionally include them as special items in our interpretations. Personal Office Upgrades This category refers to objects that people have bought themselves, or brought from home, in order to facilitate or improve their working procedures.

Taipei, Bank, Female

  ­ 49

Little Number Games

This study is not representative and does not use the methodologies applied in quantitative research. Hence, this is not about counting and measuring. However when applicable, we also order, classify, compare and identify tendencies and qualify assumptions by using comparative and average counts. For the purposes of orientation and quantitative control, the key figures will be presented in the following paragraphs. Regarding the number of objects found on desks, there are partly significant differences between countries, business sectors and genders. These are analysed in the respective chapters; here we will limit ourselves to presenting the figures. At first sight, the sheer number of objects sitting, lying and being exhibited on desks or attached to walls and partitions left us speechless and puzzled. Speechless, because the quantity is overwhelming and surpassed by far our initial hypotheses. Puzzled, because not only are the variables and their interconnections immense, but because there is also such an excessive and, at times, seemingly chaotic amount of material that strategic focus points had to be determined in order to cut some meaningful paths through this jungle. Altogether, 686 desks were studied in 11 countries. On these desks, we found 9,246 non-work related, two or three-dimensional objects that we identified as private items. Based on sex, we took photographs of 351 desks belonging to female workers and displaying 5,885 objects and of 335 desks belonging to male workers and displaying 3,361 objects, indicating that women seem to have a significantly higher preference for object collection than their male colleagues. Here, however, we only want to introduce some exemplary figures. The quantitative ratio of desks to private objects was as follows: The 94 Cologne-based desks were home to 760 objects whereas the 111 desks in Milan only displayed 564 objects. The proportional number of objects in European cities was highest in Barcelona with only 48 desks but an impressive 539 objects. Cairo, with a rather modest 39 desks and 280 objects is comparable to Cologne. Both Curitíba (63 desks and 746 objects) and Auckland (80 desks and 649 objects) also belong to this quantitative category. With only 23 desks,   ­ 51

Number Games

the New York object count came to 306; in both Pune (33 desks and 419 objects) and Fukuoka (36 desks and 461 objects), the counts were slightly higher. For Fukuoka we would have expected higher counts due to the distinctive Japanese manga and object culture. However, our anticipated Asia image was confirmed by two other Asian cities to such an extent that, viewed from a Eurocentric perspective, is nothing short of stunning: the 88 Taiwanese desk owners surrounded themselves with 1,813 objects and were only outdone by Hong Kong with 71 desks exhibiting 2,709 (!) objects. If we look at this wealth of objects from the perspective of the four business sectors, we can also see significant differences: the 101 desks in call centres only displayed 743 objects, which is not surprising given the strictly organised, shift-based nature of work. The 101 desktops in banks and insurance companies were home to 1,869 objects and the 193 desks in administration offices were furnished with 2,479 objects. But the biggest surprise for us was the design sector: in Germany and other European regions usually associated with an almost clinically white emptiness, the addition of non-European countries changed this picture into a colourful plethora of objects with 242 desks being home to 4,155 items! Although average figures with their inherent abstractions have to be treated with caution, they can at times be quite revealing in terms of a cursory overview: on average, we found 7 items per desk in call centres, 12 in banks and insurance companies, 13 in administrative offices and, way ahead of the rest, an average of 17 items per desk in design studios.

52

Hong Kong, Administration, Female

Hong Kong, Administration, Female

Hong Kong, Administration, Female

Hong Kong, Administration, Female

Hong Kong, Administration, Male

Hong Kong, Administration, Female

Intercultural Comparison

Intercultural Comparison

  ­ 55

Taipei, Design, Female

Hong Kong, Design, Male

Intercultural Comparison

General Ambivalences At least since Werner Heisenberg, we have known that the drawback of observation lies in the fact that the act of observation changes that which is being observed. And at least since Max Horkheimer’s convincing explanation of the threefold reality of history (that which happened a long time ago, how this is passed on and the respective current interest), it has become clear that each observation always relates to that which others claim to have observed before (this can even result in cliché) and to that which collides with the current interests of the observers. The latter can be alleviated, yet not eliminated, by constant self-criticism and by being aware of one’s potential interests. In intercultural analysis, it is inevitable that the cultural experiences and contexts of the analysts entwine themselves into any attempt to explain and understand the other. Someone from Hong Kong, Pune or even Barcelona might find the objects on a Cologne-based desk very strange or inexplicable, while someone from Cologne could easily explain these items. These forms of ethno-centrism can only be largely avoided if, as was the case in the study presented here, there is an intensive, direct cooperation between all study participants and if any assumptions or ambiguities are checked with people from the relevant culture. Using this approach, we were indeed able to solve a number of misunderstandings during the research. All research into intercultural commonalities and differences is subject to two potential criticisms: firstly, the claim that, within a globalised culture, differences would no longer exist and, secondly, that by focusing on cultural differences one would run the risk of defining specific national characters. As far as the first criticism is concerned, we would like to stress that one of the aims of this study (like that of other studies before that investigated similar themes from perspectives different to ours) was to highlight how, at least in the use of objects and products (sometimes even in the use of the same products, although they are surprisingly often culturally differentiated), cultural idiosyncrasies can generate different forms of action and design. The same product, used in different cultures, changes through the way it is being used (see Brandes and Erlhoff, 2006; Brandes, Stich et al., 2009).

  ­ 57

Intercultural Comparison

Cologne, Bank, Male

The potential accusation that this type of research would lean towards resurrecting outdated ideas of ‘national character’ and would simply regurgitate clichés appears to be strangely hypocritical. Years ago, Richard Löwenthal, a sociologist from the field of critical theory, uncovered a peculiar contradiction when stating that the category of ‘national character’ could not be maintained on a theoretical level, yet empirically it would constantly assert itself. Even the most trivial personal experience shows that, for instance when encountering tourists and before hearing them speak their language, we can surprisingly often precisely identify the region of the world they come from, simply by looking at their gestures, clothes, behaviours or interactions. However, there is no denying that this runs the risk of falling into the trap of cliché or presumptuous prejudice, something that does not look good in academic research. But just because this criticism is a morally established one and just because, clearly, academic studies try to uncover the particular in the general, this context urgently calls for some new considerations: the general is not simply general, rather there are different forms of ‘the general’ (within the trivial generality that all humans live on planet earth and share certain common features that make them human) and it is extremely useful to try to understand their particular characteristics. The risk that some cliché or other might become involved in such an attempt is inevitable because, despite our aspirations to being individual, we are often governed by stereotypical assumptions. Different historical processes are characterised by different groups of people having their specific set of internalised ideas defined by their individual cultural socialisation, their cultural, professional or other associations, where trying to circumvent or avoid these forms of ‘group thinking’ would lead to isolation. Or we are subject to self-projections by which we identify 58

Intercultural Comparison

Cairo, Administration, Male

ourselves, to a greater or lesser degree in a conscious manner, with a certain group or national culture. However, all of these three different variations are eventually only based on clichés that have developed both within one’s own culture and through external perceptions of the respective culture. Therefore, cliché and even prejudice are based on historiocultural realities and they work because they are, to a certain degree, also integrated into the behaviour of the members of a culture (see Macrae et al.). Obviously – and at times this caused a great deal of consternation for those who worked on this study – one constantly encounters the reality of such clichés in intercultural research. Hence, these clichés have to be expressed, but, luckily, one also unexpectedly finds behaviours and objects that do not conform to these stereotypes. On the background of these issues, it becomes clear that many of the images resulting from this study could have almost been anticipated. On the other hand, however, the material also provides numerous instances of unexpected, and thus completely new, insight. A result that is contradictory, but just because of this contradiction, it is also exciting.

  ­ 59

Intercultural Comparison

Taipei, Design, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Examples In order to avoid simple prejudice, it is crucial to communicate some fundamental cultural differences in the way people view the world. We did this extensively during the preparation phase of the study. Here, we can only present some aspects of this work, and in doing so we hope to be able to also open up some new perspectives for our readers: Hong Kong, Design, Female

Plenitude and Emptiness There is an obvious and almost fundamental difference between the desks located in Europe and the ones in Latin America and India and, most significantly, those in East Asia. This can partly be explained by looking at the concepts of plenitude (or crowdedness) and emptiness in the respective cultural contexts. In Asia, for example, the idea of crowdedness is completely different from the European one. When walking through the streets of Hong Kong, Taipei or Fukuoka, one can experience a totally different dimension of the idea of plenitude compared to Cologne, Milan, Barcelona and even New York. In these East Asian cities one is permanently surrounded by crowds of people, which is why the European concept of intimacy and the associated relevance attributed to the distance between human bodies would simply be impractical and therefore do not exist. The streets and shopping malls in these countries are always overcrowded, which does not seem to constitute a problem to the people living there. On the contrary, if people from East Asian cities visit the centre of a European city during the week, they tend to get the impression that they have arrived on a bank holiday. But even this would be the wrong way to describe it, since East Asian cities are also crowded on bank holidays because the shops are not closed as tends to be case in Europe. This aspect even applies to Japan, although the general image of this society is defined by an appreciation of distance: for example, many representative buildings and exclusive hotels feature huge empty spaces, thus demonstrating their ability to use expensive space in such a lavish way. In other words: this is a symbol of prestige. Moreover, the very precise distance that has to be maintained in the ceremonial bows between Japanese people might be completely cancelled out moments later, when the very same people find themselves in department stores, in the streets or on an underground train.   ­ 61

Intercultural Comparison

Fukuoka, Call Centre, Male Taipei, Design, Female

Another Aspect of Plenitude and Emptiness The different cultural connotations in the perception of plenitude and emptiness also entail other aspects. Collecting and exhibiting (in our case on office desks) a large number of objects might also be linked to the fear of poverty or at least to the fear of losing these objects or not being able to use them – issues that are certainly grounded in real-life experiences. Affluence – often only perceived – as expressed in the number of objects in one’s possession is not something that can be taken for granted. In Germany, for instance, the generation that lived through (and unfortunately was also indirectly responsible for) the Second World War is known for refusing to throw things away and hoarding them instead. If we consider that the – partly still fragile – economic boom in countries such as Brazil, Taiwan and Hong Kong has been going on for only forty years, then the insecurity regarding the handling and presentation of possessions is easily understandable. Additionally, natural disasters (earthquakes, typhoons, flooding) are part of everyday life in these countries and represent a constant threat, which is why possessions must be protected, but at the same time presented to the outside world – for example on one’s office desk at the workplace.

Pune, Design, Female

Hong Kong, Design, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Fukuoka, Design, Female

Fukuoka, Call Centre, Male

Plenitude and Emptiness in Japan It is worthwhile using this perspective by way of example because the Western perception of Japan is predominantly defined by the way space is treated in Japanese architecture and by the clear, precise and formal aesthetics of Japanese interior design. This perception stands in stark contrast to the desk images published in this book and to the respective discussions. The contradiction is easily solved, however, if we look at real interiors of Japanese apartments and houses such as those published in the book Tokyo Style (see Tsuzuki): compared to Europe, apartments and houses are very small and usually do not have cellars, which is why all possessions must be stored in a very small space and why you can find bicycles mounted on walls next to clothes, with items piled on top of each other in order to create some space for conviviality and entertaining guests. The situation is similar in Hong Kong, Taipei, Pune and, to a certain degree, also in Brazil: apartments are relatively small and hence the office desk presents a wonderful opportunity to store some of one’s possessions without it being perceived as overcrowding by the people working there.

Taipei, Administration, Female

Movable Partitions In Japan and also in other East Asian countries, the idea of using thick brick or concrete walls to separate apartments or rooms, both spatially and acoustically, is simply nonexistent. Instead, ‘walls’ are used in the sense of privacy screens. Therefore, it is not surprising that partitions seem to be sufficient in these countries to create spaces within the office that afford a notion of privacy and therefore are decorated accordingly.   ­ 63

Intercultural Comparison

Hong Kong, Design, Female

Living and Working Another aspect particular to Taiwan, but that potentially also applies to other cities in this geographical region, is worth noting: due to a scarcity of space in the large cities and the associated high rental costs or, alternatively, the fact that buying an apartment or house costs an exorbitant amount of money, many people – especially the younger generation – continue to live with their parents, even though they are at an age where they would normally be expected to have their own homes. This situation results in some very practical issues and leads to a tendency of doing overtime at the office. Symptomatic of this situation is also that, for instance, students at some of the universities in these locations try to set up a home-from-home at their school and stay there overnight. This in turn leads to a highly ambivalent reality with regards to working hours. On the one hand, the younger employees, especially, prefer staying in the office for longer or even returning to the office after an ‘after work party’ because they can then tell their parents that they are just returning from work. On the other hand, this system encourages employers to sabotage the idea of regulated work hours by surreptitiously extending them. In the context of our study, this aspect explains why, in these locations, there is a different meaning associated with the idea of privacy at the workplace.

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Intercultural Comparison

Regional Distinctions Since we will focus on the differences with regard to gender or to a particular business sector in the context of our object categories later on, we will present more general impressions of cultural distinctions at this point. For this purpose, we will use segmentation by location with the goal of highlighting cultural specifics and of improving our ability to recognise these.

Cairo, Design, Male

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Intercultural Comparison

Administration, Female

Design, Male

And this takes us right into the area of cultural specifics. When looking at the photographs of the desks, another specific characteristic stands out: an overall colourful look, which creates a joyful but also slightly ‘loud’ impression, as if the colours were needed to banish an otherwise existing dreariness. It is, however, a global fact that, the further south one travels, sunlight is reflected in increasingly more colourful ways. In northern countries, this might occasionally be associated with a lack of discernment, since northerners pride themselves on being able to perceive different shades of grey: in Brazil, however, people simply enjoy the light and its distinct presence. 66

Administration, Female

Curitíba When looking at the objects on the desks in the Brazilian offices, they often appear to be of a European character and hence, from a European perspective, these objects do not seem to be unusual at first: family photos, souvenirs, (cuddly) toys and all sorts of figurines. However, it is worthwhile taking a closer look, because most of these objects represent angels or other religious figures. The visible display of religious symbols is particularly interesting (a similar level of visibility was only found in Pune and Cairo, albeit with respectively different religious references). Of course, this does not simply mean that religion plays a more important role in Brazil than elsewhere, rather it shows that religious symbols have become part of everyday culture. While in Europe, and in particular in Germany (and here especially in the Protestant areas, i.e. not in Cologne), these symbols are sacrosanct and therefore clearly separated from everyday culture, they are obviously being treated in a much more mundane, maybe even pragmatic way in Curitíba, based on the idea that they might occasionally be of help. This is a peculiar relationship since, on the one hand, these symbols just sit on the desks like any other object and, on the other hand, they clearly stand out from the usual plastic objects because many of them are made of glass or porcelain. More than any of the other items, these figurines are simply present yet simultaneously carry much meaning and articulate mysticism. This probably depends on the respective individual situation.

Administration, Female

Intercultural Comparison

In this sense, most of the desks (see chapter Comparative Analysis of the Business Sectors) in Curitíba were overflowing with objects from all sorts of areas. Real exhibitions and personal arrangements were openly presented and filled the tables. What would be perceived as chaotic in other places did not seem to be an issue for the people working at these desks. They are obviously able to live with this alleged chaos and even seem to love it and indulge in it. And somehow people also seem to be proud to show off their possessions, which introduces a communicative element into these office environments. Furthermore, we noticed that on many desktops there were small plastic bottles that would regularly be refilled with tap water. This is understandable given the usually high temperatures during the summer season, and it is also sensible not to buy expensive branded water when the quality of the tap water is fine.

Administration, Female

Call Centre, Female

In summary, we can say that in Curitíba there is a strong tendency to express privacy through the objects on one’s desks but this is always done in an open and communicative way. Here, the term ‘privacy’ does not mean separating oneself and establishing one’s own domain, but rather to be part of a general convivial process.

Administration, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Administration, Female

Another striking aspect was that many office workers (both women and men) had their (hand)bags placed within reach on their desks. Personal bags generally play a very important role (see also other locations) since, within the overall privatisation of the desktop and workplace, they represent an additional private space that is off limits to others – a symbolic last resort, as it were.

68

Design, Male

Cairo First of all, we have to state that in Cairo we were only able to photograph some desks in administrative offices and a larger number in design studios (there are only very few call centres in Cairo and we were not allowed access to banks or insurance companies: see chapter Comparative Analysis of the Business Sectors). In Cairo, the object category ‘Beauty and Hygiene’ was the most obvious one: toilet paper, towels, cream dispensers and tissue boxes were the most often found objects on the desks and especially in the desks’ top drawer. The fact that tissue boxes are almost omnipresent in this location is easily explained: it is very hot in Cairo and as soon as windows are opened, there will be sand everywhere, which creates a constant need to wipe away both sweat and sand. However, it might also be fair to assume that the tissues are used to provide a feeling of confidence to those who have direct contact with others (clients) and who have to or want to look good in these situations. Objects often help to counteract any feelings of nervousness.

Intercultural Comparison

Design, Male Administration, Male

When taking a closer look at the desktops in Cairo, we also discovered a surprising number of mobile phones (up to three per desk). On the one hand, this corresponds to the prejudice that this is a talkative society but, obviously, there are also very practical reasons for this situation: the landlines do not work very well, and due to the fierce competition in mobile telecommunications there is sometimes no seamless transition between different city areas, which forces people to use different phones depending on where they are.

Callcenter, Male

Administration, Male

A further noteworthy aspect of the Cairo-based offices is that the equipment was either very old or very new. This was even true for some of the design studios where we found rather dated PCs and CRT monitors. Apparently, new purchases are only made if there is no other option left. In this context, it was surprising that – especially in the administrative sector – employees tended to use laptops, which indicates that they have to have a certain mobility. However, it seems more likely that these were the employees’ own laptops that were also used in the office.   ­ 69

Intercultural Comparison

Pune In this city we were only able to access design studios, but this nonetheless allowed us to gain some insight into cultural differences and commonalities. In the research report from this location it says: “The walls of this spacious office are painted yellow and are broken up by large windows. One of the walls bears the main business objective of this company: 25 million by 2011. The atmosphere appears to be cold and success-oriented. There are only a few personal objects on the desks and the majority of the visible objects on desks and walls is work- or project-related. Employees are obliged to keep their desks tidy and free of any personal items. All objects on the desks have to be work related. The boss himself states that this tidiness is rather atypical for India. However, compared to other countries, there are still many objects on the desks. There is also the general rule that desk size increases in relation to the seniority of one’s role, and hence more senior employees also have increasingly more non-work related objects on their desktops.” It is obvious that, although office management demands a tidy office in a Protestant, Anglo-Saxon sense, this demand is simply cancelled out by the cultural reality. This is certainly not unusual for some of the locations that, similarly to Hong Kong, Taiwan and, to a degree, also Cairo and even Auckland, occupy a somewhat hybrid position since they were shaped by colonialism and imperialism and therefore occasionally still consider Great Britain and the USA to be their cultural role models. This applies in particular to the business sector, where old imperial rules are often upheld because they seem to promise greater economic success. In fact, however, the typical native forms of organisation assert themselves on a subliminal level.

Design, Female

Design, Female Design, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Design, Male Design, Male

This is very clearly explained in the report about the two studies carried out in Pune: “In spite of all the effort to adapt certain structures to international role models and to adopt the corresponding organisational principles, national and cultural characteristics clearly come to the fore in these offices. Tables, filing cabinets and notice boards are usually overflowing with paper notes and little nick-nacks. Everything, even the furniture such as tables and storage units, is used to stick notes on. Workstations are overcrowded with kitsch objects, packaging, advertisements and so on. Additionally, there are a number of newspapers and magazines that are clearly not connected to work but have simply been left there. Therefore, many of these desks appear to be overcrowded or even look like personal shrines. They bear a certain similarity to the streets in the city. Numerous figurines, toys, drawings and also letters define the look of these desks and everywhere there are drinks in plastic bottles, cosmetic articles and sweets. On top of that there is also some religious imagery.”

In terms of analysis, it is very interesting that it is the traditional culture that dominates the desktops and certainly also significantly defines and enlivens the ways of working and cooperation in India, which has the largest English-speaking population outside the USA.

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Intercultural Comparison

New York When looking at the desks in New York (see the special chapter The New York Experience), one gets the impression that the city’s ambition to be special by not trying to be special would be mirrored on its desktops, as if the desktops were metaphors for the melding of all cultures, which neutralises them within a new one. This is the only outstanding characteristic in this context, because all peculiarities are simply absorbed and dissolved within a characteristic generality. The question is, however, whether this really reflects the future of multicultural societies or whether we need to look more closely to discover an undercurrent of particular characteristics. In the city itself, cultural differences continue to exist and intermingle.

Administration, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Administration, Male

This is why this book presents a separate analytical discussion for the city of New York (in addition to its integration into the overall analysis), for which, where this was possible, the cultural origin of employees had been established. This allows the reader to use the additional information in order to understand what happens on the desktops in this location. It was, by the way, very difficult to gain access to the offices in New York and to carry out and record our observations. Some of the employees demanded that they first be given the time to tidy up their desks, that the photographs be professionally illuminated, that no documents be photographed and that the photos be presented to them for approval. This is possibly due to the difference in the concepts of ‘protection of privacy’ and ‘protection of public rights’ that has historically existed between British-based and European cultures (see the respective discussion in this book).

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Intercultural Comparison

Auckland This city is also located in a country characterised by the necessity of having to integrate various cultural backgrounds, while official life has been largely shaped by British traditions (see also chapter Globalised Desktop Skirmishes). Most prevalent are East Asian influences, something that is also visible in the photographs of the Auckland-based desktops (numerous Asian figurines and images).

Design, Male

Design, Male

In contrast to the desks in the East Asian countries, however, there were altogether very few objects to be found on the desktops: in almost every category Auckland came up with the smallest number of objects. Overall, the desktops were clear and tidy. There were rarely any particular things that stood out. Looking at the photographs, one gets the impression that all tasks and projects are in safe and reliable hands and that people are focused on their work.

Bank, Male

Call Centre, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Design, Female

Most frequently, we found photographs on and near the desks, which shows that, even in this location, the urge to personalise the workplace cannot be completely suppressed. The photographs depicted family members or memorable events and were often arranged in a very affectionate way – a characteristic that was quite noticeable in this location. One employee at a design studio, for instance, had put up a series of ten black and white photographs at the wall behind his desk, almost like an exhibition and a female call centre worker had photographs of a young girl lined up in decorative frames at the outer edge of her desktop, so that everyone passing by would notice them. In both of these exemplary cases, the personalisation of the workplace also serves to communicate and to create an atmosphere of familiarity both internally and externally. Design, Female

Design, Female

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Administration, Female

Apart from that, we found many travel souvenirs relating to neighbouring countries and especially East Asia. There were relatively few objects in the category of food and beverages and, rather unusually, we also found smoking paraphernalia on one of the desks.

Intercultural Comparison

Taipei Taiwanese desks are crowded, colourful and small. A comparable multitude and variety of objects was found in only one other location: Hong Kong. From a European perspective, this clutter would seem chaotic and unsettling, yet in Taipei and Hong Kong it seems to produce and convey a feeling of safety, both internally and externally. However, once these desktop landscapes become familiar to the observer and the feeling of drowning in the perceived chaos subsides, then there is no one thing that stands out, because all sorts of objects are to be found on these desktops. Therefore, it would almost make more sense to consider whether any specific types of objects were missing in this location. In Taiwanese offices, there are rarely any plants and equally seldom did we find objects of a European background such as comic strip figurines for example. Most of the items originated from Chinese, Japanese and US-American cultures. It was very interesting to see how traditional and also religious symbols would sit easily next to objects from pop culture.

Administration, Male Bank, Female

An excellent example for this was a plastic figurine sitting on a monitor: a little man with white hair and a long white moustache wearing a simple long robe with a mandarin collar: quite clearly an Asian figurine. On further enquiry as to what this figurine was, we found out that these were give-aways handed out by supermarkets as a sales incentive and, with their pink robes, these little men represent the Chinese god of marriage (Yue Lao). Hence, an object that, from a European perspective, seems to be rather kitsch, has, within a Chinese context, a religious connotation that reaches beyond the object itself. If we further consider that this figurine was placed, quite prominently, on a monitor located on the desk of a female employee, then we might also be inclined to assume that it could express the desire to get married or the happiness about being married. 76

Intercultural Comparison

Bank, Female Bank, Female

On the other hand, the little figurine might have sat there simply because its owner liked it. In Asian religions, the concept of icons is a totally different one compared to that in Europe, since religion and popular everyday culture mix easily in these regions (in a similar fashion, this is also the case in other areas of the world if we think of ‘pop icons’, for example, and occasionally also occurs in Christian religions – see Curitíba, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ or the German ‘Kirchentage’ faith festivals – yet not with the same degree of openness and casualness). This is also visible through the far greater degree of pragmatism involved in religious life in Asia (it is not frowned upon when explicitly asking for more money or a bigger car in the context of religious festivities), which, on the other hand, goes along with an equally far greater presence of religious ritual: in the temple, food and paper models of cameras, mobile phones and even cars are sent to the ancestors so that they may use them. This also demonstrates the societal and cultural relevance and the (among other aspects) emotional connotation of objects that have to be available in as large a quantity as possible. But even this is ambiguous since in these countries people simultaneously collect and dispose of items only to start collecting again, an aspect that also became obvious in the desks at the offices involved in this study, since despite the large number of objects hardly any of them appeared to be old or to have any patina.

Bank, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Bank, Female

In fact, we found up to 200 objects on the desks in Taipei, which, given the small size of the desks, results in a chaotic jumble that, within Taiwanese culture itself, seems to be meaningful and not at all exotic. Another salient aspect was the large amount of food and number of beverages (similar to Hong Kong). In Chinese countries, eating is an omnipresent social activity: most business deals are done over a meal. The meals themselves, which usually include numerous dishes, are best enjoyed in company, and many rituals are connected to eating. Remnants of these traditions are obviously still maintained in office life, although fast food chains have also penetrated the market in these countries. Both of these aspects, i.e. the fundamental importance of eating in China and the stress of work and speed of life, lead to the fact that, in office life, eating takes place both individually and, by sharing a common space, also socially or as a communicative activity.

Bank, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Bank, Male

Design, Female

A further significant indicator for the private connotation of office work in Taipei is the fact that we found an above-average number of objects in the category of ‘Personal Office Upgrades’. These are items which afford direct improvements to the way the work is done or to the workplace itself, but which are not provided by the companies or institutions. If, as was the case in Taipei, employees bring these objects into work in such great numbers, then we can assume a rather high degree of identification with the workplace (on the other hand, this also indicates a lack of organisation or job security in comparison to Europe or the USA, where employers are expected to provide these objects). Design, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Bank, Male

Design, Male

Hong Kong Most of the points noted for Taipei were also true for Hong Kong. On average, we found even more objects on the desktops – 38 per desk – and here, too, the desks were full of figurines, toys, postcards and photos. Additionally, we also found many food items and related utensils (see also chapter The Desk as a Miniature World of Events and Identities). Administration, Female

It is surprising, however, how clearly Chinese culture dominates everyday and work life, in spite of the fact that this city was subject to some one hundred years of British rule and still often displays a very British image. All desks included in this study clearly underlined this point.

Design, Male

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Intercultural Comparison

Design, Female

Design, Female

A further note might provide some additional information as to why there were so many non-work related objects on the desks in Hong Kong: we have to remember that not that long ago, in the 1970s, many Hong Kong citizens had to look for work in neighbouring countries, especially in the Philippines, and that Chinese people were only allowed access to the so-called ‘mid levels’ (exclusive British residential areas) in their role as servants or service providers. Even in the 1980s, Hong Kong was still seen as a place of passage, not of home, for most of its people. After the British government ‘handed over’ this city to the People’s Republic of China, where it now has the status of a ‘special administrative region (SAR)’, the younger generation in particular began to see and to establish this place as one providing new perspectives for the future, and this generation included many who had returned from other countries. In spite of the enormous growth and wealth of Hong Kong and the existence of a social security system (a legacy of British rule), there is still a palpable degree of anxiety about the future and, especially among younger people, there is an ambition to establish a new dimension of what it means to be Chinese, not only in Hong Kong but also in relation to mainland China. This makes it easier to understand what we see on the desks in Hong Kong.

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Intercultural Comparison Call Centre, Female

Fukuoka Compared to Europe and New York, the desktops are again rather crowded with a multitude of figurines, toys, souvenirs and other objects. There are fewer items than in Taipei and Hong Kong but overall still an above-average number. As mentioned earlier, when looking at the offices in Japan, the picture does not conform to what one would expect based on traditional ideas or preconceptions about Japanese culture, because one does not find an order that would reflect principles like the standard measurements of futons or any obvious social hierarchies. The image of Japan is only true, for example, with regard to the service sector and official social life: in official social life, women still speak their own language that is different from the one used among men, there are clear rules for rituals and for the distance to be observed when bowing to another person, the elderly are respected, language is used in an indirect way and spaces for official occasions are very clearly structured and never overcrowded. However, everyday life with its hustle and bustle has long overruled these traditions and created its own reality. Nowadays, private spaces are just as crowded as the office desks, on underground trains and in the streets the personal distance between individuals has dissolved and the younger generation with its extreme articulations is rebelling against the oldergenerations and their rigid rules.

Design, Male

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Administration, Female

Intercultural Comparison

Administration, Male Administration, Male

Despite their radical ideas, young people tend to surprisingly quickly adapt to the social standards in Japan, but they cannot completely negate what they used to think and do before. Like all Japanese people, they are confronted with typical aspects of everyday work life such as a fast-paced, stressful day and a lack of space, and they also face the problem of how to personally succeed and maintain some degree of individuality at work. Hence, all sorts of objects are placed on the desks: besides manga characters and references that recall people’s rebel years, there are also souvenirs or symbols for desires such as a small mousepad by the car manufacturer Ferrari. In Japan, too, the contradiction between cultural traditions and the reality of everyday work life becomes quite obvious when looking at the individual workstations.

Call Centre, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Milan Milan is an example of the fact that, although we found far fewer objects in all business sectors of the European offices, there still seems to be a need for personalising one’s workstation. On average, we found only 5 objects on the desktops that were not directly related to work. Most of these items were beverages and associated receptacles, whereas we rarely found any toys or figurines.

Administration, Female

Administration, Male

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Intercultural Comparison

Administration, Male

Compared to the other countries included in this study, the most salient aspect in Milan was the similarity of desks across all business sectors. Typical for Milan, one could reduce all the images of the desks located there to the statement that a certain sense of style (if we want to call it that) was obvious even at the workplace. Almost all objects on these desks appeared to be especially selected for the very purpose of being placed on the desk. This creates the impression that it is not predominantly about the personalisation of the workplace but rather about a permanent exposition to demonstrate one’s sense of style to others. Hence, these objects seem to raise the quality of the workplace and, in turn, also elevate the quality of one’s own presence at work. A sense of style and an associated awareness of one’s own personality and level of competence in this area are not luxuries in this location, but simply part of everyday culture and thus also visible at the workplace.

Design, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Barcelona Barcelona conforms to the cliché idea that life in southern regions is somewhat more chaotic than in the northern ones: on average, we counted 11 non-work related objects on the desks. However, this is still a far smaller number compared to the East Asian countries. One particular characteristic of the desks in Barcelona was that in the category ‘Figurines and Toys’ we mainly found regional or regionally connoted objects, indicating that people seem to domesticate their workplace by using familiar references. Additionally, we often found everyday items such as mobile phones, keys and wallets.

Callcenter, Female Design, Female

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Administration, Female

Intercultural Comparison

Bank, Male

Similar to Milan, identification with the workplace is not so much expressed via the number of objects but through familiar, everyday items. This may point to a typical European phenomenon in comparison to the other countries, which is a certain self awareness and nonchalance in association with cultural contexts and connotations. A few, carefully selected objects are used to individualise one’s workplace and to simultaneously remain within an official cultural standard. Regardless of how delusive this may be, and notwithstanding the possibility that this may indicate that one’ s own culture has become the general self-image, this reflects a typically European cultural self-confidence, which even invades and shapes the private realm. Not many things are needed to represent one’s identity to oneself and to others. In Barcelona, and also in Milan (albeit in a slightly different way), this is also a characteristic of a typical mono-cultural society or a society that still regards itself as being mono-cultural because this behaviour is based on a certainty that others will automatically understand what I regard as a representation of my personality.

Call Centre, Female

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Intercultural Comparison

Cologne The desks in this city represent, in terms of object counts, the midpoint between Milan and Barcelona. On average, we found 8 non-work related objects on the desks in this location, which were evenly distributed across all categories.

Call Centre, Female

Administration, Female

However, in Cologne we encountered some businesssector specific characteristics: conforming to the tradition and general image of German design, the design studios were rather restrained in terms of personalised desktops, whereas those in administration offices presented a picture that confirmed typical clichés relating to German concepts of privacy and ‘Heimat’ (home). This sector delivered a vivid image, validating all preconceptions about how Germans furnish their homes or want to create a feeling of ‘cosiness’. However, even in the administrative sector, it is obvious that there is a growing adoption of allegedly international aesthetics, that has resulted in an attempt to design everything in a trendier but ultimately more standardised way. The idea of ‘Heimat’ and the cultivation thereof was partly still perceptible, and we found objects that, from an international perspective, are perceived and expected to be typically German: the familiarity of surrounding oneself with family photos, of making oneself at home and feeling comfortable, if not cosy, at the workplace. But this situation is about to change and we will have to wait and see how this will develop in the future.

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Intercultural Comparison

Administration, Male

Call Centre, Female

Design, Female

Altogether, it is obvious (and this will be further explained in the following chapters) how important the privatisation of the workplace is and the high degree to which this is culturally defined. In spite of all claims about globalisation, we have to acknowledge the fact that even globally designed products are being regionalised and culturally modified in use. This is certainly equally important for understanding what is happening on this planet, and also for all perspectives of design.

Administration, Male

  ­ 89

Intercultural Comparison

90

Object Worlds as Gender Staging

Gender Staging

Quantities We have already emphasised the huge quantity and enormous variety of private objects we found on the desks in this study: office work does not seem to promote purism. And women, especially, are not particularly prone to restraining themselves. It becomes immediately obvious that, in total, the masses of objects on desks owned by women clearly outnumber those on the desks of men. We can, therefore, define this aspect as one of the main trends resulting from this study. So let us look for a moment at some simple figures, even though, as should be reiterated at this point, this was not a quantitative or representative study. But, under certain circumstances, figures have the ability to generate an almost perceptible effect. Mass Phenomena We will start with the most general number relationships between gender and objects: the 351 women-owned desks were heaving under the weight of 5,885 objects whereas the 335 desks occupied by men had only 3,361 items on display. Although average figures are usually highly abstract in that they skew the picture in regard to differentiated information and content, we will nonetheless spend some time on entertaining the reader by introducing some of these calculations: on average, women owned 17 private objects whereas men had only 10: because this is an average, it represents a significant difference. In gender research we speak of identity and difference. This usually indicates a qualitative theoretical relationship. But interestingly enough, here the term ‘difference’ even applies to the gender concept in a quantitative sense: the quantity of objects also mirrors the respective demands placed on different genders and reflects the cultural constructions of gender on the basis of an undercurrent of desires and fears that manifest in the multitude, or rather in the accumulation of objects – objects that, in turn, fulfil various desires.

  ­ 93

Gender Staging

Numbers by Cities The two cities with the highest number of private objects on desks, not only in general but also for both sexes, are located in East Asia and are both Chinese cities: Hong Kong and Taiwan. The 41 Taiwanese desks owned by male employees were home to 576 objects (an average of 14 per desk) and the 47 desks owned by women were decorated with 1,237 items (average: 26.3). In Hong Kong, the absolute figures and relative averages came to: 31 ‘male’ desks with 782 objects (average: 25.2) and 40 ‘female’ desks with 1,927 items (average: 48.2). Hence the desks of female employees in China exhibited almost twice as many objects as those owned by their male colleagues. The cities in which we counted approximately one-third fewer objects on the desks of male employees compared to their female colleagues were Milan (4.1 : 6.1), Cologne (6.7 : 9.7) and Cairo (6 : 9.2). A significant aspect in this context is the fact that in all three cultures we could observe an overall tendency to presenting rather few private objects on desks compared to the other locations included in this study. The three cities that came up with the smallest quantitative difference between the sexes (although women as the main object aficionados also topped the list in those places) were: New York (male average 12.6; female average 13.9), Fukuoka (11.2 : 14.5) and Pune (11.1 : 14.3). However, it also becomes obvious again how merely looking at numbers and calculations often leads to odd statements and apparent (or real?) contradictions. Let us recall for a moment one finding mentioned above: altogether, desks owned by women were decorated with significantly more objects than those owned by men. But, if we sort the figures by country, we end up with a double deviation from this rule in terms of numerical ratios: in Barcelona, the men were clearly in the lead with 19 desks presenting 272 objects, whereas the 29 desks owned by their female colleagues only displayed 267 items, which comes to averages of 14.3 for the men compared to only 9.2 for the women. The main ‘culprit’ in this case was the administrative sector with the largest gap in object counts resulting in an average of 6.8 for men and only 3.8 for women. – In Auckland the differences were not quite as pronounced with an average object count of 8.4 for men and 7.8 for women. But the distribution among the business sectors was inconsistent: in administration, call centres and design offices, the men were clearly in the lead whereas the women in the banking and insurance sectors presented more objects than their male colleagues . 94

Gender Staging

Finally, when looking at how the figures from the various cities compare, the phenomenon of women showing a significantly stronger inclination to collect objects is again confirmed. Although an obsession with objects in the Chinese locations could be observed for both sexes, it was clearly more evident on the desks of female workers. However, we have no explanation for the fact that, in two cities, the men were the ones with a stronger passion for objects. These two cities are located far from each other on two different continents and seem to have nothing in common: Barcelona is three times as big as Auckland, the climate is very different, in terms of culture the population in Barcelona is much more homogenous than in Auckland. Both cities and countries belong to the so-called developed regions of the world. – Hence we simply have to accept these figures and let them speak for themselves. Numbers by Business Sectors When comparing the gender-specific object counts among the business sectors, the results, in terms of numerical ratios between the genders, were different, yet the fact that women collect more objects on their desks than men was once again confirmed, albeit to varying degrees. In the world’s administrative offices, the relational object counts between female and male employees threw up the widest discrepancy: on average, women had more than twice as many objects on their desks compared to their male colleagues (17 : 7.6). Design offices came up second with a ratio of 22 : 13. But again, we have to bear in mind that averages can sometimes be helpful, yet, just as often, they can also be misleading: the disproportionally large number of objects in the design sector, including, once again, those related to women, was solely due to the exorbitant numbers of objects on the desks located in Asia. In Hong Kong, women designers piled up 1,140 items on their desks (573 for men) and in Taipei the totals for women still came to an impressing 549 objects (236 for men). If we disregard these two cities, we end up with 831 objects on 89 ‘female’ desks and 826 on 82 ‘male’ ones. This equates to an average of 9.3 for women and 10.1 for men. Surprisingly, when taking the two Asian cities out of the equation, male designers collected more objects than their female colleagues. In the remaining two business sectors, namely banks and insurance companies and call centres, the discrepancy in terms of object counts between men and women also exists but is not quite as wide: in banks and insurance companies women possessed an average of 14 objects compared to 11 for men. The desks of female call centre employees displayed an average of 9 items, those of male workers 5.6.   ­ 95

Gender Staging

Hong Kong, Design, Male

Hong Kong, Design, Male

Taipei, Bank, Female

Taipei, Bank, Male

Milan, Bank, Female

Milan, Bank, Male

Cologne, Administration, Female

Cologne, Administration, Male

96

Gender Staging

Cairo, Administration, Female

Cairo, Administration, Male

Pune, Design, Female

Pune, Design, Male

Fukuoka, Administration, Female

Fukuoka, Administration, Male

Auckland, Call Centre, Female

Auckland, Call Centre, Male

  ­ 97

Gender Staging

Doing, Narrating and Staging Gender Before taking a more detailed look into gender-specific object worlds, let us reconsider for a moment the general phenomenon of individually and, often, with a great deal of care and effort, designed desks as they present themselves in terms of gender aspects. The desk objects can be clearly considered under three important concepts discussed in gender studies: the generation (‘doing gender’, see Butler, Lorber and others), the narration (‘narrating gender’, see OpitzBelakhal and Bal) and the staging (‘staging gender’, see Brandstetter) of gender identities. Although we will not go as far as removing these concepts from the discourse in which they originated, we will take the liberty to apply them to a different context, in our case to object cultures. We will analyse the meaning of objects as they are arranged and presented in the daily lives of their owners or operators, who, with these objects, also define and perform gender. Objects generally function as cultural signs and symbols, as “markers of distinction and communicative means” (CONF). And the female and male desk owners also use their objects to not only mark their territories but also their gender. Firstly, they generate gender by voluntarily subjecting the majority of their objects to cultural gender codes. “Gender signs and signals are so ubiquitous that we usually fail to note them – unless they are missing or ambiguous.” (Lorber, p. 54). The ‘proof’: outsiders are surprisingly often able to identify the correct sex, even if the desk owner is not present. The high percentage of correctly identified sex attribution on the basis of only photographs of the desks bears witness to the ubiquitous mundanity of ‘doing gender’, which, by the way, in our study was definitely even more distinct than cultural differences. “A sex category becomes a gender status through naming, dress, and the use of other gender markers.” (Lorber, p. 55) The “other gender markers” are, in our case, represented by the objects with which office workers surrounded themselves. Secondly, gender provides a biographical narration about the construction of gender “and thus also forms a direct connection to the dimension of experience or memory.” (Opitz-Belakhal, p. 31 transl. by the authors) And so subjective life stories are mirrored in the object worlds on the desks: these items represent elements of individual ways of life as they are expressed in the objective work lives of the subjects. “What if the medium consists of real, hard material objects? Things, called objects for a good reason, appear to be the most ’pure’ form of objectivity. (...) In other words, can things be, or tell, stories? Objects as subjectivised elements in a narrative (...).” (Bal, p. 99).   ­ 99

Gender Staging

A certain quantity of these private objects belongs to the realm of memories: they are mementoes, ‘souvenirs’ in the literal meaning of the word; items brought back from holidays, family photos, children’s drawings etc. And experiences can also become manifest in objects that relate to the ideas of familiarity and security, objects that communicate a feeling of intimacy while habitualisations in the form of objects hold the promise of providing orientation. Thirdly, desks are also stages on which small dramas are played out (see chapter ‘The Desk as a Thriller’) – not only in a general sense, but also very clearly in terms of gender specificities –, on which gender roles are performed and fixed. “(…) the term ‘stage’ (with an emphasis on the active verb form ‘staging’) designates something akin to the emerging gender discourse (…). Stages are opening up, but in consideration of gender-specific forms of contact implicit in such settings (…).” (Brandstetter, p. 28, transl. by the authors) As we have pointed out several times, object collections and arrangements always fulfil a twofold function: a private and a public one. On the one hand, we surround ourselves with private objects to create a familiar, protective space that makes us feel better, especially when we perceive our work as stressful or alienating, or to bring a piece of ‘home’ (Heimat) into our work lives. Hong Kong, Design, Female

100

Gender Staging

On the other hand, each private object collection is inevitably also public: a theatre performed for an audience. The desk becomes a stage, a permanent performance, a show put on for colleagues, whether we are aware of this or not. All of the desks included in this study were located in mixed sex offices (with the exception of one Cologne-based and one Barcelona-based call centre that, unusually, were only staffed by women). Therefore, ‘staging’ is always also an articulation that represents gender and responds to gender. “(…) the encounter of the genders has – obviously enough – constantly been described in terms of drama and theatre (…), for example in expressions such as ‘the battle of the sexes’ or when talking about male or female roles (…)” (Brandstetter, p. 29, transl. by the authors).

Hong Kong, Design, Female Hong Kong, Design, Female

╛╅� 101

Gender Staging

102

Taipei , Call Centre, Male

Doing Gender In the chapter entitled ‘Gender’, we have already described the aporia we are constantly faced with (and not just in this book) when thinking about the empirical existence of genders and gender markers. Subjectively speaking, we could accuse gender theories of having a considerably easier time in representing the finely nuanced differences and interconnections between biology and society, between nature and culture and between the sexes and the genders. Theory does not need to ‘contaminate’ itself, as it were, with empirical realities and forms of expression. In this regard, theory can at times be an excellent refuge to escape the antagonisms inherent in the interweaving of common stereotypes and ‘realities’. This empirical dilemma is reflected in specific terms that, from the viewpoint of theoretical gender research, might appear suspicious: we cannot avoid using expressions such as ‘typically female’ or ‘typically male’ objects or ways of appropriation and speaking of ‘female’ and ‘male’ desks because in an overwhelming majority of cases, the biological desk owners throughout the world construct and present their gender on their desks. Of course this is also due to general corporate design guidelines and expected social behaviour. But also where business sectors (e.g. design studios) or individual companies are very open-minded in terms of corporate culture, genderisation in the form of sex-stereotypes clearly outperforms any individual tastes when it comes to desk arrangements: if, on a general social level, pink and pastel colours, round and organic shapes and soft and fluffy materials are considered to be typically female, then our female desk owners present their gender, in no uncertain terms, by using objects and images that have these characteristics. And the same cliché is true for men: darker, metallic colours (blue, black), geometrical shapes and materials such as hard rubbers or synthetics are to the fore.

Gender Staging

pe i Tai e ll C , Ca ale e, M n tr

The most general characteristics of doing gender are expressed in the large numbers of two-dimensional items on the desks owned by women and three-dimensional ones on those owned by men. Women more often display objects from the ‘art, fun and memorabilia’ category on their desks, regardless of the fact that they generally exhibit more objects than men (which may also include three-dimensional items). What’s particularly female about this two-dimensionality is the type of items in which it manifests, since all of these objects are related to the women’s private lives, whose emotionally meaningful constituents are transferred into the work situation: there were family and holiday snaps, most of them showing the women’s own children (on one female employee’s desk in Milan, a child’s photograph was even printed on the mousepad), children’s drawings and, albeit less frequently, photos of female friends. These were the most common private themes that women brought into the workplace in order to surround themselves with a piece of ‘home’ or perhaps to proudly show off their happy family or their beautiful, creative and intelligent children or the fact that they were not lonesome but had one or even several best friends. Also, women much more often displayed posters and postcards showing picturesque landscapes of destinations they would love to visit or had visited. Women seem to be more affine to relative intimacy, meaning the exposure of details from one’s private life, because societal projections tend to attribute the status of ‘relationship carer’ much more readily to women. And, since women are also influenced by the same social concepts, they bring their relationship-specific ‘trophies’ from their private home to exhibit them in the semi-public space of a shared office. In the less frequent cases where men presented any two-dimensional evidence of their private lives on their desks, this came in the form of photos of their attractive girlfriends or wives or, as fathers, of their well-turned-out, photogenic kids. Children’s drawings and other paper-based memorabilia were hardly to be found. Instead, other twodimensional objects included professional photographs or drawings of technical equipment (cars, racing bikes etc.). 103

Gender Staging

104

Hong Kong, Design, Female

The ‘female love of two-dimensionality’ could, however, be interpreted in an even more in-depth way: girls and women usually tend to occupy less space than boys and men. This is quite evident in female body language, which tends to be restrained as opposed to space-seizing. Women do not ‘incorporate’ the exterior space, rather they make themselves thinner and smaller than they actually are. In a somewhat exaggerated fashion, we might describe this as a ‘bulimic’ or ‘anorexic’ disposition of the female body in its relation to the exterior space and in its relation to the male utilisation of space. This metaphor, of course, is not meant to refer to the psychological conditions of anorexia but to the communicative and physical relationship between body and social space. Astonishingly enough, there is hardly any literature dealing with this specific aspect of body language. There may be many articles on nonverbal communication, on body talk, on personal space, etc, but there are hardly any dealing with the phenomenon of the meagre or mighty expansion of gendered bodies in space. If anything, it will be in the context of Edward T. Hall’s ‘proxemics’ (see Hall). Hall was one of the first to precisely describe the different spatial distances that exist as differentiated distance zones between ‘personal space’, ‘social space’ and ‘public space’. He also pointed out that these distance zones vary considerably in relation to culture. In our study, we also observed that with regard to intimacy zones, the cultural differences reshaped the gender differences and thus approximated Hall’s model. The number and arrangement of objects on desks is subject to cultural specifics. Compared to the Western countries, we found overwhelmingly large numbers of objects, both in total and on average, on the desks in the Asian countries, which justifies the assumption that people’s quantitative intimacy distance is reflected in their possessions: huge numbers of objects and amounts of paper were happily sitting next to and nestling against each other on the Asian desks. And the larger physical and interaction distance in the West was also mirrored in the arrangement of objects: there were altogether fewer of them and they were positioned farther apart or grouped into clusters, with memorabilia or family-related objects in one place, food and beverage-related items in another and cosmetic and hygiene products in yet another location.

Hong Kong, Design, Male

Gender Staging Hong Kong, Design, Female

One potential objection concerning this point can be easily refuted: although the Japanese rules of politeness prescribe a rather large spatial distance in direct human interaction (one reason being that heads should not bang against each other when bowing), this rule is turned into the opposite extreme in the case of the anonymous and inevitable encounters that occur due to urban overcrowding: railway and subway trains are a telling and, for foreigners, virtually exotic-picturesque example for an almost total suspension of interpersonal intimacy zones. A similar situation, albeit less drastic, pertains in Chinese cultures. The topical excursion that we have just granted ourselves in the preceding paragraph is actually not as far removed as it might seem because, coming back to the two-dimensionality of the artefacts on the desks of women, we can create a relationship between the reduction of the female body so as not to attract attention in a given space and the many two-dimensional pictures and drawings on the desks of women. Men, on the other hand, seize the surrounding space: they fill it and spread out into it, and this behaviour is also transferred to their objects: many sculptural objects reflect the relationship between a male subject and his objects in space. While the socially male-defined forms of doing gender are here manifested in extension (of both bodies and products), the ‘flat’ artefacts on the desks of women perform the female version of doing gender by reproducing the social stereotype of femininity in the presentation of pictures relating to family, children and communication (female friends and colleagues).

Hong Kong, Design, Male

  ­ 105

Gender Staging

Another phenomenon of doing gender, namely the presence of plants, was observed in the Western locations, and here particularly in Milan, Barcelona, Cologne and Curitíba. Besides the fact that we found far more greenery on or near the desks of female employees, the presence of these objects also expressed a personal note and an emotional relationship between the objects and their female owners because it was obvious that women generally spent much more effort on caring for their plants than men. Hence, plants seem to be another indicator that confirms gender clichés: women nurture living things while men prefer to devote their affection to technical ones. If there was any indication at all of male attempts at plant care, these intentions were largely doomed to failure, as witnessed by the miserable, limp and dry greenery that seemed to be the rule. So in terms of plant culture, the ‘stronger sex’ is being put in its place in two respects: what we see here is a form of selffulfilling prophecy. In its societal projection, the male version of doing gender does not include any activities related to nurturing, caring and raising living entities. Therefore, so the stereotype goes, men must be unable to enter into such a relationship in a responsible way and at the same time their ability to do so is being challenged by women, based on the social constructions of gender. On the other hand, the well-nurtured plants in the female-dominated areas of the office express a desire to bring some nature into a partially very artificial office interior, with its landscapes formed by piles of administrative arch lever files. – The plants we are talking about here do not include the almost ubiquitous ‘corporate identity’ plants that are usually leased and looked after by service providers. These types of plants serve purposes of representation and are meant to create the illusion of ‘green’ islands within all the hustle and bustle of business life. They are not ‘private’ objects brought in by individual employees, and they are usually located in entrance and reception areas – a significant departure compared to private plants – and they are always impressively imposing and can reach the size of trees. Cologne, Administration, Female

106

Gender Staging

Milan, Bank, Female

The personal horticultural organisms we encountered generally did not belong to the species of the flowering pot plant but tended to be members of the hydro-cultural variety. The reason behind this is as considerate as it is practical: these plants are meant to survive potentially longer periods of neglect, for example, when their owners are on leave: proof for the genderspecific female routine of combining attention with pragmatism. Another striking characteristic deserves to be mentioned: these plants were usually not very big, a fact that allows us to reconnect and come back to our initial proposition by relating the small size of the plants with our earlier analysis of the flatness of personal pictures of family members and memorable events we found on the desks of women: doing gender as the spatial contraction of female bodies and objects.

Cologne, Administration, Female

Milan, Bank, Female Milan, Administration, Female

  ­ 107

Gender Staging

Taipei, Bank, Female

A third characteristic that allows discussion from the perspective of doing gender are the colour schemes presented on the desks: although business sectors and cultures differ in terms of quantities and types of collected objects, the colour schemes, with their varying degrees of subtlety or vividness, reveal an almost alarming degree of gender connotation: in all locations, the ‘female’ desks were dominated by fairly light, pastel colours and also by some striking pink shades. In Milan, for example, the women combined colours in such a way that the overall ambience of their workplace appeared to be lighter and communicated a certain joyfulness. In Fukuoka, Taipei and especially in Hong Kong, pastels were the most dominant shades, followed by pink which, like no other colour today, stands for ‘girly’ attitudes, Barbie dolls and female manga and anime characters.

108

Curitíba, Design, Male

In summary, we can state that the social construction of doing gender, as it presents itself in characteristics of objects presented on desks, is mainly expressed in aspects such as two- and three dimensionality, in the existence and nurture (or neglect) of plants and in colour schemes.

Gender Staging

Narrating Gender The term ‘narration’ mainly derives from historical, literary and – to a certain extent – educational research. Of course, it is also used in empirical social research where it primarily refers to methodological approaches in oral history and socio-biographical interviews. Hence ‘narrating gender’ designates the analysis (in hermeneutic text interpretation) or the narrative representation (in interviews) of gender as it is performed through the narration, or as it arises in the narration without explicitly being discussed. In our study, we transferred this method from the subjects to their privately owned objects, because these objects expose and demonstrate gendered stories, even if their owners are not present: they tell us about a collector’s pride, about desires objectified through compensation, about the intention to initiate indirect interaction and a form of publicity through objects. “Something is made public in exposition, and that event involves bringing out into the public domain the deepest held views and beliefs of a subject. Exposition is always also an argument. Therefore, in publicizing these views the subject objectifies, exposes himself as much as the object; this makes the exposition an exposure of the self. Such exposure is an act of producing meaning, a performance.” (Bal, 1996, p.2) In her statement, Bal emphasises the aspect of exposing the self and simultaneously links the act of public performance to this interpretation. We will add to this perspective the even more subtle aspect of selfassurance mediated through the objects with which subjects surround themselves: with these self-selected objects, people tell themselves their own story, relating to concepts such as home, privacy, familiarity, cosiness or coolness.

New York, Administration, Male

  ­ 109

Gender Staging

We have already interpreted the active ‘doing gender’ by using specific ‘slim’ versus ‘fat’ objects and ‘plant-related behaviour’ and will now focus on gender specific connotations in narration. The biography of things narrates gender first and foremost in the form of habits related to eating and drinking and to health and beauty. So we will start with the kinds of food and beverages we found on the desks: in accordance with the cliché and, therefore, quite unsurprisingly, they tell us about the (on average) healthier foodstuffs we found on the desks and in the drawers of workstations staffed by women. There was a lot of fresh and, at least ostensibly, non-fattening food and drinks, such as yoghurt, fruit, tea, cornflakes and homemade lunches in Tupperware boxes or plastic bags. It was obvious that women had a stronger inclination to bring their own lunch to work instead of getting take-away meals or leaving the office to go to a restaurant. Bucking the preconception of women being prone to having a sweet tooth, we only rarely discovered sweets, chocolate and the like. If sweets had been on the menu more often than we were able to tell from our observation, then they must have been hidden in the desk drawers. That will not make this kind of diet any healthier but removing these items from public view indicates that women do not like to admit this predilection to themselves and are equally not very keen on communicating it publicly, provided we are right in assuming that more sweets were hidden in drawers.

Cologne, Design, Male

Cologne, Administration, Female

Auckland, Call Centre, Male Curitíba, Call Centre, Male

110

Gender Staging

Auckland, Call Centre, Male

Men, on the other hand, seem to eat significantly more junk food than their female colleagues: among the publicly visible foodstuffs we discovered many chocolate and energy bars, bags of crisps, peanuts, biscuits and packet soups, and in Auckland we even came across a bag of dry spaghetti (wondering whether it was eaten raw?). Since, apart from the packet soups, there was nothing that would have equated to the idea of lunch, we assume that men prefer to get a take-away or eat in the staff canteen instead of having lunch at their desks. So-called healthy products were basically nowhere to be found. The idea that women tend to be more conscientious in terms of food, from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective, was borne out by the fact that we counted significantly higher numbers of food items per ‘female’ desk. Drinks, however, and especially bottled water, were popular with both sexes. Milan, Design, Male Cologne, Administration, Female

Hong Kong, Design, Female

  ­ 111

Gender Staging Milan, Design, Female

Narrating gender becomes even more evident when looking at health and beauty products. On 351 desks owned by women we found 599 objects in this category, an average of 1.7 per desk. The desks of male employees displayed fewer than one third of that number: 335 desks with 183 health and beauty-related objects, which results in an average of only 0.54 products per desk. As far as the women are concerned, there were significant differences among the business sectors: administrative offices clearly came up top with an average of 2.5 items per desk, followed by design studios (1.8). Trailing behind in the last and penultimate places were banks and insurance companies (1.0) and call centres (0.9). We assume that there were so many objects to be found in the administrative sector because job retention is relatively high, which leads to an accumulation of objects over time, and where missing or used products are also regularly replaced. Employees in design studios, with their design- and corporate identity-focused work, almost automatically project the idea of ‘good design’ onto their own ‘body design’. The sector-specific differences were less pronounced for the men: on average they owned 0.7 products in the design sector, 0.6 in administration and 0.5 in banks and insurance companies. Only the call centres stood out, where a meagre 0.2 objects seemed to suffice, given this specific type of impersonal shift work. When defining the object clusters, we decided to combine cosmetic and health products in one category. Although there clearly is a difference between, for example, mirrors, makeup bags and face creams, on the one hand, and pills, cough syrups and other medication on the other, it has been empirically proven that women have a significantly higher interest in these two types of products and use them more frequently than men.

Cologne, Call Centre, Female

Cologne, Design, Female

Milan, Bank, Male

112

Gender Staging

Cologne, Call Centre, Female

However, we were quite surprised by women’s voluntary display of objects usually associated with the private realm that we encountered at some locations: we found massage devices for the head and shoulders in offices in Cologne, Curitíba and Fukuoka. These products tell us about the stresses of work life, such as cramped shoulder muscles and headaches from sitting in front of a computer screen all day. Men are less likely to admit to such physical issues, let alone advertise them by displaying related treatment equipment. As was already evident with regard to food, women are generally more health-aware than men and also more inclined to communicate physical complaints. But still, these objects strike us as being somewhat out of place in an office environment, since, according to common sense, we would expect to find them in the home or we would entrust a professional physiotherapist with the treatment of our painful muscles. In Curitíba we found another product belonging to the realm of intimacy: a tube of depilatory cream met the eye of the unsuspecting beholder. This female narrative about personal grooming was only topped by another object we discovered in a Cologne-based office: an eraser in the shape of a dildo as part of a peculiar and secret male gender narrative, since this ‘sex toy’ was hidden from public view in a drawer.

Fukuoka, Administration, Female

Cologne, Administration, Male

  ­ 113

Gender Staging

In general, however, cosmetic, beauty and health products on the desks of women narrate their gender stories in a much more explicit way than those owned by men, where also both the number and the range of products were relatively small: the majority of these products on ‘male’ desks belonged to the area of hygiene. There was no make up, no cosmetic accessories (cosmetic bags, etc.), no mirrors and only a few medicines or remedies. Instead, we found hand gels and hand creams. In the Cologne-based banks, male employees sometimes kept toothbrushes, toothpaste and shoe-shine utensils in their desk drawers. Noticeably often, pocket- or make-up mirrors – and sometimes even combs or brushes – were displayed on the desks of female workers as if the option of checking their appearance had to be literally to hand at all times. In this scenario, the mirror narrates a twofold story: it is a controlling device for one’s personal appearance, that is to say, an object that quite literally serves the purpose of self-‘reflection’ in the sense of a narcissistic mirror image (”Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?“). But it can also be useful to clandestinely watch those areas of the environment that would otherwise be out of one’s view: the mirror as a surveillance device. We can, therefore, state that health and beauty products narrate their genders in two diametrically opposed ways: the male-connoted objects report in a factual and pragmatic way the necessity of a well-groomed appearance. This kind of grooming only becomes important when it is directed towards the exterior (client contact). The ‘female’ objects are quite articulate when it comes to telling us something about the necessity of looking after oneself.

Cologne, Bank, Female

114

Gender Staging

Cologne, Bank, Female

It is inevitable that we select one single object from all the various categories, since it is unrivalled in terms of a symbolic power that also follows a rigid gender specification: the handbag. The very word already declares the femininity of the object. Leaving aside a few male German pensioners, it seems fair to say that the handbag belongs to women as much as the hobby room belongs to men. Bags can be carried by both genders, although their shape and colour often communicate gender markers. The handbag, however, seems to represent the incarnation (again quite literally in the sense of embodiment as incorporation) of the concept of ‘female accessory’. For some years now, handbags have returned to being real ‘hand’ bags: they are carried in the crook of the arm and they have become huge again. “…researchers have found that the average 30-year-old owns 21 handbags and buys a new one every three months. That adds up to 111 over the course of a lifetime (...). Five per cent of those surveyed even admitted to owning more than 100 at present.” (Mail online) Freud’s interpretation of dream symbols (see Freud) and how they materialise in objects revealed that anything in the form of a container, i.e. hollow objects, was a symbol for the vagina (whereas anything oblong and erect would represent the penis). Handbags are concave containers with a large ‘throat’, that may evoke the fear of being swallowed up and that leads into a dark cave whose contents remains a mystery to the outsider. And in this case, everyone but the handbag owner is an outsider. There is a very strict rule and, as far as we know, it exists everywhere in the developed world that says that no one – and in particular no man – must look into a woman’s handbag. And so, this female fashion accessory has a deeply mystical aura and conceals everything, especially from the male gaze, that belongs to the daily essentials of female life. The interior world of this externally very fashionable and distinctly designed and branded object allows us to discuss its mysterious, or even taboo-like, interior as the (clearly female connoted) power of intimacy. A power that is consequently extended in that women tend to constantly look for something in their handbags (which will equally often be hard to find due to the depth and size of the handbags): “She was looking for something in her handbag”, as the Swiss author Max Frisch once said when referring to the famous German writer Ingeborg Bachmann (whom he adored).

  ­ 115

Gender Staging

Curitíba, Design, Female

Cairo, Administration, Female

Milan, Call Centre, Female

Pune, Design, Female

Curitíba, Design, Female

Hong Kong, Administration, Female

Milan, Call Centre, Female

116

Gender Staging

Fukuoka, Design, Female

Curitíba, Design, Female

In many of the locations we visited, and in particular in Milan, Barcelona, Curitíba and Pune, ‘female’ handbags narrated their mysterious stories in very demonstrative ways, since they were prominently placed on the desks or hung from hooks that had been fixed to the desks for this very purpose. Men, on the other hand, treated their bags in a rather unemotional way, often carelessly flinging them into a corner or on the floor. Apart from one exception, there was no correspondence in the treatment of (hand)bags between female and male employees. So far, we have identified three factors in which three different female needs are manifested: Firstly, it seems that in some regions, the fear of theft (whether justified or not cannot be determined here) is rather pronounced, which results in a preference for keeping personal accessories within one’s field of vision. Only in Cairo, and there, in particular, in large, open-plan offices, men also shared this fear of theft. Secondly, handbags can be quite valuable items if they are of the ‘right’ brand, and female connoisseurs are quite able to distinguish mundane, cheap handbags from expensive brands. Thus handbags, possibly, also have the task of communicating personal preferences and of demonstrating refined taste and status. In spite of being mute objects, handbags can be articulate witnesses with regard to value and expertise (for example in the sense of: “Look at me, I’m a person of impeccable taste” or: “Look at me, I’m in a position to afford such a luxurious thing” or “I have just as nice a handbag as you.”) It is hard to say whether female colleagues compete with each other (in terms of who has the most beautiful or expensive handbag) or whether the handbags are rather more used as the topic of joyful and curious conversations. Thirdly, for many women the emotional connotations with regard to their handbags are rather strong (comparable only to women’s alleged, but essentially true, passion for shoes). The handbag becomes a relationship object (a ‘melting pot’ of female life), it can be an expression of identity (reflecting the self for the interior and exterior world), it may send out social signals (communication of group membership or dissociation), and it functions as a control mechanism (being prepared for all eventualities, having things under control) (see Colibri). And, last but not least, while sitting innocently on a desk, the handbag also tells us that it is the only object through which women allow themselves a spatial extension of their bodies.

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Gender Staging

Staging Gender ‘Staging gender’ presents gender lifestyles manifested in and through objects, as a huge theatre where the desk becomes a stage on which comedies and dramas are played out. The plays can be of any type, yet more often than not, there are all sorts of stories being told simultaneously: trashy, melancholic and wistful tales of adventure and home. What makes these plays so meaningful is that, in every detail, they are always clearly gendered presentations. Overall, they highlight an explicitly stereotypical way of gender-specific stage design: women arrange their workstation as an altar of personal memories, in which they mirror themselves and their social environment. Men turn their desk into a threedimensional playground dominated by tech toys. It is almost unbelievable what kind of scenes present themselves to the amazed observer, when we compare the female stage designs to their male counterparts and look at some of the most typical actors: In Auckland, for example, a Minnie (!) Mouse figurine, small dolls, a white and pink little keepsake box with a lid adorned by a little doll, a lucky pig, a frog and a teddy bear frolicked about on the desks of women. The male desks presented car keys, models and photographs of cars and motorbikes, a motorbike rider created from Lego blocks, boxing gloves, mobile phones, football posters, a tabletop fan with a cardboard pin-up girl, a robot, books and loudspeakers.

118

In New York, the female stages were equipped with a knitted ‘office pet’ that shared its life with (quite frequently occurring) pinboards showing private photographs and children’s drawings; there was another Minnie Mouse, plants, Feng shui arrangements, jewellery, perfume and decorative textiles and patterns. The men preferred model cars (Rolls Royce, a London cab and bus, several racing cars), large robots, a Cookie Monster, hard-rubber figurines representing film or comic strip characters (e.g. from Star Wars) and James Bond memorabilia. A carpet knife seemed to be just as necessary as a multitude of sporting heroes: photos of sports personalities, a football team mouse, a skateboard and, if there were any personal photographs at all, they tended to show dogs. Of course technical equipment was a must: a large, old camera, walkie-talkies, loudspeakers. But there were also empty stages, devoid of any personal heroes: “It’s all business”, as one participant said.

In Curitíba, the women had real and artificial mini plants playing with mini Barbie dolls and dogs stuck to work equipment. Many little porcelain figurines of saints and angels and cuddly toys shared their space with travel souvenirs such as a Russian Babushka doll and a little elephant. The male employees’ stages received a patriotic touch by being decorated with the Brazilian flag and otherwise displayed photographs of sporting friends. Technical equipment was also important: cameras, chargers and mobile phones, altogether many electrical appliances and a selection of toys and wallets.

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On the female desks in Fukuoka, family photos communicated with manga characters, with cute little cuddly toys and occasionally with small plants. The male desks presented themselves in a functional way, displaying many technical accessories (personal office upgrades: calculators, note pads, a selection of private pens, rubber bands). Items that stood out included sweets, a few plastic figurines and a Ferrari mousepad.

On the female stages in Hong Kong, colourful postcards competed with cartoon stickers, small pot plants, toys and dolls, but also with cosmetic and hygiene products and sweets. One special characteristic here: below the desks, we often found slippers or shoes because it is not unusual to exchange street shoes for indoor ones at the workplace. In spite of the many object-heroes, the male stages were generally tidier – everything seemed to be under control. Several robots played with model cars, computer games (Playstation) and a rubber crocodile eating a female doll.

120

The female stage sets in Taipei were dominated by comic strip figurines, fantasy textile creatures and all sorts of animals. The male employees were rather fond of rubber baseball players, car keys, mobile phones and whole series of awards, certificates and trophies and, in one case, a ceramic rabbit.

On the female employees’ stages in Pune, cute little female figurines and tiny soft toys interacted with gift tags and drawings. On the male side of the office, there were robots, male figurines, model cars and other toys.

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In Milan, the women arranged cosmetic bags and mousepads with photos of children or funny situations, photos of family and friends, many plants, cosmetic mirrors, and a bubble-blowing game. The men played with footbags (Hacky Sacks), listened to music (earphones and loudspeakers, iPods), looked at football posters, autograph cards, a dead (!) plant, ashtrays and money. There was also one POU: an illuminated laptop stand.

Apart from cuddly toys, one of the female stages in Barcelona displayed a double-gendered object: a ‘Hello, Kitty’cosmetics bag. The male employees’ stage sets were somewhat akin to a racing circuit, displaying model cars and photos of cycling races.

122

In Cairo, the female employees’ objects were differentiated by age and family status: younger, unmarried women surrounded themselves with lots of soft toys and little knick-knacks that seemed to have been put together in rather a random fashion. Women with families, on the other hand, preferred to display gifts or pictures from their children as well as small, emotionally connoted objects. The men did not seem to care much about their displays: there was a predominantly chaotic picture, dotted with necessities such as cups, POUs and technical objects (loudspeakers).

The women in Cologne also mainly presented photos of family members or memorable events, in addition to soft toys and cosmetic and personal care products such as hand cream or depilatory cream. The male desks had a technical feel with car keys, mobile phones, trucks and sleek cars, Star Wars figurines, a basketball and a paper aeroplane.

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Gender Staging

Hence we can say that the stage sets display props that generate and narrate their gender (‘doing gender’ and ‘narrating gender’) in ways we have already discussed: apart from very few exceptions, the female stage is equipped with two-dimensional images (photos, drawings etc.) relating to family, relationships and memorable events; with great numbers of soft toys, including cute and extremely soft cuddly animals and other toys; with dolls and tiny, often female, figurines; with cosmetic products and the occasional plant. In colloquial usage, many of these items would be called ‘knick-knacks’. And, similar to the earlier discussed shrinking of the female body in space, the preferred heroes in female stage sets are also small: they come in mini-formats. This, by the way, may also be a reason for the far greater average number of items we counted on the desks of women. The colour schemes are generally defined by light, pastel shades, with – again – pink being the most prominent (in terms of frequency) vivid colour. If we were to categorise the theatre plays on the basis of ‘casting’, then the majority of the female connoted ones would have to be classified as chamber plays, because of the clear predominance of the concepts of privacy and intimacy. However, one criterion that characterises chamber plays in their original context does not apply to their implementation in the theatre of the desktop: real chamber plays usually do not need many actors and hardly any costumes. But the two equivalent terms ‘chamber play’ and ‘intimate play’ literally suggest that the female plays have a lot to do with the private home, with activities and themes relating to areas usually not associated with public but with private spaces: family matters, personal care and grooming and interior design. Women are not afraid to display these aspects of their lives at the workplace and to expose them to semi-public opinion. Women will certainly be aware of the fact that, by exhibiting private object worlds, they subject these aspects of their private lives to the, either explicit or implicit, evaluation by their superiors and colleagues. As much as these stage sets serve to provide a feel-good factor by bringing a piece of home into the workplace, they are also a public theatre. It therefore seems rather fair to assume that women also use their object-heroes as mediators in establishing communication. And they do so in a rather open way by, theatrically speaking, letting their private lives unfold in front of a semi-public office audience. Could we conclude from this that women are more unafraid in these matters and do not tend to strictly separate public and private life and that they are rather proud to let others participate in their private worlds? Are women more courageous or simply more careless than their male colleagues? 124

Gender Staging

A justified question, because men also disclose personal aspects, but none that could be classified as intimate ones. Male object heroes are either related to factual-pragmatic areas or, more often, to hobbies such as technology and games. These tech toys form more-or-less dark islands of clutter (remember: men collect fewer objects than women): dark blue, charcoal and black with the occasional metallic shade are the colours that dominate their stages. Two activities are intermingled here: collecting (e.g. series of figurines) and playing or gaming. Collecting arises from the desire to manage the world by categorising it. This is obviously impossible to do for a single person and, therefore, people create smaller, more manageable worlds that can be controlled. This ambition can manifest in activities such as completing a cast of actors over time by collecting all characters from a particular series on the desk. This creates a sense of achievement that compensates for the inevitable small and big disappointments and defeats in private and business life. Linked to the action of playing or gaming is the use of an object (that can also be digital) and that is, in this activity, both created and tested. As opposed to work, which is always purpose-oriented (creating or completing something to make a living), playing is a potentially purpose-free activity without any consequences. Although playing is also always an imitation of reality, in that it can entail intrinsic motivators such as competition and ambition, it is first and foremost an activity representing a contrast to daily routines and one in which people reify themselves. We might notice that, by now, a certain judgment regarding male and female theatre props has clandestinely established itself in our minds: for example, we might think that female stage sets and object heroes tend to be rather ornamental and even kitschy. However, this judgment can easily be refuted as a gender-connoted ideology because it is merely based on our own stereotypical rubrification that disparages the objects associated with femininity as simple decoration and, on the other hand, assigns value to the ’masculine’ objects by subsuming them under the header of ‘technology’. However, all the small actors and props that populate desk stages are accessories, maybe even knick-knacks, because the male employees’ technical and allegedly practical-functional objects are just as decorative as the cute, family-related female objects, and in this sense they are simply the cute kitsch of masculinity.

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Gender Staging

And this allows us to conclude the discussion with some thoroughly researched hypotheses: the stages of the female theatre approximate calm, static chamber plays infused with intimacy, privacy and the desire for beauty and, at times, cuteness and cosiness. The male plays suggest a significantly stronger action-led character. They are armed with technology, but sometimes they simply emulate the factual-functional world of work and in this sense approximate the theatre of naturalism. “Staging gender relates to (…) those aspects of a society that allow us to perceive and describe settings that constitute gender identity and difference, which is a precondition for bringing those concepts to bear in a social context. These stages include registry offices and sports arenas, soap operas and trade fairs, museums and the changing scenes presented in the media and event culture. Staging gender is thus also a framework that we can use to question such cultural stages with regard to their respective social, political and aesthetic rules and practices of constitution. In particular, the question here is (…) in which ways gender differences are institutionally preformed.” (Brandstetter, p. 29, transl. by the authors) We might add that ‘staging gender’ not only takes place on the most prominent of stages, but is also an everyday occurrence in offices all over the world. The only difference being that, here, the actors are the objects on the desks, which are being gendered by their directors, their owners.

126

Comparative Analysis of the Business Sectors

Barcelona, Female

Administration Offices The authors of this study are aware of the fact that the ‘administration’ category is a broad one and potentially subsumes quite different types of office workplaces. This aspect is also reinforced considering that administration is part of both public and private institutions and also of businesses (our studies in the area of administration mainly refer to public sector administration offices). Nonetheless, there are a number of criteria justifying the assumption that our study reflects standard conditions in administration offices, and also allowing for the generalisation of our data in this category. These criteria include employment that is usually long term within the same institution (moving up the career ladder, with a change of roles also usually happening within the same organisation), regulated hours of work, large open-plan offices in some countries or offices occupied by a maximum of two or three employees, even if there is a change of tasks employees tend to stay in the same room, they have a medium level of customer contact, they have to cooperate and therefore consult each other in person, work procedures are relatively standardised and only rarely is there a need to develop creative solutions and, last but not least, there is a lot of paperwork. A number of other sociological studies (albeit different in nature to the one presented in this book) confirm that ‘administration’ can be treated as one sector.

Cologne, Male

According to our initial hypothesis, based, among other aspects, on the above-outlined criteria, we expected to find the greatest level of chaos and the largest number of objects on the desks in this sector. However, on an intercultural level, this was only partly confirmed, although the cultural comparison revealed some sector-specific, unique characteristics, such as the large piles of files and documents, indicating instantly that the desks in question belong to the administration sector. In all locations, we additionally found many other objects scattered between the mountains of work-related material.   ­ 129

Cologne, Female

Comparative Analysis: Administration Offices

Plants and Greenery As expected, the greatest number of plants was found in the administration sector. This makes sense, because people tend to occupy the same room over the course of their employment and because of the regulated hours of work, both factors that facilitate and promote plant care. Furthermore, this indicates that employees have the opportunity to kit out their offices according to their personal preferences and to make themselves at home in the workplace.

Hence, when comparing the different business sectors, we can clearly confirm a greater affinity for plant care in the administration sector for these three locations. (To a lesser extent, this point is also supported by the desks of female employees in Milan and Hong Kong and, surprisingly, by the desks of only the male employees in Cairo.)

Although we were surprised by the number of plants in the Brazilian administration offices, we have to point out that some of them were synthetic ones that only imitate nature and do not need any looking after, apart from the occasional dusting. In this case, female employees simply play on the above-cited nurturing cliché or, for reasons of cost or air conditioning / heating concerns fulfil their desire to have something (seemingly) alive around them by using the artificial version thereof. Even a synthetic plant can coax you into taking it seriously and we should not forget that, conversely, real plants in an office find themselves in an artificial setting, even if they do still have the power to evoke the idea of nature. 130

Hong Kong, Female

Curitíba, Female

However, our data shows that this is mainly the case in Brazil and, to a lesser extent, in Germany and New York. As far as Curitíba and New York were concerned, only female employees had plants, thus confirming the cliché of women having the tendency toward the self-affirming act of nurturing and caring. In the Cologne-based administration offices, this activity was shared evenly between the male and female employees.

Comparative Analysis: Administration Offices Hong Kong, Female

Fukuoka, Male

Art, Fun, Memorabilia In this category, our hypothesis claiming that desks in the administration sector are the most crowded ones was clearly confirmed. On some desktops, notably in Taipei, Hong Kong and Curitíba, we found more than one hundred such items. These were mainly family photos (in Japan also photographs of friends or colleagues, obviously taken at festive events) and calendars, especially in Brazil. One male Japanese employee had prominently placed a Ferrari mouse-pad on his desk, alluding to his desires for mobility and, because it is not a Toyota, to his dream of travelling the world.

Curitiba, Female

Cologne, Female

Other items included postcards or, occasionally, small reproductions of well known pieces of art. In this context, it is interesting to look at the photographs showing the immediate surroundings of the desks: besides some posters, we can also see real works of art on the walls of the Cologne-based offices. This is due to the fact that, in many locations, there is an archive of artworks for public administration offices, from which employees can select particular works to decorate their offices. In the context of this category, it is, in fact, not easy to identify which items on the desks are directly work related, such as information-providing material and other important printed products, and which are not. This is also typical for this sector. ╛╅� 131

Admin Final_cs5.indd 131

27.07.1

Comparative Analysis: Administration Offices

Health and Beauty Medium-level customer contact but probably fairly intensive contact with colleagues: health and beauty products can be found on many desks. They are clearly visible, which shows that the desk owners do not use these products in a traditionally private sense to care for themselves or enhance their appearance: in none of the other sectors are these products displayed as openly as in this one. This indicates that people use these products in a self-confident manner: they do not need to hide it and even communicate this fact as a sign of being attentive or affective. People who groom themselves do so, on the one hand, for themselves but also, on the other hand, in order to please others and, if this is done openly, in order to communicate this fact.

Hong Kong, Female

Milan, Male

Taipei, Female

Again, female employees in Taipei and Hong Kong stood out, since these products were most often found on their desks. This could again be explained from a double perspective: on the one hand, these objects symbolise a sort of female secret weapon in order to subvert male attitudes and work against the expectancy of female reserve; on the other hand, it conforms to what men expect women Hong Kong, Male to do, that is, to ‘beautify themselves’ in order to please the opposite sex. However, in these cultures, the first explanation is possibly the more relevant one or we are looking at a female narcissism that is sufficient in and of itself. Hong Kong, Female 132

Hong Kong, Female

We expected that this would mainly apply to women, and for most countries this was clearly true. In Cairo, Milan and Barcelona, however, the picture was different. As far as Cairo was concerned, this is understandable, given the traditional public behaviour of men and the culturally defined, more-reserved behaviour of women (at least at the time of our evaluation). In Milan and Barcelona, the new trend of men increasingly using beauty products seems to have arrived earlier than in other cultures.

Comparative Analysis: Administration Offices

Cairo, Male

Life Accessories Again, it did not come as a surprise that nowhere else did we find as many objects in this category than in the administration sector. Given the chaotic appearance (at least from an observer’s perspective) of the desktops, it was not easy to differentiate which items were directly related to work and which were private ones. However, after close examination, we can at least state that the administration sector offers the largest number of objects in this category. In many locations, the large number of mobile phones and, especially for male employees, the large number of keys was particularly obvious. In this sector, there seems to be enough time to hold private telephone conversations or collect information for private use. And here, too, we might assume that the male employees try to engender more personal importance via visibly displayed keys (especially car keys).

Cologne, Male

Cologne, Male

It is also worth noting how few tobacco products are found on desks today (except for Brazil and Italy): if people used to display their cigarette packs in order to present themselves as a particular type of person, they have to use their car keys or mobile phones today to achieve the same effect because smoking is now regarded as a deplorable habit. (Similarly, the nervous puff on a cigarette has been replaced by nervous phone conversations.)

Taipei, Female   ­ 133

Comparative Analysis: Administration Offices

Milan, Female Hong Kong, Male

Milan, Female

Food and Beverages At almost all locations, the desks in administration offices displayed extraordinary amounts of foodstuffs and beverages, as well as the associated implements. In this context, the global penetration of the mug culture is simply amazing: these peculiar receptacles with their allegedly funny illustrations or slogans can be found on most desks. Otherwise, there are bottles or cans (most notably in Milan) and also sweets. In contrast to common perception, the greatest number of sweets was found on the desks of male employees. Furthermore, a range of foodstuffs (again, the most bewildering arrays were found in Milan, often with packaging printed in foreign languages, mostly in Japanese) and related items such as plates, etc. were found on administration desks.

Milan, Male

Cologne, Female Cologne, Female 134

Comparative Analysis: Administration Offices

Toys and Figurines For this category, the same is true as for the above-described ones: except for the design studios in the East Asian countries, there is no other business sector where so many toys and figurines are displayed on desks. Generally, women have more of these objects than men, whereas younger employees have fewer than older ones. And the longer someone has been in an administrational job, the more often we find these items. Another aspect is worth noting: almost all of these toys and figurines are static. They are driven neither by clockwork nor batteries. This could be explained by the fact that mobile objects necessarily produce interruptive sounds and that there is usually not enough space for them to move about. Hence their lifelike character has to be imagined. Altogether, their stillness stands in stark contrast to the flickering screens on the desks.

Cologne, Female

Taipei, Female

Often, these items are grouped, or almost carefully arranged, into ensembles with possible relationships between them. Other items might be partly obscured and peek unexpectedly out of some hidden corner. There is nothing global about the type of figurines: in Cologne we found a slightly crumpled owl, in Milan and in other European locations we found those typical soft toys that represent peculiar distortions of the forms from which they are derived and also figurines from comic strips, with Manga characters tending to predominate in Asia. Generally, most of these figurines are rather small and colourful.

Fukuoka, Female

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Comparative Analysis: Administration Offices

Curitíba, Female

Curitíba, Female

There were no clearly identifiable religious figurines in any locations except for Curitíba, where they were prolific and came in various forms: benign-looking angels of every type, with spread or closed wings, made from glass or porcelain, and other small representations of saints. In Curitíba, we also found references from other countries, such as a Russian babushka, a small Indian elephant, a bagpipe player and African woodcarvings.

Curitíba, Female

All these toys and figurines point to a totally different sort of personal relationship than do family photos, postcards and other memorabilia. The latter indicate that there is a real-life relationship involved, whereas toys and figurines have to be appropriated and given a life through the powers of one’s imagination. They will certainly sometimes be related to childhood memories, but, more often than not, the relationship has to be created anew in order to vivify the situation. The fact that this is so often the case in the administration sector seems to indicate that there is a need for developing fantasy worlds (possibly due to the structured work routines) and also that there is the opportunity to do so (due to relatively independent work conditions). In other words: in the administration sector people construct worlds that are not related to the themes and tasks involved in their work. This is true across the different cultures and in spite of other cultural differences. 136

Milan, Female

Whereas the desks of male employees sometimes displayed plastic or metal toy cars, a Milan-based desk of a female employee presented a small, soft car that was additionally anthropomorphised by a pair of friendly looking eyes on its windscreen.

Comparative Analysis: Administration Offices

Auckland, Male Auckland, Female

Specialities It is worth highlighting some of the specialties: in Auckland we found bird food on the desk of a male employee (without being able to spot a bird anywhere in the office), whereas we found a fly swatter on the desk of a female employee. (Here, the usual cliché is turned on its head, with the man being the carer and the woman the brutal killer). In Milan, we found two wooden cigars in a bowl next to some figurines. They were Cohibas, the top brand of Cuban cigars. They might represent a memento of times gone by, when smoking was still allowed, they may remind the owner of somebody or they might simply be an expression of longing.

Milan, Female

Milan, Female

Curitíba, Female

In Brazil, there was an aquarium on one desk, albeit populated with plastic fish. This corresponds to the plastic plants there and the related urge to care and to nurture.

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Cologne, Banks, Male

Cologne, Banks, Female

Cologne, Banks, Male

Comparative Analysis: Banks

Milan, Male

Banks and Insurance Companies From a European or US-American perspective, one expects to find, at least in terms of appearances, an air of reliability, neat interiors and hierarchical structures in banks and insurance companies (our study was mainly carried out in banks). In other words, a picture that conforms to the image of the male banker in a dark (or pin-striped) suit with a white shirt and tie or, for female bankers, in a dark business suit. Our study clearly shows the degree to which the corresponding image of a banker’s desk is culturally constructed because differences are particularly obvious in the details and also in the number of objects.

Cologne, Female

As an aside, we also have to abandon the idea of banks being a male-dominated environment: although this is still true for the senior management floors (as is also the case in many other institutions or companies), a large number of women work in banks today. We also have to highlight the fact that, unfortunately, we were not able to collect sufficient data in Japan, India and Cairo: while we have data from a few workstations located in insurance companies in Cairo, there was no direct access to banks there due to the prevailing custom of cash transactions. In Japan and India access to banks was also denied.

Hong Kong, Male ╛╅� 139

Comparative Analysis: Banks Milan, Male

Plants and Greenery Plants and greenery were again mainly found on or near the desks in Germany, Italy and New Zealand. Interestingly enough, the ratio between men and women was almost the same in New Zealand, while in Germany the ratio was 15:1 between the desks of female and male employees. This proves again that in Germany (and to a degree also in Milan) women have a stronger inclination to furnish their workplace with a living object that they can take care of. Although the existence of plants in these office environments exudes the same artificiality as set design (similar to plants in urban spaces), it clearly brings an idea of nature to the rather abstract realm of work and invites people to take on the role of carers by having something around them that needs looking after. Auckland, Male

Cologne, Female

In the East Asian offices, on the other hand, plants are hardly to be found and this is due to the fact that there is no tradition of keeping real flowers or plants indoors (instead you will find framed drawings thereof). Additionally, air conditioning, which is not particularly conducive to plant growth, is almost ubiquitous in these countries due to the usually very hot and humid summers. 140

Comparative Analysis: Banks

Art, Fun, Memorabilia Contrary to our expectations, we found a large number of these types of objects in the banks and insurance companies of some of the countries included in this study. We should point out, however, that particularly in Europe, some banks have started to differentiate between offices and rooms for client meetings. The latter are, naturally, very tidy with nothing but computers, peripherals and information material to be found on the tables.

Auckland, Male Hong Kong, Male

Cologne, Female

Taipei, Female

In Barcelona and Cairo we found very few of these objects, while a surprising abundance was encountered in particular on the desks in Hong Kong and Taipei but also in Cologne and Auckland. In Auckland, female and, unusually, also male employees kept an average number of seven objects and the same was true for female employees in Taipei. The average number for female employees in Hong Kong came to almost twenty objects. In Cologne, female employees owned an average number of six objects (three for male employees) and in Milan the average number was four.

The larger number of these objects on the desks of female employees (six even in New York) compared to those of male employees (none in New York) might be due to maledominated hierarchies and their corresponding habits. Overall, however, it is remarkable that even in this work sector with its almost clinical atmosphere (when viewed from an external perspective), people tend to make themselves at home in the workplace.   ­ 141

Comparative Analysis: Banks

Curitíba, Female 142

Cologne, Female

Cologne, Female

Health and Beauty These articles were hardly to be found in the offices of banks and insurance companies, and if so, apart from a few exceptions, there was not much difference between men and women. Among these exceptions were the desks of female employees in Taipei (they do not seem to be shy about openly displaying these items on their desks). There were, however, two other unexpected cases that deserve special mention: in Curitíba, an antiseptic gel was prominently positioned on the customer-facing side of the desk, presumably as a symbol of cleanliness. In Cologne, we were also allowed to look into some of the top drawers where we encountered symbols of the imagined immaculacy of the banking sector in the form of tooth brushes, shoe shine kits and many other similar items.

Comparative Analysis: Banks

Life Accessories These objects hardly seemed to play any role at all in this sector. At times, noticeably in Milan, we found ashtrays or other smoking utensils and elsewhere the occasional mobile phone or set of keys. However, due to the minimal number, there is no need to discuss this category in more detail.

Milan, Male

Milan, Female

Milan, Female

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Comparative Analysis: Banks Cologne, Male

Food and Beverages In Auckland and also in New York and similarly in Milan and in Cologne, beverages and associated receptacles (in Germany the latter come in the form of coffee mugs, of course) could be found on the desktops in the expected quantities.

Auckland, Female

Cologne, Female

Taipei, Female

Again, we found a very different picture in Taipei and also (albeit not in the same large numbers) in Hong Kong: in these locations, eating at the workplace is common also in banks and insurance companies and is even regarded as a sign of communicative or social behaviour. There is no need to hide this activity, no need for a separate kitchenette or staff canteen. Eating is important, which is why there are street food stalls, fast food chain outlets and grocery shops offering ready meals everywhere – in these cultures, eating is regarded as an essential activity.

Taipei, Female

144

Comparative Analysis: Banks

Milan, Male

Toys and Figurines Compared to the other business sectors, this category does not play any major role in the banking and insurance sector since these objects would not sit well with the notions of seriousness and trustworthiness. There was the occasional figurine to be found, but nothing compared to crowds of little spectators and playthings on the desktops in other sectors. This was only different for the objects listed in the Specialities category.

Hong Kong, Female

  ­ 145

Comparative Analysis: Banks

Specialities As regards an intercultural and business-sector comparison, we encountered a few special circumstances.

Auckland, Female

In Auckland there was a remarkably large number of small colourful figurines, mostly of Asian origin. On further enquiry, we learned that many employees in the banks and insurance companies there indeed came from Asian countries or, since some Asian countries are fairly close to New Zealand, that the figurines represented holiday souvenirs or had been brought back from business trips.

Curitíba, Male

146

Curitíba, Female

On several desktops in Curitíba we found bricks bearing an inscription that explained that these items had been handed out in the context of charity activities by the respective bank. Therefore, these objects were part of the official company culture.

Comparative Analysis: Banks

Taipei, Male

Another special type of object was found on the desktops in Germany, although most notably in Hong Kong and Taipei: trophies of different sizes and shapes representing awards for “employee of the year” or “best in the department” etc. and also “best bank of the year” and the like. It was not clear, however, whether these items were sitting on the desktops in order to impress customers, to annoy colleagues, or whether it was official company policy to exhibit them in this obvious manner as an incentive for other employees. Cologne, Male

Taipei, Female

Altogether, we can state that, even in banks and insurance companies, the desktops are furnished with personal items in order to appropriate one’s workplace. However, as is the case in the other business sectors, the nature of these personal possessions is not only sector-specific but also varies in terms of cultural connotations.   ­ 147

Comparative Analysis: Call Centres

Call centres Call centres are largely defined by a need for high flexibility in the workstations and by shift work. Because of this, the desks are often small, are cleared after work finishes and so must be organised in a very flexible manner. Additionally, this work is usually carried out in large, open-plan offices with little social interaction between the workers. Work is often done on short-term contracts, meaning that identification with the workplace is very weak and face-to-face contact with customers is replaced with conversations over the computer or telephone. The call centres in Auckland are typical of this: desks are standardised and all equipped in more or less the same fashion, with a monitor, a keyboard, two letter trays next to one side of the monitor and a rack containing information material next to the other. A little behind the monitor sits an external hard drive and in front of or behind the keyboard there is writing material for taking notes during conversations and then there is the telephone itself. Auckland, Female

In contrast to this, we came across one rather atypical call centre in Cologne (of a public institution): workers stay in their jobs for much longer than is usual in this sector, which engenders social relationships, intensive communication and a much higher level of identification with the workplace. Even more importantly, all the workers there were women. The results from this particular call centre deserve, therefore, special consideration. However, even in this sector people try to appropriate their workspace by kitting it out with personal items but this can take very different forms depending on the cultural context.   ­ 149

Comparative Analysis: Call Centres

Plants and Greenery As mentioned earlier, due to the nature of call centre work, plants are almost never to be found in these offices (with a somewhat chance exception in Japan), neither on the desktop itself nor nearby. No one in these offices has the time to care for the greenery and apparently hardly anyone plans to stay in their job for such a long time that the addition of plants would be worth their while. It is as if the vibrancy associated with plants does not sit well with call centre work.

Cologne, Female Cologne, Female

Additionally, we must remember that plants and greenery are a particular characteristic of German office spaces. This is also reflected in the fact that one of the Cologne-based call centres contained a lot of flora in an attempt to inject some natural vibrancy into this women-only workplace.

Cologne, Female 150

Comparative Analysis: Call Centres Auckland, Male Fukuoka, Male

Fukuoka, Female

Art, Fun, Memorabilia With the exception of the atypical Cologne call centre, which we will be referring to now and again for contrast, we found some notable differences in this object category. In Milan, items of this kind were only found at the desks of female employees, and even then only relatively rarely. In Cairo these items were only found once, whereas there was an average of almost two on the desks in New Zealand (compared to other business sectors this is still a small number). A completely different situation pertained amongst the women in Japan and overall in Brazil. Typical of this sector, the objects were mostly family photos or small postcards, things that can be quickly cleared away.

Fukuoka, Female Fukuoka, Female

In Fukuoka (South Japan) and also in Curitíba (Brazil) people seemed to have the desire to personalise their workplace during the time spent with the company in spite of, or just because of, the somewhat abstract nature of work. In contrast to Milan and other cities, these workers were actively trying to ensconce themselves in their workplaces. This was most notable in Japan, when we saw photos of work colleagues or group photos lying or standing on the desktops: Japan puts more emphasis on the concept of collective work and therefore people still try to create an esprit de corps within the objective anonymity of the work situation, something that was not found anywhere else.

  ­ 151

Comparative Analysis: Call Centres Fukuoka, Female

Fukuoka, Female Cologne, Female

Health and Beauty Especially in comparison to the other business sectors, it was particularly striking that hardly any health or beauty products were to be found on the call centre desktops. Again, the only exception was found among the female workers in Fukuoka who clearly have their own, individual approach to dealing with their work situation: it would almost be possible to interpret this – at least for southern Japan and in contrast to other cultural contexts – as a certain resistance to subjugate personal freedom or habits to the particular work situation in call centres. Somehow – and this is also true for Japanese women in other contexts – they manage to construct their own free space around themselves, something that could be interpreted as a type of internal personal resistance within the framework of the traditional role of Japanese women (of which there are still many remnants found in Japanese culture). A few of the desks of the female employees in the Japanese call centres even contained small massage devices used for refreshing oneself during breaks.

Cologne, Female

However, what it would look like if there was a higher degree of identification with call centre work, is exemplified by the rather unusual example in Cologne, where health and beauty items were scattered all over the desktops. In fact, they were as numerous as in the other business sectors. 152

Milan, Female

Comparative Analysis: Call Centres

Life Accessories In this category, Milan was way ahead of the crowd, with desks practically overflowing with these types of objects. As far as the women were concerned, usually handbags were displayed on almost every single desktop despite the limited space available. The phenomenon of handbags on desktops was equally striking amongst the Brazilian women. This could be indicating a certain fear of theft, but this would then also be an issue in other countries or at least in some of them. However, on further inspection, it was apparent that these handbags were treated as objects of prestige: the handbags represented privacy and the appropriation of the desk, simultaneously demonstrating a female presence and evidence of style or taste. On the one hand, this would confirm Uta Brandes’ statement that handbags possibly best represent female power, and on the other hand, this shows the fashion sense so prevalent in everyday life in Italy.

Milan, Male

We have to mention another striking aspect from the atypical Cologne call centre: while the desks here were overflowing with objects of various kinds, hardly any ‘life accessories’ items were to be found. Clearly, other objects were compensating for this relative lack, as was the unusual level of communication between co-workers that reduced the degree of isolation normally found in call centres.

  ­ 153

Milan, Male

The men in Milan instead placed objects such as car keys and mobile phones on their desks (in a similar fashion, by the way, seen in Auckland, even if not in the same quantity). These objects clearly demonstrated masculine presence (almost to the point of cliché). It was striking to see how these personal telephones were used in a telephoneoriented job like a call centre, to announce their owner’s presence. Additionally, magazines, brochures and sometimes books were found in a few places, obviously used to while away the time between client contacts. However, even here, there were some startling surprises: sticking out of a bag on one of the male employee’s desks in Milan, making a rather personal statement, was a book by Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Comparative Analysis: Call Centres

Food and Beverages In this object category, Auckland was strangely out of character, since these were the call centres in which the most eating and drinking went on, especially amongst the male employees. Most ubiquitous were water bottles and soft drink cans. Clearly, there seems to be an awareness of the health benefits related to sufficient liquid intake, but the drinks were probably also used to stave off any nervousness.

Auckland, Male

Auckland, Male Auckland, Male

Tobacco products were hardly to be found anywhere. Sweets, on the other hand – although surprisingly few overall – were mostly encountered in Fukuoka, where the female employees obviously had no qualms about giving in to this predilection. One would have imagined that snacking would have been a more widespread compensation mechanism in this particular line of work. But perhaps call centre workers are simply aware of (maybe based on personal experience) the unhealthy nature of this type of refreshment. Rather uncommon items were found on the desks of the male employees in Auckland: wrapped foodstuffs that looked like packed lunches. One would have expected to find these objects in Japan or even in New York, but their presence in Auckland could be cautiously interpreted as a sign of cultural transfer: lunchboxes are becoming gradually much more common in many countries. In summary, we can state that, in this object category, there are great cultural differences regarding call centres.

154

Comparative Analysis: Call Centres

Fukuoka, Female

Toys and Figurines In contrast to the administrative sector and the design studios in certain countries, it is exclusively the female call centre employees who collect toys and figurines on their desks. Fukuoka, Male

Curitíba, Female

Again, this was particularly striking in Curitíba, Fukuoka, Hong Kong and Taipei. In Curitíba, the preference was for small figurines stuck on pens or elsewhere – Barbie dolls, for example. In Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, the toys and figurines on display were much the same as those to be found in other sectors – certainly not in the same quantity, but of a similar type.

Fukuoka, Female

This could again be understood from the general cultural interrelationships in cultures that tend, more or less, to animism, and in which such figurines are called upon when needed. It would not be surprising if workers used these objects as substitutes for the lack of social interaction. For those who did not have these figurines on their desks this role was often substituted by the family photos or other non-figurative objects such as handbags, car keys, fan souvenirs or mobile telephones.   ­ 155

Comparative Analysis: Call Centres

Auckland, Male

Auckland, Male

Specialties A few special features are also worth mentioning here: in the call centres in Curitíba, an astounding number of pieces of scrap paper were to be found on the desktops. These were torn from the white pads used to take notes during customer calls but were being appropriated for personal ends: for scribbling and doodling, i.e. for acting out personal needs or even injecting a notion of creativity into the daily work routine. It could also simply be a sign of stress but this kind of activity always points to something deeper than its superficial banality (we know this from the art world with its publications of so-called telephone doodles). A similar phenomenon cropped up in Auckland that could almost be described as a sort of set design: the bezels of the monitors would be decoratively framed by multi-coloured Postit notes, as would, sometimes, the desktops themselves. It had an extremely playful appearance, and it is astounding that this does not happen to the same degree in other places. Here, the New Zealand call centres, with their standardised orderliness, organisation and cleanliness demonstrated a surprising design drive.

Curitíba, Female 156

Curitíba, Female

Comparative Analysis: Design Studios

Milan, Female

Design Studios If this study had only dealt with design studios in Europe and New York, the difference to the other business sectors would have been obvious and would have confirmed general preconceptions about the interiors of design studios: uncluttered, well-organised and tastefully – or at least deliberately – designed with white, grey and perhaps some black as the predominant colours in an overall bright and lightflooded space. In other words: ‘whitespace’ as a symbol for the openness of creativity, communication and thinking. That’s what the design studios in Cologne, Milan and also in New York and even Barcelona looked like. In Curitíba (Brazil), a strong European influence on Latin-American design was evident because we also found – in spite of a slightly higher degree of clutter – the stereotypical well-organised desks there.

However, if you show pictures of these desks to designers in Hong Kong or Taipei and also in Japan and India, the immediate reaction is: “But how do people get ideas in such a clinical environment?” In these countries, the concept of design demands a vividness that you can draw on and engage with as a designer, indicating that the Asian concept of design is diametrically opposed to the European one. Within the design sector itself, the cultural differences are therefore much more pronounced than the ones between the design sector and the other business sectors. Hence you have to look very closely to discover the characteristics typical of design studios in comparison to the offices in the other business areas. One of these characteristics, for instance, is that there are no award trophies or other symbols of honour on display because these are usually not given to an individual designer but to the client or, at best, to the design company or agency. Further differences will be explained along the categories listed below.

Hong Kong, Female

  ­ 157

Comparative Analysis: Design Studios

Hong Kong, Female

Plants and Greenery The most obvious difference compared to the other business sectors was an almost total absence of plants (with Hong Kong being an exception but even there this category was not particularly significant). This could be explained by the fact that design offices are tasked with, or feel in charge of, designing all areas of everyday life, meaning they always have to articulate and represent the artificial, not nature. Even the increasing significance of bionics in design – of drawing inspiration from nature for the development of new perspectives in technology, packaging, energy use and so on – does not seem to prompt designers to invite said nature onto their desktops. If anything, we would only find abstract models of such natural processes. However, one might also entertain the thought that there possibly is a real anxiety of coming too close to nature and of being confronted with its generative design. These aspects are, of course, of little or no relevance in the other business sectors.

Hong Kong, Female

158

Hong Kong, Female

Comparative Analysis: Design Studios

Hong Kong, Female Hong Kong, Female

Art, Fun, Memorabilia As far as this category is concerned, we will focus on Pune (India), Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan because these were the only locations where extraordinary numbers of these objects were piled up on desktops, even more so than in the other business sectors. However, the picture was quite different to that found in banks, call centres or administrative offices: in India, for example, the desks and nearby partition screens were covered in drawings and clearly written notes. The drawings, however, did not represent sketches for projects or technical drawings but instead showed nature studies or religious themes. In Hong Kong and in the other Asian locations, the focus was on photos, samples of advertisements, pictures of cartoon characters and postcards, which were often – and this differentiates design studios clearly from the other business sectors – combined into collages, or (with additionally added figurines) into assemblages. This is done with a clear design intention: the numerous illustrations were obviously used for inspiration. Inspirational areas or corners were built using existing or curious objects, things that were meant to be kept in mind or those that represented particular visual themes (including religious ones).

Pune, Female Pune, Female   ­ 159

Comparative Analysis: Design Studios

Health and Beauty Again – and by now this almost goes without saying – the Asian design studios stood out in this category because a wealth of various cosmetic products was to be found on the desks there. By contrast, these items were usually hidden in the top desk drawers in the European locations, at least as far as we were allowed to look into them. Regarding the US American and European design cultures, one might even assume that the display of cosmetic products is banned because the connection between design and cosmetics conforms too much to common preconceptions about and criticisms of design. Hong Kong, Male

Taipei, Female Hong Kong, Female

Hong Kong, Female

Hong Kong, Female

As far as Asia is concerned, looking after oneself and one’s looks seems to be a fully accepted activity, even in the design sector. However, this almost exclusively applies to the female employees in this sector. 160

Comparative Analysis: Design Studios

Fukuoka, Male

Life Accessories On closer inspection, we found some small but relevant differences in this object category compared to the other business sectors: handbags (of course mainly owned by female employees) and clothes were lying on tables or hanging on chairs, with the presence of clothes being particular to the design sector. Design offices are rarely equipped with wardrobes or lockers and so people have to keep their coats at their workstations. This is especially true for Asia.

Milan, Female

Another unusual type of object, only found on the desks in design studios, were alarm clocks or at least some kind of large clock, as if people constantly had to check how much time was left for completing a project or how many hours of overtime they had spent at the office. Another explanation for this phenomenon might be that design studios usually charge their clients on the basis of ‘person hours’, which, although it is ultimately fictitious, still bears a certain degree of accuracy. Hong Kong, Female Hong Kong, Female

There is yet another aspect that differentiates the design sector from the other business areas: we also found keys, mobile phones and similar objects on the desks in design studios. On closer inspection, however, these turned out to be slightly more stylish than the ones found on the desks in the other business sectors. Peculiarly, we also often found cash or wallets on the designers’ desks but this might have been just a coincidence.   ­ 161

Comparative Analysis: Design Studios Taipei, Male Milan, Male

Milan, Male

Food and Beverages Cups and mugs were also to be found on the desks of designers but, compared to the other business sectors, they were usually of a different design and not decorated with slogans or funny characters. In New Zealand, there was a surprisingly large number of water bottles on the desktops, something that only occasionally occurred in the other countries. Auckland, Female

Auckland, Female

Taipei, Female

Hong Kong, Female

162

Hong Kong, Female

While the design studio desks in Europe and the US hardly featured any foodstuffs or cutlery, those based in Asia were virtually overflowing with these items, even more so than in the other business sectors.

Taipei, Female

Comparative Analysis: Design Studios

Taipei, Female

Toys and Figurines As already stated above, these items were hardly to be found in the European design offices. The opposite, however, was true for the studios located in India and in the three East Asian countries, where desktops were crowded with all sorts of little creatures: manga and comic-strip characters, toys (especially in Hong Kong in digital formats because many designers had Play Station consoles on their desks), cuddly toys and also many small gift items or souvenirs. When looking at the numbers and types of objects distributed between men and women, there was hardly any difference compared to the other business sectors: again, men showed a preference for car models and other ‘hard’ objects, whereas women tended to collect soft and cuddly toys and owned almost twice as many items as their male colleagues. Especially in India, we noticed that, although the women displayed larger numbers of these objects on their desks, those displayed on the desks of male employees were of a larger size.

Hong Kong, Female

Hong Kong, Female

Pune, Male

Pune, Female

  ­ 163

Comparative Analysis: Design Studios

Taipei, Female

In this category too, the cultural differences are the most obvious ones: firstly, to put it in a somewhat simplified manner, those between East Asian and Indian cultures on the one hand, and European ones on the other, and secondly those between the different business sectors, where we find explicit differences on a more detailed level. These cultural connotations clearly come to the fore in the everyday use of objects, in their arrangement and social meaning although, on a deeper level, the associated professional intentions and behaviours are also evident: where we found large numbers of figurines and toys on the desks in design studios, it became clear that these represented collections, either based on type of object (e.g. a particular type of animal) or based on origin (e.g. characters from particular TV shows). This is especially interesting in relation to some theories claiming that there is an inherent connection between designing and collecting (or even obsessive collecting), a thought we cannot further discuss here but one that might deserve deeper elaboration elsewhere.

Hong Kong, Female

164

Taipei, Female

Comparative Analysis: Design Studios

Specialities We found many peculiar objects on the crowded desks in the Asian design offices, and we would like to point out three very special ones here:

Taipei, Female

Besides the wealth of religiously connoted objects, we also found a number of national symbols, in particular the Indian flag, on the desks in Pune. These types of objects were not found anywhere else.

Hong Kong, Female

Hong Kong, Female

Pune, Male

Hong Kong, Female

In Hong Kong (and to a far lesser degree also in Milan), we often found slippers under or even on the desks, the majority of which belonged to women. Obviously, people felt at ease with changing boots or high heels for more comfortable, albeit not particularly stylish, alternatives. This might, on the one hand, indicate little or no client contact, or, on the other, a rather pronounced feeling of safety and privacy in the office, an expression of ‘domesticity’ because in Asian cultures (and not only in Japan) it is common practice to leave the dirt of the streets outside and to take off one’s shoes when entering private rooms.   ­ 165

Comparative Analysis: Design Studios

Hong Kong, Female

Again, in the Hong Kong-based design studios, we found a surprisingly large number of small mirrors on the desks, mainly on those of female employees. While this might hint at the fact that there is a greater deal of attention being paid to one’s looks, this also entails the possibility of clandestinely catching a glimpse of what is going on behind or around you and of observing or checking the general goings on in the office.

Taipei, Female

One desk in Milan presented an unusual combination of a glass water bottle and a plastic cup, whereas the few specialities found in Cologne seemed to be directly connected to design jobs: a collection of cigarette packets, Star Wars figurines, a model truck, a stone and a chestnut. However, one desk owned by a male employee, particularly stood out: we found a eraser in the shape of a dildo. Milan, Female

Cologne, Male 166

The Desk as as Thriller

168

The Desk as a Thriller

If we look at all the stuff sitting on desks, as recorded in the photographs and studies in this book, the question arises as to whether these things might have a life of their own. This question had already been posed, in quite imaginative ways, during the Romantic period: what do things do when we are not looking at them, for example during the night, when everyone is sleeping? Do they develop an independent life, do they interact and are they even able to act beyond the boundaries of their desks? In Das Kapital Karl Marx so rightly noted (in, if you like, a retrospect explanation of Romantic concepts of reality) that in a developed market – i.e. after the early stages of industrialisation and thus during the Romantic period around 1800 – objects seem to take on an independent life, play their own games and, in our human imagination at least, are able to act autonomously. (Marx wrote that the market makes us believe that we see tables dancing instead of actually understanding that tables only move because of our actions). In terms of language, this can quite easily be demonstrated, since we all tend to say things like “the glass has fallen on the floor”, as if this glass had taken a running jump off the table. Or we say “the telephone isn’t working any more” although a telephone doesn’t ‘work’. When we say that “the computer has crashed” we use an image of the poor thing trying to fly or to climb a mountain, then losing its grip or balance and eventually being in real danger of fatally harming itself. (We are all familiar with this situation and in the 1970s a psychoanalyst and then-IBM consultant wrote in the German magazine Psyche about the compassion that the owners of crashing computers feel for their machines, just as if they had experienced the situation as a personal crash themselves.) Small wonder then that many of us tend to give things names or, for example, have discussions about whether our computers are male or female. And what do these computers actually do when they are networked? Surely, in these networks, they would be able to communicate with each other and hatch their own plans?

  ­ 169

The Desk as as Thriller

We develop a personal relationship with objects out of an almost inevitable inner need to resolve a certain incomprehension regarding their complexity by animating them and occasionally passing on our own responsibility to them. This relationship is reinforced when we are able to construct imaginary justifications for it: when things are supposed to remind us of something or someone, for example of the person who gave them to us; or when things are (or seem to be) connected to a particular stage of, or event in, our lives; when we are able to give things names and so on. In contrast to the Constructivists and Dadaists, in the visual arts and in poetry, this caused the Surrealists to only accept and represent things as metaphors and to endow them with easily justifiable metamorphoses: the typewriter writes, the telephone rings, the car drives, the aeroplane flies, the chair swivels … Let’s try and dramatize this a bit: at night, all the people in the photographs step out of the frames, move along the desk, use the computer, argue with each other just like in real life and listen to music whilst taking great care to be back in their frames before the workday starts again. Or, for example, all these funny little figurines we find on some desks: they grab a pen and start fencing with each other, have car races across the other desks in the office, they smoke, drink the dregs of the wine, gaze dreamily at a photo, make love on the desk and even call out to the figurines on the other desks to try to make contact beyond their immediate environment. We might also imagine that the ballpoint pens are having a heated discussion with the pencils over the question as to which party is better at formulating text and eventually decide to hold a competition for calligraphy or poetry. While they are still fighting, the paperclip politicians call for order, the books on the desks recite passages from their own contents and the trophies snore loudly while the desk lamps illuminate the whole scene. Sheets of paper are flying about, and over at the other end of the desk some love-smitten pen and pencil are snuggling up to each other. Eventually the computer, with its infinite capabilities, threatens to take over power in a monarchic fashion. Actually, what kind of political systems exist on these desks? Democracy? Or will we rather find an aristocracy, oligarchy or – at the other end of the spectrum – a socialist republic?

170

The Desk as a Thriller

Who does what and how in these dreamscapes (that we co-create every day by our presence at these desks)? Do the objects act autonomously or exactly within the bounds or frames (just think of all the photos exhibited in this context) that we have sneakily attributed to them through their existence and arrangement on our desks? We could even go as far as positing that we subconsciously arrange the things on our desks in such a way that they in and of themselves do what we expect them to do. Surely, there will be something guiding us in how we arrange our desks – as directors, hoping to have an influence on what the objects are and do.

  ­ 171

Milan, Call Centre, Male

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Personal Office Upgrades (POUs)

POUs – A Definition When looking at the desks presented in this book, you will find, among all the many and various items, some objects that are directly work related but have obviously not been provided by the employer. We have called these specific items ‘personal office upgrades’ (POUs) because most of them are additional work tools brought in by employees to improve the work itself and the work situation. In some cases, these tools are even essential for carrying out the work. POUs include, for instance, specialist books (identifiable as personal items because they would not be found on other desks in the same company, which indicates that they were not part of the standard equipment), special writing utensils (pens, fountain pens, ball pens etc.), mice and mousepads, acoustic equipment (radios, CD-players, headphones etc.), special visual aids (magnifying glasses, etc.) and so on. Motivations and Contradictions Before discussing and comparing the frequency of occurrence of these objects, it is worthwhile taking a closer look at potential reasons for their presence on the desks. We will certainly not be able to precisely determine and identify the reasons and there will also be some contradictions. As for the pens and other writing utensils, we can assume that the main reason for bringing them into work is that people feel they are better able to write or draw with these tools. This again entails two possible aspects: either these tools do, in fact, provide better functionality compared to the standard office equipment, or people’s familiarity with these objects provides them with a higher degree of confidence when writing or drawing. As far as the mice are concerned, the most likely reason can be assumed to refer to the first aspect (better functionality), while the mouse pad is likely to be linked to the feeling of familiarity.

  ­ 177

POUs

However, even POUs might function as status symbols, meant to underline the personality or superior competence of their owners. A similar case obtains with specialist books: they symbolise a sincere interest in and commitment to work, which can either be real or simply a smokescreen. The above-mentioned acoustic equipment harbours a different form of ambivalence: on the one hand, these items might be used to stay up-to-date with the latest news, business reports, share prices and so on (although this is mostly done using computers), while on the other hand, they might simply provide a little entertainment and distraction, which, in some cases, might also be a necessary improvement to the work atmosphere. Hence, regarding all these objects, we cannot be absolutely sure whether they are directly related to improving work and efficiency. Additionally, it was not always clear whether bringing in these personal items was necessary because the respective employers were either not able to, or did not want to provide them (there could be many reasons for this such as budget constraints, standardisation of equipment, etc.). Or, maybe, these personal office upgrades are simply based on other private or general considerations.

Hong Kong, Design, Female

Milan, Bank, Male

178

Taipei, Design, Female

Milan, Design, Female

Cologne, Administration, Female

POUs

Cultural Differences In general, we can state that in a cultural context the situation with POUs is similar to that described with regard to other object categories: in Asia, we found many more POUs than in Europe; in Auckland we found only a few of these items, and they were evenly distributed across all business sectors (the Auckland results again present a picture where all behaviours and possible lines of analysis seem to be neutralised). However, when looking at the various business sectors in the Asian countries, the number of POUs can vary greatly. This is partially also true for Europe, where the results for POUs are significantly different to those in other object categories (by business sector). The smallest number of POUs was found on the desks in Cairo and, next up, in Curitíba. The most likely reason for this is that employees (and this is also true for Pune) probably do not have enough financial resources to upgrade their workplaces themselves. This was particularly evident in Cairo since much of the work equipment provided by employers was rather old and urgently needed to be replaced. Apart from design studios, which were an exception, there were relatively few POUs to be found in the Europe-based offices: on average no more than one or two items. This proves that in the European countries (and especially in the administrative sector) everything that is needed for work will be provided by employers and can be requested using official application forms. In Europe, employers are expected to equip the workplace in an adequate way. Taipei, Bank, Female

180

POUs

However, the fact that there were many POUs on the desks in the wellequipped (especially in terms of high-tech) East Asian offices proves that the presence of POUs is not only related to the level of economic prosperity. While, on average, we only found 1 POU in the offices in Cologne, Barcelona and Milan, the average number for Japan, Taipei and Hong Kong was 4 (even higher in some business sectors). This can only be explained by the very different attitude regarding the equipment of one’s own workplace in these countries compared to the European ones: it is not so much about expecting a fully equipped workstation or being able to request necessary tools, rather employees themselves are responsible for ensuring their capability to work efficiently. While, on the one hand, this may include a greater deal of freedom, in that it appeals to people’s personal sense of responsibility, it also shows that in these East Asian countries the position of employees in relation to their employers is weaker than that of their European counterparts. Hence, there is less of an opportunity (or will) to enforce potential employee demands and to develop workstations according to employees’ needs. The fact that the results from Hong Kong were slightly different was no surprise since, in the context of POUs, the behaviour in banks and insurance companies, in administrative offices and also in call centres is similar to that in European offices. However, as far as the design studios are concerned, there was a significantly different picture. This becomes better understandable if we consider that the administration and banking and insurance sectors have traditionally been defined by the British system, while design studios represent a new, self-confident and therefore different development. These considerations are also important for design itself: there seems to be a much greater need for the design and promotion of POU accessories in Asia, where employees would be the main target group for these products. In Europe, similar strategies would have to be aimed at employers, although there would also be the possibility of developing precise concepts that employees can then present to their employers as requirements for workplace improvement.

  ­ 181

Hong Kong, Design, Female

Taipei, Administration, Female

Taipei Administration, Female

Hong Kong, Design, Male

POUs

Gender Comparison Based on a seemingly plausible hypothesis, we would have thought that, due to traditional professional skills and roles and also in general, men had more POUs than women. Surprisingly however, we found a greater number of POUs on the desks of female employees in most of the business sectors. Although there are some sector- and countryspecific differences, women had, on average, about three times as many POUs than their male colleagues. A possible reason for this might be that, in their jobs, women are more inquisitive and attentive and therefore realise sooner which additional tools are needed for doing their jobs effectively. Another – albeit inherently more arbitrary – reason could be that female employees derive more confidence from bringing in additional support tools and thus can – or even have to – compensate for any potential (and often only perceived) male lead in the area of professional skills. Overall, however, one has to endorse this behaviour since POUs are symbols of a sincere interest in and commitment to one’s job and have an enabling and enhancing effect.

Taipei, Design, Female

Cologne, Call Centre, Female

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POUs Milan, Administation, Male

Taipei, Administration, Female

Business Sectors Regarding the business sectors included in this study, the picture in terms of POUs is somewhat chaotic: the male employees in the banks located in Taipei possessed many POUs, while, in the Fukuoka based call centres, the women had the largest number of these objects. Altogether, we found an average of almost 3 POUs on the desks of male bank employees in Taipei and far fewer on the desks of their female colleagues. In contrast to that, the female employees in the Japanese administrative offices had, on average, 4 POUs, while we found far fewer numbers on the desks of their male colleagues. It was obvious and also easily understandable that, overall, we found the smallest number of POUs in call centres: these jobs offer little in terms of possibilities for further qualification and therefore there is less of an emotional or interest-based attachment to the job. The largest number of POUs overall was found in the design studios: in Hong Kong and Japan we found an average of about 4 such items (even more for female designers) and Taipei took the top spot with an average of 5 POUs per desk (for female designers the average comes to almost 8). This might be explained by the fact that the culture in design offices is usually defined by a notion of individuality and creativity, which almost compels people to equip themselves with the tools they think they need to instantiate these qualities within the standardised equipment provided by employers. Furthermore, we can assume that there is a fundamental openness amongst the management of design offices to allow – and even to welcome – individuality based on a framework of clear general guidelines. This individuality can then legitimise itself, especially in Europe, with the extremely ‘clean’ desks we encountered there, as a form of innovative openness.   ­ 185

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Further Investigation It would certainly make sense to carry out a further investigation into specific aspects regarding the objects that are here subsumed in the category of POUs. This would allow a greater deal of insight into people’s motivations for bringing these items into work, and would hence provide more information about the respective concepts of work, the cultural differences and particularities and also in terms of gender and sector-specific issues. An immediate option for design, and for the study presented here in the context of design research, would be to further consider how these attempts to domesticate, to appropriate and even to improve the workplace by using POUs, i.e. by bringing in personal competence and skill-enhancing means, could be supported with suitable tools and media, or in other words: how the insight gained through such research could be transformed into future office design.

Milan, Bank, Male

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When thinking of a desk, we immediately picture a flat surface mounted on four legs. However, the reality in offices and the pictorial worlds presented in this book belie this mental picture: in use, the desk becomes a space or, at least, a three-dimensional map. Various vertical entities occur on the horizon of this space: flat notes and sheets of paper, the latter of which might form piles of varying heights, writing instruments, flat postcards and photographs with their projecting frames, a mouse, a keyboard and the computer with all its ‘innards,’ a multitude of items that are only a few centimetres high, piles of arch-lever files and, in between or on top of them, the occasional figurine and, finally, the elevation of the vertical monitor, like the north face of a mountain range, as it were. This could just as well be described as an urban space with its street patterns, crossings, small homes and other residential buildings with various ridge heights up to monumental skyscrapers. Just as in real urban Barcelona, Administration, Male

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Geodesic Space Auckland, Administration, Male

Barcelona, Call Centre, Female

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Barcelona, Administration, Female

space, the heights may not always be to the liking of those who have to live with them, but they can function as symbols of prestige that simultaneously obstruct the view. When looking at the photographs in this book, another aspect stands out, especially in the call centres and administrative offices of some of the countries included in this study: often, the desks are surrounded by walls (partitions) that separate the workstations from each other and from the surrounding space, again, comparable to landscapes or urban areas. In a seated position it is impossible to look beyond these partitions that also serve as acoustic screens. If you want to see where you are and who else is there, you have to get up and walk around the desk. This situation results in people having a contradictory relationship to the desk, where the conflicting aspects of this contradiction are interrelated: on the one hand, this separation produces isolation, by being cut off from colleagues and from the overall space with its hustle and bustle   ­ 189

Geodesic Space

Cairo, Design, Male

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Geodesic Space Cairo, Design, Female

Cairo, Design, Male

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Cologne, Bank, Male

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and, sometimes, even from daylight. An isolation that could potentially have serious consequences, since people are constantly thrown back on themselves and their work. But it could also pose a problem for the respective institutions or companies, because separating employees from each other in this way can, at least sometimes, prevent conversations, discussions and other forms of communication that would have been important, and also meaningful, in terms of reinforcing identification. On the other hand, these barricades promote activities of privatisation, of domestication and making oneself at home at one’s desk. This becomes even more evident when considering the fact that most people who work in these types of environments invest a great deal of effort into appropriating the partitions and, if you like, humanising (privatising) them, with numerous photos and postcards, or by turning the partitions into shelving or exhibition spaces. It would also be possible to discuss these forms of using or converting partitions and view-blocking shelf units from the perspective of cultural specifics and respective cultural concepts of private space. In Germany, for instance, most people still dream about owning their own home, whereas ‘privacy’ is an almost unaffordable commodity in Japan, where huge metropolitan areas like Tokyo or Osaka dissolve into jumbles of countless small private homes at their outer fringes. But this will be discussed elsewhere. The point here is to bear in mind that when we speak of and show desktops, we also understand them as spaces, which, occasionally, includes those spaces below the desktops. Milan, Bank, Male

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Geodesic Space Hong Kong, Bank, Male

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Milan, Administration, Male

Milan, Bank, Female

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Geodesic Space Milan, Bank, Female Barcelona, Bank, Male

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The Desk as a Miniature World of Events and Identities: Musings from Hong Kong King-chung Siu Living with Density Before I moved away from my family in my early twenties, I had never owned a desk at home. Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, the size of an average home – based on Hong Kong’s public housing standard for 5 to 6 members – was less than 15 square metres: it was only later into the 1980s that the figure grew to around 50 square metres per family (Rooney, 2003, pp. 34-37). The interiors of homes were typically undifferentiated and densely packed, and space and activities were often defined by the ad hoc arrangement of furniture. In our home, for instance, there might have been some tables, some foldable or extendable, or some surfaces made out of wooden planks; but they all served as multipurpose, makeshift constructions that were used according to the provisional functional schedule of each family member during the day. We would have lunch and dinner together on one surface, and my siblings and I would share that same makeshift construction to finish our homework. And then, throughout the day, we would use it to play table tennis or other games. For most of the time, it was occupied by somebody’s ‘stuff’, if not by another family member. Otherwise, the table was folded and put aside to allow more activity in the living area. There were often moments of negotiation as to when, how and by whom the table should be used or where the ‘stuff’ should be placed. According to Rooney (Rooney, 2003, p. 5), the physical and mental processes of density have taught the people of Hong Kong “to seize their opportunities to make the most of space and, by breaking widely accepted rules of spatial convention, they can transform almost any kind of space into a useful space.” The home desk has always been an object or entity subject to rigorous appropriations and useful transformation, not unlike the densely arranged, makeshift dwellings of our average citizens. As Rooney (ibid.) observes, virtually any space can be viewed as usable space, no matter how crowded, how ugly, or how small. The aforementioned desk usage in a family may have been a common practice, and in a place where “an inch of land is worth a thousand pieces of gold”, to have full control of a desk was perhaps everyone’s private longing. This attitude may have   ­ 197

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been translated into some unselfconscious assumption that when an individual takes ownership of a personal desk at the office, the desk is not only a place for work, but becomes the (quasi) property, repository and showcase for the humble collectibles or even the identity of the person to which it was assigned. Indeed, I am tempted to believe that the average citizen in Hong Kong is likely to share similar cultural dispositions as to how a desk is seen and used within our habitus.1 (Miller, pp. 103-104) The Desk as a Miniature (Second) Home? Common sense tells us that a desk exists for the purpose of work and that our office work somehow determines how the desk is utilised and arranged. But when one starts to examine and ponder the appearance of a typical desk, there are certain aspects that may well go beyond ‘work-tasks’. The desk can be thought of as another physical ‘anchor’ to secure oneself outside one’s own home. It is, to be exact, more about one’s working life, as opposed to one’s home life or public life. It may even become a pivot for one’s social life – as we work in teams or meet clients – if not for office life alone. One performs whatever duties are required or appropriate at that anchor to fulfil one’s office and academic duties: it is not unlike the role of the home as an anchor for a family. In this sense, the way one treats a desk space may be likened to the way one treats a home space2, only that the former may be governed by a different set of circumstances determined by each office and specific profession. It is thus not surprising that many of our informants describe their office space as “a second home” and that they decorate their desk space with photographs of family and friends, which helps them, it is said, “to recall happy memories during the day.” For a person whose upbringing is inculcated through Hong Kong’s high-density living, and who is also deprived of necessary “desk ownership”, having an office desk at one’s first job, or indeed a new job, is perhaps a rather special, if not exhilarating experience. It may be metaphorically akin to acquiring a new property, where one can start planning, or even designing, their occupancy in that space. The desk becomes another personal space or depository beyond the home, following perhaps a similar logic or cultural disposition for some longerterm, if not a lifetime appropriation.

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However, unlike the home, an office desk is not entirely a private sphere where the occupant can, as Csikszentmihalyi and RochbergHarton (see Csikszentmihalyi et al.) claim, “create permanence in the intimate life of a person, and…are most involved in making up his or her identity”. It is, rather, a semi-public/private sphere where one can momentarily exercise a limited sense of personal control, despite one’s office delegation. A desk is a delegated space under a quasi-public order, namely the office. Instead of an empty flat to be occupied, an office desk comes with the facilities and constant work assignments that the office worker must to fulfil within a set time. It is thus open to debate if and how a desk might help to construct or tell of a person’s identity in the same way as a home can. Mental and Physical Process of Density It is perhaps not unreasonable to assume that the appropriation of our office desks may follow certain “folk models”3 or conscious models of Hong Kongers. Indeed, we adopt certain cultural assumptions and domestic practices from our upbringing at home, and in particular, from our high-density living. As Rooney (see Rooney, 2003, p. 65) explains, this refers not to any explicit ideological model, but to an immediate, homemade model that applies more directly to one’s immediate daily life. For example, the presence of clutter or ‘junk’, as the residents themselves jokingly call it, is an indication of people’s attitude to consumption and, simultaneously, their reluctance to throw things away in spite of home density. This, perhaps, is an attitude inherited from the lower-middle class immigrant families of our previous generation, where things are often kept to ensure psychological security. As one resident in Rooney’s research explained, “...they may be of no use now, but they may be useful in the future. Right? There is no point in wasting money like this.” Such an attitude of thrift or of attachment to possessions is, therefore, an essential part of the home. This leads to constant strategies for storage, such that “...possessions are stored according to their quality and perceived usefulness”, as in the case for summer and winter clothes being swapped between the wardrobe and space under the bed in different seasons. (Rooney, 2003, pp.146-148) “Every available space, floor to ceiling, and areas out of sight, under beds, behind beds and between cabinets will be used.” As Rooney (ibid., p. 150) notes: “Full use was made of all surfaces and partitions as a place to put things, and over time this build-up of clutter became a permanent clutter zone – on the fringes, but still in sight of the main   ­ 199

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room. Appropriating space in this manner was not always a conscious or deliberate action, but was often based on what was convenient and close to hand.” Rooney’s observation also extends to the residents’ tastes and how high-density family possessions are displayed: “In several homes the shelf space was appropriated by everyday items, setting up an interesting juxtaposition of objects: ceramic piggy bank, silk flowers or plastic Snoopy doll, hand cream, Lipton teabags, VCR tapes and general household bits and pieces… The prevalence of cartoon character images and toys in these homes is striking…A collection of these toys, ostensibly aimed at children, become highly prized as a complete set so that it ended up being displayed in the cupboard in the family living room rather than played with.” (ibid., p. 173) Rooney identified Hello Kitty, Felix the Cat, the Smurfs, Mickey Mouse, Tweety Pie, and Kerroppi. Such characters are not only present in soft toy form, but also appear on a range of different items, from bags and mats to facecloths and bed linen, making a pervasive presence in the home, even where there are no young children. These scenarios, characterised by a “taste for trinkets” may closely resemble some of the samples of office desks we have currently gathered. In other words, certain attitudes, taste-decisions, space-saving techniques and systems of storage and display must be involved in our home-making processes, and, as a high-density living practice, this “folk model” may also apply to our desk appropriation. Office Desks in Hong Kong The random desk samples we gathered in Hong Kong were characterised as “cluttered” and “high-density”. Not unlike the homes Rooney surveyed, surfaces were full of piles, trays, stationery and belongings: partitions were covered with items such as calendars, schedules, photos and stickers; room under the desk not only housed the computer unit and, primarily in the case of female workers, shoes or sandals. It also served as extra storage for shelves of files, boxes and, interestingly, used shopping bags, some containing papers or office items. Indeed, this may signify a common means of organising or pigeonholing, and it seemed that the owners were readily prepared to take their work away with them. (Fig. A) 200

The Desk as a Miniature World of Events and Identities Figure B: Dog under the desk

Figure A: Under the desk

Design studios, in particular, appeared to be overwhelmed with a vast array of collectable toys. Most of the designers that we observed (the majority of whom were in their mid-to-late 20s) were only too keen to show off their gadgets, hobbies and cute collections at their desks. One designer even made up bedding for his dog under the desk! (Fig. B) In most design studios, there appeared an obvious sense of overabundance of stationery, gadgets and toy figurines. One of the product design studios that we visited (Fig. C) showed a particular allegiance to such items, where everything, from series to series of doll collections – small or large, stuffed or plastic, inanimate or alive (tanks of tropical fish, for example) – was arranged in an orderly and colourful manner, like a museum display. Each office desk becomes a gallery where colleagues are able to engage in their ‘office pastime’ or mental breaks in certain quasi-connoisseurship activities of a popular sort, i.e. lookFigure C: Design studio

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ing and gossiping at each others’ collections. It is said that this is what designers do in their offices for inspiration. Contemplating these desk appropriations, there were not only a variety of themes governing these collections, but also distinctions between female (Fig. D) and male (Fig. E) “office-gallery” settings. This was a particular kind of office culture, manifested through desk displays in the product, fashion and graphic design studios we visited. Figure E: Male designer’s desk

Figure D: Female designer’s desk

While the desks of administrators appeared to be less densely cluttered, giving more of a utilitarian and orderly impression than their designer counterparts, they were no less full – not only with documents, files and papers, but also with personal knick-knacks such as cartoon stickers, crystal ornaments, corporate gifts, travel souvenirs and plastic or stuffed dolls. This was particularly evident at the desks of women, where cartoon stickers, cute stationery, figures and potted plants were more prominent. The desks of men, particularly those of senior administrators, were relatively less cluttered, with fewer personal and decorative items. There was clearly a stronger sense of authority or control, which seems to have developed, particularly in male administrators, with age or rank. Desk drawers belonging to both genders of administrators seemed to be more organised and orderly, typically containing stock stationery, company chops (name seals), medicine and snacks. (Fig. F drawer) There were also more healthcare products, snacks and sweets found in women’s desk drawers, and those belonging to administrators and insurance agents were decidedly better ordered and maintained than those of the designers.

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The Desk as a Miniature World of Events and Identities Figure F: Designer’s drawer

Figure F: Administrator’s drawer

Desks assigned to the employees of insurance companies appeared to follow similar patterns to those of administrators, but with an outstanding addition of framed certificates, merit plaques or trophies, usually displayed prominently at each work space (Fig. G trophies). Motivational slogans and target sales figures in the form of greeting cards or banners were also apparent, which may serve as psychological reminders of the employees’ professional requirements, goals and commission quotas. A sense of ‘hands-off’ control seemed to infiltrate the office space with everybody’s visual demonstration of achievements and merits. Figure G: Trophies (Insurance female)

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In administrative (primarily accountants’) and insurance offices, there was clearly evidence of feng shui4 items like pieces of stone, plants, metal coins or crystal trinkets and examples of auspicious ornaments, such as a Japanese lucky cat, golden nuggets, etc. (Fig. H). Indeed, an office space may have been examined by a feng shui master and advice given to the employer about where to place certain items that represent the “five elements”– a mirror or a few coins (metal), a potted plant (wood), a bowl of fish (water), a lamp (fire) or a piece of stone (earth) – to compliment or balance the office. Employers and employees may have complied out of a sense of apprehension, even though placing the items was by no means obligatory. As a colloquial saying puts it, “one had better believe than not!” There is often an implicit anxiety about upsetting the cosmic balance. Their boss, some employees claimed, had required these items to be placed on their desks, and they were “the least missed items” when asked by our researchers. They would willingly have got rid of them but complied nevertheless, illustrating one of our folk-conscious models relating to local office culture. Having said that, there were also less conspicuous feng shui items on the desks. Lucky or auspicious ornaments, which could be virtually anything justified by the “five elements” principle, were often received as gifts from colleagues, on birthdays or during festivals, or because of some personal misfortunes. These items were then placed somewhere on the desk, if not out of subtle superstition, then to show a degree of acceptance of the gift-giver’s favour. Figure H: Feng shui items (Insurance male)

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Where pictures and postcards were placed on the partitions, they appeared tidily grouped to fill almost all of the background: family photos appeared in one cluster, postcards or pictures of idols in another, while work schedules, phone lists or Post-it notes and reminders were usually placed nearer to the centre or around the computer screen. Of course, the arrangement was predetermined by the physical feasibility (and availability) of the surfaces or edges that allowed things to be stuck, pinned or placed upon them. Yet, almost every horizontal and vertical surface could make room for the accumulation of personal trinkets. To maximise storage or display, fixtures were often created to hang or place items. (Fig. I) Figure I: Hanging fixture

Maximum use of space seemed to be the underlying principle of these desks, not unlike Rooney’s observations of high-density homes. These may also be spaces designed for function rather than with any aesthetic value in mind, (see Rooney 2003, p., 49) but perhaps not without creativity, cultural taste, office norms or gender clues, as well as regulatory measures. I would, however, posit that a desk space is more of an evolving space than a designed space.

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Appropriating the Desk Space (with Identity) Unlike making decisions for home decoration and interior arrangements, the placement of objects or utilisation of the desk space is an ad hoc decision-making process. Sometimes, one places things conveniently on the desk, without thinking much about it, to allow oneself to work efficiently to complete a certain task. To paraphrase Marcoux, (see Marcoux, p. 71) this is taken for granted, and it is obvious that many things within the workspace are “despicably utilitarian”, functional, and neither vital nor significant. These are things that people are not really attached to, but that are nonetheless necessary, in as much as they aid the pursuit of day-to-day activities: a calendar, a phone list, stationery, a cup and so forth. Other things are brought there because of their probable utility during the working day, such as Panadol, hand cream, surgical masks (popular since the SARS epidemic in 2003), snacks, sweets and even instant food, are commonly placed inside desk drawers. The flow of work tasks will, of course, determine the way a desk is used and arranged, and indeed how it appears. This is fundamental to the basic setup of the given desk, or its given ‘infrastructure’, where certain shelves, partitions, and equipment or stationery holders are placed with more conscious decision at the very outset. Once set, the placement and accumulation of items will follow certain infrastructural categories: collections of files, documents, recycled envelopes, stationery, trophies, stickers, personal collections and plants and so forth, may start to grow without conscious control; all are placed inside certain pre-assigned slots, bags, gaps or shelves and so forth. The computer monitor, the telephone and the keyboard, for example, are now the central tools placed on a desk, where things are obviously arranged in relation to them. The given shelves will determine or ‘enable’ the placing and arrangement of certain objects. In other words, the computer screen, the partitions, the added shelves, and the extended surfaces become the basic framework of the desk, which often determines how other items are arranged and stacked. Every desk must have some sort of semi-autonomous system when it comes to storage: files on shelves, shelves on shelves, items and papers on every flat surface, folders filling every gap, notes and reminders stuck on all vertical surfaces. Of course, clusters of clutter build up over time and slowly become permanent clutter zones.

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From this perspective, the appearance of the desk does not really inform us of the owner’s intention or rationale. Rather, it simply reflects the worker’s ‘identity’, if any, by default: that they are workers from a certain category, that they have a certain style or habit, as reflected by how the working documents, clutter, old files or belongings, etc. are momentarily positioned or accumulated at the desk. The ‘personality’ of the desk (and its owner) is only a de facto, unselfconscious construction. It is a constrained identity that preempts certain possibilities. However, there is yet another dimension to a desk – the more personal side – at least for those who find a sense of belonging at work. Employees start to appropriate their desks, for not entirely official purposes. This is particularly evident with employees in their midtwenties (apparently more women than men), who display toy figures, photos or personal collectibles at their desks. For younger employees who still live with their families, the office desk may be one of their more private spaces, delegated to them by the company, where they are relatively free to exercise their ownership and control. The desk space may become their semi-private property, with a sort of ownership that can be likened to an apartment where they can house the things they have longed for since childhood and which they are finally able to afford with their current salary – the series of collectable cartoon figures for example. This practice demonstrates the “kidult phenomenon,” where adults in their late twenties aspire towards unfulfilled childhood wishes, at last, through their consumption practices. For the ‘kidult’, the office desk may become a more affordable space than their already congested family dwelling to stock ‘stuff’, or to decorate or to manifest their housekeeping desires, as if it is a personal home, or at least a place to entertain friends or colleagues, if not a museum. Indeed, an office desk can be a place for entertaining colleagues by showing off one’s object collections, by offering visual and tangible discussion points and by offering snacks and nibbles one (primarily female) happens to have stocked in her desk drawers. This is how office pastimes are created. On such occasions, one informant explained, “female colleagues usually contribute the snacks”. Female colleagues are certainly the interpersonal ambassadors of an office.

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In the case of employees who already own their own home or have their own family, the intent for the office desk to serve as storage or display space may be different. There may be less of an urge for them to treat an office desk as a ‘personal museum’. Rather, it may become a depository of items unwanted at home. It becomes perhaps an extension of their own home, a luxury that eases the pressure of the incessant consumption and high-density living they are condemned to. Some gifts or souvenir items may be more suited to the office than to the home. The forced, unselfconscious consumption of knick-knacks often takes charge in Hong Kong, and a ‘home extension’ as such will help. This may explain why more and more items accumulate at the office desk. Moreover, if a desk is indeed the “second home”, as some of our informants claim, it is in the sense that they will be reminded of their ‘first home’. That is why family photos or stuffed dolls are sometime placed at the office desk to create a sense of cosiness. And indeed, the desk also houses all sort of other items – slippers, cups, instant cereals, tea bags and biscuits, medicine, cosmetics, mirrors and even an electric foot massager – all useful in a person’s daily life. Of course, there are also employees who make a clear-cut differentiation between their office lives and personal lives. One informant claimed that he did not like the company he was working for and seldom interacted with his colleagues. For this reason, he kept only a cup on his desk, and would only need to take his cup away if he left. Placing personal belongings at the desk may, indeed, signify a sense of belonging to the office, but there is also an issue of trust or security to be considered and maintained. Would the laptop or the collectable figure, for example, be stolen if simply left at the desk? There is a balance between things employees want to show or leave at their desk, and also a perception of their belongings and privacy that needs to be protected. A feeling of home and identity for a place is to be nurtured by both. As if confronted with a classical confrontation between the corporation and the individual, the desk is governed by the two systems. The former, the company, provides the conditions and determines the “office outlook” amid its implicit and explicit infrastructure and policy allowance, while the latter, the employee, develops out of the constraints, his or her desire for an identity impression. The issue of what is placed at the desk seems to be transitory. People tend to leave certain items here and use the desk as a ‘docking’ space: yet possessions 208

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start to become clutter and/or cherished collections rather unselfconsciously over time, especially when there is no priority for any regular tidying-up. To conclude, Ellen Lupton is only half-correct when she claims that “your personal work environment is an externalisation of your brain, a physical repository for your current thinking and your living knowledge. Books, papers, and files keep information more or less visible, so that you don’t have to stuff it all inside your skull.”(Lupton, p. 86) For Hong Kong, with its materialistic culture, I would add that given an office desk at work, you do not have to stuff everything inside your tiny home.

1  Miller summarizing Bourdieu: “The ‘habitus’ is that structured set of classificatory schema which is inculcated in the child as its sense of cultural propriety and normative order” which “is learnt through interactive practices, as acts of living within a world” and is reinforced in different physical domain as “a process of familiarity rather than learning”, absorbed for example through familiar spaces and places. Pp. 103-104. See Miller, Daniel, 1987. Material Culture and Mass Consumption. UK: Blackwell. 2  The complexity of treating high density home spaces in Hong Kong is explored by Rooney. See Rooney, Nuala. 2001. “Making House into Home: Interior Design in Hong Kong Public Housing.” In Mathews, Gordon & Lui, Tai-lok (eds.), 2001. Consuming Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press 3  As explained in Rooney, 2003, p 121, the anthropologist, Barbara Ward in her study of Hong Kong Chinese, points out “A people’s Folk Model is, in effect, the whole culture seen from the ‘emic’ point of view. Thus, it includes ‘values’ and ‘beliefs’ as well as folk taxonomies, cosmologies, etc. and all the native knowledge of the practice and theory of the objects and patterns of everyday living, economic, political, kinships and religious behavior and so on and so forth.” See, Ward, Barbara. 1985. Through Other Eyes: An Anthropologist’s View of Hong Kong. HK: The Chinese University Press, p.80. 4  Feng shui or geomancy is a belief or folk-conscious model that assumes that family, work and personal or even community life will prosper if the five elements – metal, wood, water, fire, earth – are balanced in one’s life situations, at home, at work or even in one’s own body. There is an implicit desire to avoid upsetting this balance, and this could be reflected or sensed by a personal perception of things going well, or luck or satisfaction in one’s fortunes or life encounters. The more proactive believers would even pay to seek advice from a feng shui master, to find out what needs to be installed and where, to maintain such balance.

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Globalised Desktop Skirmishes? Reporting from the Colonies1 Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul Auckland, Design

Ambiguities Let’s start with something under the desk. This image intrigues me because, at first, I thought it showed a woman’s desk on the right and a man’s on the left. On closer examination, I concluded from the shoes next to the boots that the left desk also belonged to a woman. That seemed so obvious that I wondered what made me think it was a man’s. Probably the boots: though they’re now worn by both genders, some corner of my brain must still associate them with male New Zealand builders and farmers. Perhaps the handbag could given me a clue? But gender attributes are not as reliable as they once were, at least in Auckland in 2011: men, particularly in design offices, do carry handbags, as long as they aren’t too “girlie”. Having a good laugh about how easy it is to be fooled by clichés, I went on to add a caption to the image … and realised that it had originally been filed in \Design Studios_AUT\Photos\Male\all males_design … Regarding aspects of gender, this image, in all its ambiguity, turned out to be an even better introduction to this chapter than anticipated. For the ambiguity of observational patterns, figures of thought and categories are an important concern when interpreting “intercultural,   ­ 211

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gender-specific” aspects in Auckland’s contribution to “My Desk Is My Castle”. Do metaphors, for instance, gain or lose efficacy as they travel across cultures, and does “castle” have similar connotations in the Rhine valley, Fukuoka and Auckland? Commonalities and differences in the use of desktops in different countries are affected by globalising processes, which also lead to an increasing internationalisation in education and research. Thus, not only were the research participants, the desk owners, from different countries and cultures – so were the researchers. Just as there are global and local ways of relating, of knowing, and of organising space, which are oriented by different metaphors – so research follows local and global ways of knowing. The figures of thought that are typical of a particular way of knowing influence how tentative distinctions between people, objects and space may solidify into categories. And these, in turn, influence what we see. In the following pages, I will explore the local conditions surrounding the photos taken by the student researchers, relate them to two theories that take an active view of the creation of identity and space, reflect on the limits and potentials of the Auckland part of the project, and suggest some interesting questions to be explored in the future. KISD’s invitation to participate in the research offered students and teachers in Unit4: Exhibition and Scenic Spaces a great opportunity to explore some specifically local issues and see how they fit into global frameworks.1 The research briefing presumed that the office desk is “a personal field of action [that] marks territories and provides information on both the status of its occupiers and their private preferences and desires” (Brandes & Erlhoff, 2009). Both a material and symbolic object, the desk ‘says’ something about the aspirations, functions and necessities of an organisation. In use, it is criss-crossed by boundaries between the private and public, and becomes, over time, an archive of its occupant’s “factual and emotional memory” (ibid.), a register of working and living styles. These styles are influenced by economic conditions, ethnicity and gender. Thus, the study started from the assumptions that “desks substantially differ from country to country” (ibid.); that specific cultures have “an enormous impact” (ibid.) on organisation and arrangement of objects on a desk; and that differences are significantly inflected by gender expectations. So far, so good. However, there’s a hitch in the case of cities like Auckland, if they are to be taken as the “specific culture in which the … office work is located” (ibid.).

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While in many ways a Western city, with Western values, customs and protocols, Auckland has become New Zealand’s most globalised city.2 It has many distinct ethnic migrant communities and, above all, a Māori Tangata Whenua (Indigenous) population whose overlaps with, and distinctions from, hegemonic New Zealand culture are not easily identified and interpreted, even by locals. Geographically, Tamaki Makaurau/Auckland is located on Te Ika-A-Maui, the North Island of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Had the British Crown not sent Captain William Hobson in 1839 to sign a Treaty with Māori in 1840; and had that Treaty not been repeatedly broken by settler governments and courts, then the desks here (if there were any) might look and feel differently.3 Further, the visual evidence collated for the project has some gaps that result from the very trajectory Auckland has taken, which can possibly only be recognised from a local perspective.4 The desk, this seemingly “trivial thing”,5 is a terrain often moulded by territorial tugs-of-war between conflicting expectations. The students’ photos present us with visible traces of the desk owners’ actions and with the sedimented life histories of people, objects and cultures. Individuals’ arrangements of their desks may endorse or contest the larger context’s spatial logics. To explore these empirical data beyond simple contrast and comparison, I will use two conceptual frameworks. The first is Henri Lefebvre’s notion of the production of space (see Lefebvre, 1991), which organisational experts have drawn on to explain people’s experiences and deployment of spatial arrangements. The second is Judith Butler’s notion of performativity (see Butler, 1988, 1990). Feminist scholars of organisations have used it to make sense of gendered workplaces. They have examined, for instance, how women refer to and repeat spatial repertoires that they believe they have been assigned by society. But they have also looked at ways in which women subvert these repertoires in the use of their offices. Both theorists can be used productively to explore the cultural and gender issues the images collected by AUT students raise. Desktop Politics and the Production of Space Lefebvre conceived of the production of space as a conceptual triad of spatial practices (perceived space), representations of space (con ceptualised space) and representational space (lived space). They help elucidate the strategies and tactics by which users deploy objects on their desk – on the territory of their castle, as it were. Space, for Lefebvre, is not an inert and passive container waiting to be filled.   ­ 213

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Rather, a society’s space is secreted through its members’ spatial practices, in their relationships and interactions under local conditions (see Lefebvre, 1991, pp. 33 & 38 & 40). This occurs in desk users’ everyday activities, in their use and distribution of space and their movement through it: the location of their offices, time spent there, neighbourly interactions with other users, office equipment and rules of use, and finally their desk and the objects they keep on it.6 On another level, space is created in the sphere of production of goods or services through representations of space, which conceptually order spatial relationships – with reference to knowledge, signs, codes or concepts. This occurs in office management and organisational development, but also in design and planning. Finally, representational space is “space as directly lived through its associated images and symbols, and hence the space of ‘inhabitants’ and ‘users’, but also of some artists”. It is a passively experienced space, which “the imagination seeks to change and appropriate”, overlaying physical space and “making symbolic use of its objects”. On the whole, lived spaces “tend towards more or less coherent systems of non-verbal symbols and signs” (ibid, p. 39). In the images collected for this research, we are looking predominantly for the first and third parts of this triad: for the ways in which desk users actively engage with space, and for the ways in which they appropriate it in their imagination and through a different or even deviant use of material space and objects. As the castle metaphor in this book’s title suggests, there is a principal conflict over office territories. It involves, for instance, users’ efforts to establish control over their minimal territory at work, in analogy to the idea that “a man’s house is his castle”, which granted citizens the inviolability of their dwelling in the 17th and 18th centuries in England and France.7 Then and now, resistance is about decreasing managerial control to increase one’s own power. What else does the metaphor transfer to the local research site? One aspect, namely the strong sense of individualism and paternalism it commonly implies, makes it sit awkwardly in some terrains in Aotearoa/New Zealand. A historical connection with the castle metaphor exists in New Zealand through its settler society. On the Indigenous side, the castle would have been a pā, a fortification as rigorously defended as a castle, but not an individualistic enterprise – there are also arguments regarding male and female power relationships within. If the metaphor breaks down in Aotearoa, however, this is fortunate for our purposes. 214

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For the breakdown raises questions regarding the number of people inside, or the degree of inclusion or exclusion of others. My desk may well be my castle – but there are worlds on my desk! And if the idea of desk-as-castle evokes associations of safety and rootedness, these also point to aggression. There is trouble lurking in the moat.8 Thus, when Melissa Tyler and Laurie Cohen researched “Spaces That Matter” as crucial factors of women’s lived experiences at work, they found three recurring themes: “spatial constraint, invasion and spillage”, and what they called “a ‘bounded appropriation’ of space” by women, in “gendered, embodied ways” (Tyler & Cohen, 2010, p. 191). Samantha Warren, in “Hot Nesting? A Visual Exploration of Personalised Workspaces in a ‘Hot-Desk’ Office Environment”, found that most employees are unhappy when they are denied their own territory (see Nathan and Doyle cited in Warren, 2006, p. 128). Her research confirmed that “personalising and colonising space” is an important aspect of the politics of space in offices, and that employees treat their desks as their “territories” and try to “grab territory back” in hot-desk environments (ibid, p. 140). From one point of view, Lefebvre’s representational space, which is produced and dominated by planners and designers, is passively experienced by users. From another, it is imaginatively changed and appropriated by them. People both adapt to whatever sign systems are already materialised in the spaces they use (see Lefebvre, 1991, p. 17), and they change them through their own actions. In this context, Butler’s notion of performativity is relevant. Performativity, the stylised repetition of acts (see Butler, 1990, p. 140), constitutes gender or ethnic identity; the social codes available for citation being supplied by an “exterior space”. Established conventions are important, for without reference to “prior and authoritative set[s] of practices, a performative action cannot succeed” (Butler, 1996, p. 206). In the office environment, spatial arrangements, desk configurations and personal or professional accoutrements provide material for the elaboration of gender and ethnic differences.9 However, citation also implies the possibility of failure to cite properly, each time. This possibility of failure, in the interstices between repetitions, and the re-assignment of values prise open spaces for freedom and change.10 There is, I suggest, an affinity between Butler’s notion of performativity and Lefebvre’s triad of spatial practice, spatial planning and spatial imagination. All   ­ 215

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three elements of the triad partake in the social production of space: the second seeks to establish rules for the available repertoire, while the first and third shuttle between acceptance, resistance and play.11 Since the materialised results of space planning frequently prove too dominant and permanent to allow for immediate change, office employees’ politics of space typically involve the tactical deployment of mobile objects across the territories more or less under their control.12 For example, many employees in Warren’s study of ‘hot-nesting’ in an English web-design department (Dept. X) recounted with “a tinge of nostalgic sadness” how they had covered their desks in their previous office with personal things, until they had to move repeatedly. “Hotdesking. I can’t stand it .... You see I’m loathe to put anything up now cos I’ll have to take it all down again.” (Warren, 2006, p. 141) This correlation between the degree of personalisation and time of occupancy also emerged in students’ documentation of the desks in the Auckland call centre.13 The longer the duration of employment, the more the ratio between personal and professional items on a desk shifts towards the personal. Employees who “had been with [the] company more than two years had large amounts of personal items. This customising of the desk is due to the feeling of security and comfort” developed over time (Students of Unit4: Exhibition and Scenic Spaces, 2010). Observing different hot-desking patterns in different groups within Dept. X, Warren makes another interesting observation, which may lead beyond the idea of desk-as-castle as an individual stronghold: the ‘putting up’ of personal items may not express “individual territorial control” so much as “the degree of permanence” occupants feel in a place and “the extent to which they [feel] a sense of ‘belonging’ – given that personalisation appeared to be a group norm – within the community of designers at least” (Warren, 2006, p. 142). The Auckland offices documented by students were usually ruled by less fiery corporate conventions regarding the display of objects. This does not necessarily say something about Aotearoa/New Zealand in general, though: knowingly or not, students chose sites that were accessible to them through the worlds they come from. AUT’s student population is not representative of the larger Auckland population,14 and this is reflected in the data they collected. Thus, the students who took the initiative to organise the research sites for the banks and insurance sector were Chinese; consequently, most images were taken 216

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in a Chinese-owned and -operated office. Not surprisingly, their analysis of the images they collected also seems to be informed by broadly Asian world views. While there are some differences between the four sectors,15 a distinction between ‘public’ and ‘private’ areas of the office seems to be observable in all, with personal displays often tactically ‘hidden’ behind corners, computer screens or upstands. In the call centre, performativity in Lyotard’s sense (as a form of extreme capitalist efficiency) was an important issue. Shortly before our research visit, the screens separating individual desks had been lowered to make the monitoring of performance easier. As long as the objects displayed behind those screens did not distract employees from their work, however, the objects were of no concern. Consequently, personalisation of space here was quite intense. This was helped by the fact that the allocation of space per employee was, consistent with general New Zealand spatial practice, comparatively generous. In the Chinese-owned insurance office, where a majority of employees seem to have been Chinese, the colour red recurred in most men’s and women’s personal objects on display, such as good luck charms.16 Thus, the production and politics of space in Auckland offices are criss-crossed by characteristics of culture, gender and business sector to such an extent that none of the categories remain stable for long. As Butler points out, one can only take up tools and possibilities where they lie, and “the very ‘taking up’ is enabled by the tool lying there” (Butler, 1990, p. 145). Private and public territories seem to supply different tools to take up, and different ones, at that, for men and women, White and Coloured, rich and poor, and so on. Home and World In the office, the interface between Lyotard’s and Butler’s performativity is a tense field, stretched between often conflicting expectations of self and other, between home and world, or between one’s own and what belongs to others. This back and forth movement of loyalties is also observable in the Auckland project, where students’ observations and reflections coincided with an impression that people use personal objects to bring “their ‘non-work selves’ into the work environment to make it more ‘homely’” (Warren, 2006, p. 132). Family photos, greeting cards, or gifted mugs allude to a home outside   ­ 217

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the office, to a place free from outside control, which one shares with loved ones and visiting friends. More surprisingly in Warren’s account, however, ‘home’ and the ‘familiar’ can also refer to communal spaces at work: in the designers’ group of Dept. X, personalising desk space was a shared cultural practice. To outsiders, the “design community had an identity through their prolific displays of personal objects” (ibid, p. 139).17 The desks here had almost taken on a sociality-building role, in which they create a common world by enduring as objects.18 This is an aspect most studies of the work environment neglect because they focus on the binary between the individual and the organisation, and thus overlook the life of small communities. In Warren’s sample, a man said that he liked making his space his own and, in that, “community is important”, and part of “being in a community [is] having all your familiar items and all the little things around you” (Warren, 2006, p. 138). In a shared work environment, objects not only serve to create personal narratives and aid self-presentation to others. They may even be “more important to the creation of a group identity and a sense of permanence, belonging and stability” (ibid.). Personalisation helps employees to balance their work and non-work selves, but also to create a workrelated identity that includes one’s workgroup, and even the larger organisation at some levels (ibid., p. 143). The desk-as-castle thus mediates multiple connections and disjunctures between home and world. There are many in the castle, but the castle is not all-inclusive: gender and ethnicity can, and often do, form lines of disjuncture. As a gay woman of colour, Sarah Ahmed describes how some spaces are White: inhabited and controlled by White people, they display codes of Whiteness that make non-White bodies seem invisible or out of place (see Ahmed, 2006, pp. 135 & 141). Entering them can be like “walking into a sea of whiteness” (ibid, p. 133). Similar experience might have led Rangi,19 one of two self-identified Māori desk occupants, to hide what students categorised as a “Māori carving” almost completely behind paper trays and folders in a corner.20 Would one not expect to find many such objects in a country where the Indigenous population is a constitutional partner in the Nation? The students (none of whom were Māori) who documented the desk in an administration office, nevertheless listed the carving amongst the “most unusual objects”: “Fly swat, Māori carvings, bird food, baby car seat” (Students of Unit4: Exhibition and Scenic Spaces, 2010).21 Chinese insurance offices in Auckland are, in a sense, Diasporic 218

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spaces, partially shaped by the histories of the objects displayed by employees. From a cursory visual inspection, it appears that the desks in this sample more abundantly display non-work-related objects, many of which make direct reference to China, or Asia more broadly. These objects have “their own horizons: worlds from which they emerge”. Thus, they can lead us to “different worlds” (Ahmed, 2006, p. 147). Objects form connecting lines to spaces that are “lost homes”, particularly in Diasporic communities (ibid, pp.149-150). More than nostalgic reminders, they keep the past alive and make impressions on the present – co-creating with the objects of the present a hybrid place which can become a home (ibid, p. 150). What does it mean, then, when Rangi places his Māori carving in the far corner of his desk? Is it a gift from a student or her parents, which he doesn’t particularly like but doesn’t want to throw away, either? We don’t know but, certainly, its performative efficacy is very limited and private in its hidden place. When I considered the students’ images, I felt that aspects of Māori desk use were missing and asked Benita Simati, the assistant tutor in Unit4 in 2010, to take some photos at Te Ara Poutama, AUT’s Faculty of Māori Development, and OPA, the Office of Pasifika Advancement. Initially, I phoned Kingi, a Māori colleague, and asked him if he could point us to two desks of men and women respectively, which demonstrated the restrained and ‘out-there’ extremes of a range of politics of display. He immediately pointed to two women and thought he himself could be considered to be at the restrained end of the scale. Regarding an ‘out-there’ man, though, he was at a bit of a loss. When I said that, Administration: Rangi’s desk at Onehunga High School

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surely, there must be at least one, he replied: “Oh no, not us [men]! Not publicly!” The perceived or real expectations of professionalism in the office of Māori men conform, from my perspective, with those in any office moulded by modern capitalist principles. These expectations were first directed at European men, as a consequence of the very compact between State and pater familias that first gave rise to the metaphor of the home-as-castle.

Administration: AUT Te Ara Poutama, Ella’s desk

Administration: AUT OPA (Office of Pasifika Advancement), John’s desk

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History and the Visible Perception and interpretations are organised by the conceptual repertoires available to people in any given time and place. In their solidified form, such repertoires are common sense, or even clichés: a stock of signs that are (at least provisionally) beyond question (see Zerilli, 2008, p. 41). In the extreme, they are easily recognisable caricatures of what it means to be, for instance, a man or a woman at a particular place and time. These pre-judices, which derive from our culture’s stated and unstated attitudes, help us get on with life without constantly having to work out from scratch what we see. There is no way of escaping them. In fact, if we find a way of becoming aware of our pre-judices and biases, they can help us understand the relationship between the familiar and the strange. One possible way of encountering our own prejudice is precisely when things aren’t as we would expect them to be. The questions is, how will we register that they are different? For often, our repertoires will not allow us to recognise what seem to be, at least statistically, blips. At the call centre, Dion’s desk could be simply be taken as an unusual variation on male patterns of using objects at work. There are indications, though, that Dion may not fit the “heterosexual matrix” (Butler, 1993, p. 27).22 Like other metropoles, Auckland is home to many who do not fit neatly into gender categories: there are well-established gay and lesbian communities, and gender dynamics from non-Western societies, such as Māori Whakawahine and Samoan Fa’afafine,23 make the situation even more complex (see Towle & Morgan, 2002, p. 490).

Auckland, Dion’s desk, Call Centre

Auckland, Dion’s desk, Call Centre



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Drag/camp as a style has also become popular beyond the gay communities – so, there is no way of telling Dion’s gender or sexual orientation. The students noted his “most unusual” pink water cooler and recorded his comment about what he would miss most: “All of my pink stuff.” (Students of Unit4: Exhibition and Scenic Spaces, 2010) The problematic of inclusion and/or exclusion inherent in any categorisation manifests here as “gender trouble” (see Butler, 1990).24 Something is different – but how can we name it and where will it count? The spaces and desks that we can see in the photos taken by the student researchers are not just ‘there’, neutral and given. Space is always actively produced within specific local and global politics of space. “Activity in space is restricted by that space; space ‘decides’ what actually may occur, but even this ‘decision’ has limits placed upon it.” (Lefebvre, 1991, p. 143) So does interpretation. “[T]he ‘availability’ of objects is an effect of actions, which are not necessarily perceivable on the surface of the object.” (Ahmed, 2006, p. 38) Nevertheless, some meaning is inscribed in the forms of objects, as traces of their use.

Man or woman?, Call Centre 25

Man or woman?, Call Centre





Man or woman?, Call Centre

Man or woman?, Call Centre





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Man or woman?, Design Office

Man or woman?, Design Office

Man or woman?, Design Office

Man or woman?, Design Office





The Role of Research: How to Report from the Colonies? In 2006, Warren remarked that very few studies had been carried out which “explore personalization in the workplace … as a function of territory and ownership” (Warren, 2006, p. 128). Since then, Sandra Brunia and Anca Hartjes-Gosselink have written about “Personalization in non-territorial offices” (see Brunia & Hartjes-Gosselink, 2009) and found that, while personalisation is a relevant factor in the implementation of “non-territorial office design”, it is still not well researched and that management tends to avoid subjects “labelled as ‘soft’ issues” (ibid, p. 169). Alfons van Marrewijk (see van Marrewijk, 2009) suspects that the lack of attendance to the interdependence of spatial design and culture may be partially due to “researchers’ inexperience with studying spatial arrangement” (ibid., p. 291). He holds that more empirical studies of spatial settings are needed.26   ­ 223

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“My Desk Is My Castle” adds a new, multi-national and cross-cultural dimension to existing research. It also adds a substantial collection of images to a hitherto mainly text-based discussion. What the project cannot provide, given its time and budget constraints, are in-depth, fine-grained and time-based accounts of what happens in or on each country, each office, each desk.27 The challenge for future projects is to develop methodologies, and relationships between different types of data, that permit maximum openness to local idiosyncrasies, while still allowing statements to be made with some confidence.28 Despite all the differences, there seems to be one overwhelmingly common theme: in Auckland, too, people engage in their territorial struggles in the constant negotiation of the relationship between private and public. An indication of this is the observation that the display of personal objects appears to increase with the duration of employment and with the status of the desk owner. The display seems indeed to express “the degree to which the occupant felt they belonged to their space and the affiliation they felt with their community” (Warren, 2006, p. 143). This would seem to be confirmed in the connection students made between the unusually friendly atmosphere and the vibrant display of objects in the Chinese office – quite apart from general Chinese cultural traits.29 Given that the display of objects may, however, also indicate a claim more than an accepted fact, the desk as part of the work space remains contested terrain. Thoughtfully considered, work spaces and events provide valuable opportunities to bring about change that leads to greater inclusion (see Mitchell et al., 2010, p. 306). “To change life (…) we must first change space.” (Lefebvre, 1991, p. 190) Conclusion As globalisation connects desks and their owners around the world, and as global office protocols not only spread but are also inflected by local practices, new fields for research emerge that call for new approaches and new ways of understanding.30 “My Desk Is My Castle” has made a start in this direction. Its overall findings allow the formulation of (tentative) statements, which will invite comments and begin a conversation. Further, it generates new questions, such as: How will the histories of objects in this book, their current position and their provenance, relate to your situation as a reader? How do some aspects 224

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change in the transition from their original home (see Wittgenstein, 1958) to the location where you read? How can one take account of non-visible elements in the use of desks, and can a mode of “feelingunderstanding-knowing” be accessed?31 What are the best processes for bringing together and enhancing different types of local and global knowledge? All these questions concern research in internationalised networks generally. But some are the specific domain of designers. Designers’ sensibilities, beyond the textual frame, place them in a good position to look more intimately and materially at local situations and their epistemological ‘foundations’. Given their own position on the margins of mainstream research, designers may be less inclined to assume that Western scientific categories will “fit them all”. Perhaps we come closer to an attunement to the needs of intercultural research projects if we regard them as attempts to negotiate several language-games at once, rather than as means of establishing certainty (see Wittgenstein, 1958, 1969). Surely, ongoing conversation (see Rorty, 1980, 1991) and constant translation (see Benjamin, 1969) are then as important as contrast and comparison. Quite possibly, the travel of a metaphor into another language game recharges its efficacy, as established connotations are loosened and new ones accrete; but this cannot be taken as a given. Close and extended collaboration between participants from various cultures will help collectively to forge new figures of thought, categories and methods that can more adequately grasp their subject. In the process, a greater understanding of the specific positions of all researchers, and of the principal situatedness of knowledge, is likely to grow. International research projects with a focus on gender and interculturality are well positioned to identify issues in need of revision, in order to move “Beyond the White Male Canon” (see Woodward, 1995). Stoetzler and Yuval-Davis propose “a dialogue between people from different positionings as the only way to ‘approximate truth’” (Stoetzler & Yuval-Davis, 2002, p. 319). The best insights into intercultural spatial practices will be gained by the non-hierarchical combination of the imagination and critical approaches from both the margins and the centre.

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Globalised Desktop Skirmishes 1  Unit4 is one of nine thematic streams in the Bachelor of Design (Spatial Design) at the School of Art and Design, AUT University. My thanks to Nadine Adrian (KISD’s research assistant on the ground in Auckland), Kaori Satake, Claudia Gallur, Lynne Giddings, Benita Simati, Fleur Palmer, Elise Cox and Ross Jenner for their support. 2  In 2006, 37% of the city’s population was born overseas. 3  The concept of a desk-as-castle might then be completely meaningless. Even thirty years ago, the results of this study would have been significantly different: employees in banks, administration, design offices, and whatever the equivalent of a call centre was then, were – in their overwhelming majority – Middle Class, White men. 4  It is neither representative of the Auckland population, nor even of its office population: In the last census, the Auckland region was home to over 150 ethnicities, and only 18.9% of the population surveyed identified as Asian. In the same census, 11.1% of Auckland’s population identified as Māori, 56.5% as European (of which 87% identified as New Zealand European), and 14.4% as Pacific (Auckland Council 2009). 5  Karl Marx about commodities: “A commodity appears, at first sight, a very trivial thing, and easily understood. Its analysis shows that it is, in reality, a very queer thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties.” (1867) 6  See Mitchell, Wood, & Witherspoon, 2010, p. 297; Spicer & Taylor, 2006; and Taylor & Spicer, 2007. 7  Originally, “The house of everyone is his castle” – this right that goes back to 1604 in England (Semaynes Case, 77 ER 194). 8  The AUT Ethics Committee duly anticipated trouble: in the ethics application, which I was obliged to lodge on the students’ behalf, researchers and participants’ risk factors are assessed. Should there be any “physical, social, psychological, or safety risks” researchers are exposed to (for instance, when interviewing participants in private homes!), a “Researcher Safety protocol” has to be designed. The same expectation of trouble placed tight limits around the collection of data: participants had to be approached and informed well in advance of data collection; their supervisors could not involved in their selection in any way; a consent form had to be signed on a separate occasion, before photos could be taken; the amount of questions was limited; application had to be made weeks before the research commenced. … To add to the data collection a further level to ascertain the student researchers’ own positioning (such as age, gender, ethnicity, citizenship, residency in Aotearoa/New Zealand, etc.) seemed like an impossible task in the shortness of time available. 9  When identities stabilise in the process, though, ritualised performative practices not only draw on, but also cover over the “constitutive conventions by which [they were] mobilized” (Butler, 1996, p. 206). 10  Following Derrida, this failure is imminent in the interstitial moments between iterations (Butler, 2010, p.152). Zerilli, 2008 puts forward the importance of the “faculty of presentation (imagination) and the creation of figures of the newly thinkable rather than the faculty of concepts (understanding) and the ability to subsume particulars under rules” (p. 43). There is also the possibility of re-articulating existing norms – by citing or imitating them while giving them different values (see Butler, 1993, pp. 27-28). 11  See Taylor & Spicer, 2007, p. 335. 12  According to Brunia and Hartjes-Gosselink, personalisation seems to be correlated with resistance to others’ control of territory: in the non-territorial office surveyed in Holland, “[e]mployees that liked the office concept and were satisfied about the arrangements and (the design of the) spaces, tended to personalize less, if they personalized at all. People that were unsatisfied and complained about the office concept and the space, tended to personalize much more”. (ibid.,2009, p. 176) In the new KPN Corporate Headquarters researched by Alfons van Marrewijk (2009), employees were told in a brochure not to leave personal belongings on their desks since, if a photo is left on a desk together with work papers, “another colleague will not take a seat. Therefore, clean desk have to be adopted by all of the company” (ibid., p. 290). 13  It may well be present in the other sectors, too. However, only students studying the Call Centre took an explicit note of this observation.

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Globalised Desktop Skirmishes 14  See note 4 above. 15  The Design Offices were perhaps most obviously influenced by such considerations. 16  To the KISD research assistant, the desks in this office appeared even a little frivolous, like “playgrounds” (in: Students of Unit4: Exhibition and Scenic Spaces, 2010). The atmosphere was described as unusually friendly by the students, particularly in comparison with the “Kiwi” insurance office, where four desks were documented. 17  This varies from the situation documented in Auckland design offices, where “very few photographs are shown publicly” – only on two desks each for women and men (Students of Unit4: Exhibition and Scenic Spaces, 2010). 18  Hannah Arendt attributes this role to tables: they gather, that is, relate and simultaneously separate people and create a “common world” (1958, p. 52). It is presented in “the simultaneous presence of innumerable perspectives and aspects … for which no common measurement or denominator can ever be devised. For though the common world is the common meeting ground of all, those who are present have different locations in it, and the location of one can no more coincide with the location of another than the location of two objects. Being seen and being heard by others derive their significance from the fact that everybody sees and hears from a different position. … Only where things can be seen by many in a variety of aspects without changing their identity, so that those who are gathered around them know they see sameness in utter diversity, can worldly reality truly and reliably appear.” (p. 57) 19  Not his real name. Most names have been altered. 20  Accordingly, it was subsequently classified by the KISD research assistant as a “Speciality”. The carving is so hidden that I was unable to find it in the photos without help. 21  The carving would have been better placed in the list “Art, Fun, Memories”. Given that “māori” means “normal, ordinary” (Māori as an ethnic category denotes the people who are normally in Aotearoa, as opposed to the arriving settlers), this is a strange but ‘normal’ twist in Aotearoa. 22  Butler uses the term “heterosexual matrix” to “designate that grid of cultural intelligibility through which bodies, genders and desires are naturalized” (1990, p. 151). 23  Whakawahine would be “‘transsexuals’ under Western cultural concepts” (Lomax, 2007, p. 83) and Fa’afafine are, in Western terms, boys raised as girls (Farran, 2010). 24  The research brief asked for a distinction between male and female participants and did not prompt information regarding sexual orientation, which could make a difference regarding the categorisation of gender. The students noted that “two sales consultants … had a pink theme to desks, friends and family photos and many personal items e.g. books, food, magazines. This is a reflection of their duration and also their relationships to their colleagues. Both have friends and get along with colleges inside and outside work environment, now they feel confident in their jobs they feel free to use their desk to express themselves and liven up [the] office.” (Students of Unit4: Exhibition and Scenic Spaces, 2010) 25  Answers: 1,2,5 and 6 are women’s desks; 3,4,7 and 8 are men’s. Photo credits: Briana Mellsop and Jeffrey Chen. 26  Brunia and Hartjes-Gosselink also recommend further research: “Since this is one case study, further research is recommended. … one could wonder where the findings are the same or differ in other organizations, contexts and cultures. Future research could focus on this.” (2009, pp. 169 & 180) 27  In New Zealand, it is impossible to postulate a national characteristic that applies to everyone. Whereas “Hofstede (2008) characterizes the Dutch culture as highly individualistic, which means that the society should have ‘individualistic attitudes and relatively loose bonds with others’ and that privacy is considered the cultural norm.” (Brunia & HartjesGosselink, 2009, p. 179) 28  Deconstructing the category of “woman”, after all, does not make it useless (Butler accepts its strategic use, for instance). However, rendering the concept unstable makes it amenable to uses that do not reify its referents and open the concept to the possibility of change and transformation (Butler, 1993, pp. 29 & 221)

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Globalised Desktop Skirmishes 29  Some students were surprised to find that Asian men were proud of their families and displayed a large amount of evidence, whereas Asian women were reluctant to do so. Perhaps the only way to make sense of these shifting constellations is not to concentrate on the analysis of categories but to place emphasis “on the opposition” between terms and on how it may produce subjection of one of them (Delphy cited in Disch, 2008, p. 51). 30  Their central concerns move beyond antagonisms such as “quantitative versus qualitative” or “fine-grained versus course-grained”: both can be useful, in complementary fashion. Subjected to the complexities of new research situations, it seems to me, many well-rehearsed oppositions lose their punch and give way to modes of understanding that do not hinge on such antagonisms. 31  See Conquergood (2002, p. 149). Also, how does translation between textual and other modes work here: how can we adequately write about the perfumes and songs that people use to demarcate their territories?

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Visions

Many spectators observe the people working at office desks. They watch everything as if the spectacle was put on just for them. It is, indeed, amazing how many eyes gaze upon the actors and their activities at their desks. They look out at the stage from photographs, from the heads of dolls and other little figurines: an odd owl with a piercing stare, angels with soft eyelashes, cross-eyed manga characters, strange animals and even a car with two eyes staring out of its windscreen. And all the while these beings keep a perfectly straight face. Their expression is not indifferent: rather it is benevolent, yet motionless. With that many eyes directed at them, one cannot help but wonder how the desk-actors are able to tolerate this constant observation or why they have voluntarily lined up this, their very own audience. Obviously, they like to perform on this stage, in front of these many pairs of eyes, but, simultaneously, they also seem to prefer being in control of their self-arranged audience that, seemingly, cannot help but react in a friendly way. It might be possible that this permanent eye contact, or at least the possibility thereof, is explicitly desired, which again introduces an artificial liveliness into the mundane everyday routine of office work. This theatre becomes even more remarkable if we consider that, not that long ago, authoritarian control used to be executed by the gaze of the supervisor. Office supervisors do not exist any more, but the observing gaze has remained. Do we now control ourselves by installing our own supervisors? Or is this just a mocking reminiscence of times gone by? An interesting thought in the light of an increasing internalisation of formerly explicit authoritarian structures in office life. We are left with a contradiction here – and with this strange, lingering gaze.

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Taipei, Design, Male

The Concepts of ‘Public’ and ‘Private’

In Europe, the almost structural difference in the meaning of the concepts of ‘public’ and ‘private’ as they have developed in England and in mainland Europe is a well-known fact, thanks to the enthusiastically worded maxim ‘my home is my castle’ (which also inspired the title of this book). It was formulated in the 17th century (Habeas Corpus Act, 1679) by the bourgeois classes that had begun to emancipate themselves against the omnipotence of the Crown. The English bourgeoisie demanded the protection of their private space against intrusion by the state, i.e., against the military, the police and other state bodies, as an essential criterion of personal freedom. For English cities, with their often-huge suburban areas, this is in fact a substantial factor with regard to the traditional idea that one’s personal life is private. By contrast, the bourgeois emancipation on the European continent only expressed itself some one hundred years later in the form of a revolution (1789 in France) and the essential ideas of this movement included the demand for public rights, the freedom of the press, for public discourse and public forms of conviviality. The word ‘private’ did not feature on that agenda. Even Immanuel Kant, who only left his hometown of Königsberg once, and then only for a short time, emphasised the idea of ‘public’ in that he saw himself as a ‘citizen of the world’. While ‘Speaker’s Corner’ was being created in London’s Hyde Park, people on the Continent initiated public actions and started their own publications. This contradiction had several other consequences, not least for philosophy (for example the Anglo-Saxon hypertrophic emphasis of ‘opinion’ in contrast to experience as conscious perception …). However, the fact that the category of the private nonetheless has played a central role in social life, not only in England but also in other countries, is of greater importance in our context. Companies and institutions everywhere have managed to guard their premises and private matters against direct state intervention and local government control (police, for instance, are not entitled to enter company premises, which is why companies often have their own private security). Most importantly, however, we can state that everywhere people tended to differentiate between public and private life and saw themselves as being   ­ 231

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‘individual’ and accordingly homes were furnished in (perceived) individual ways. There have certainly also been attempts in mainland Europe to consider civil privacy as a special good, ranging from JeanJacques Rousseau and Baron Knigge, through numerous novels and trivialisations to today’s various forms of lifestyle magazines. On a theoretical level, however, this issue has been largely neglected. Only recently, in the face of an increasing blurring between ‘public’ and ‘private’ (see for instance the radio, TV and the Internet that enable us to have public issues piped directly into our homes, or mobile phones, used to have private conversations in public and to handle data that used to be considered private), has it gained interest as a topic of theoretical consideration. But so far, this discourse has lacked the empirical dimension of transferring the complexity of the topic to the workplace. This was one of the fundamental reasons for this study.

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Reflections on Anthropology and Design Mara E. Martínez Morant

“Design is efficient compared with finding” (Dawkins, p. 21) Coexistence Without a doubt, design shapes all aspects of our lives. From the moment we are born, almost every object, whether old or new, can be found in our environment. We grow up with objects since they help us learn about the ways we interact with and understand the world. Only in some cases or under extreme conditions do we set aside some objects; nevertheless, people in nearly every possible setting rarely spend any significant amount of time without using, imagining, or creating a design. We utilise objects in our daily activities; we act and express ourselves through objects. We naturally make design an extension of our body through all kinds of prostheses, such as extremities, teeth, hair, body implants (be they organic, synthetic, metal, or chemical), spectacles, contact lenses, and so on. And design often kills us: consider weapons, tools used in carrying out the death penalty, bombs, pollution, and the like. We use objects to help us to represent a particular role in the eyes of others and to achieve a certain social status. Objects are therefore the best way to get our bearings, to determine who surrounds us, and to define the roles we have to play, and the types of settings in which we become involved. Although objects may seem familiar in some settings, by finding known qualities in something strange, we nearly always will tend towards repeating designs and emulating known uses. In their ordinariness, we lose sight of an important facet of humanity, namely, our constant coexistence with objects and the complicated web of ties we forge with them. Most designs we interact with derive from a variety of fields – such as city planning, architecture, engineering, or graphic, industrial, or textile design – and these objects are produced by artisans, workers, technicians, artists, etc., all of whom are part of society’s production system. These designs may be originals or copies, regimented or freely available, one-offs or serial products,   ­ 239

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dreamed up based on items found in nature or they are the fruit of human creativity. Yet whatever they are, objects are always the expression of a particular way of life and understanding the world, and therefore, objects differentiate people on social and cultural levels. Bank, Male

Administration, Female

From Anthropology to Design and Back Design anthropology deals with ideas, with the question of how objects are used, and with the ways they shape our material lives. It evokes questions about daily life, imagination, substance, beliefs, and the paradigms1 we use to fashion everything that seems important and real to us. The goal of design anthropology is to explore everything that connects that which is human (the central issue of anthropology) with objects (the central issue of design), to delve into the creation of things, their uses, and the spaces they occupy in communal memory2. Design anthropology has given birth to a methodology that allows us to analyse every facet of a design (that which is regular, healthy, strange, common, pathological, etc.), since all of these aspects are the product of a way of thinking and understanding the world. Thus, much of design anthropology focuses on exploring the nature and functions of the (customary, common, and extraordinary) patterns that connect a user’s history and a design’s lifecycle, from its creation to its extinction. Design – de facto and as a scientific, artistic, and technical activity – is divided. On the one hand, it takes place, that is, designs are made, while on the other hand, people study and reflect on design. The problems of design, however, cannot be solved merely from the perspective of a single profession or art, since its connection to human beings and nature steers us towards a vision that integrates the specific (such as techniques, communities of users, and local problems) with that which 240

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transcends this specificity (technology, society, global issues). We build institutions, knowledge and beliefs through the use and creation of certain objects. Behind design’s utilitarian, casual nature, we simulate, structure, and adapt doubt, pleasure, happiness and unhappiness and through this we create the complex connections we establish with others. Bank, Male

‘Design’ is a generic term. It is ambiguous: sometimes we apply it to a group of objects that characterise a technical and formal approach to rendering products, for example, when we speak about Catalan design or Japanese design, and at other times, we say an object is ‘well-designed’, by which, for example, we refer to improvements that solve previously unsolved problems. However, there are no universally shared scientific typologies for studying and classifying designs. Indeed, ‘design’ is used to designate various types of professions, such as graphic design, fashion design, and audio-visual design. What is shared between these specialisations is a working method; what differentiates them are the specific manufacturing techniques used to tackle particular problems. Yet all designers know that beyond the knowledge of certain techniques and the specific nature of their creation, their work has a lot in common with the work of any other colleague working as a designer.

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Like Martín Juez (2002, p. 30), we wonder what differentiates professional designers from non-professionals. We could say that the nonprofessional designer is able to reproduce useful, known designs for the majority of people by utilising the techniques and materials he or she has available. This could provide some degree of efficiency in terms of designs, although the tendency to improvise makes long-term results unpredictable. Beyond the skills of a non-professional, however, a professional designer is able to identify a design problem and the various resultant contextual variables provided by culture, environmental conditions and concrete social structures. Professional designers should have a holistic view of all of these variables in order to treat them coherently and balance them appropriately. Call Centre, Female

Design, Male

Without a doubt, design is a cultural product. Therefore, it is relative, depending on each situation. The temporal dimension of its importance and transcendence is contingent upon how it is judged and used by a specific community. Physical, biological and mental factors – both conscious and unconscious, individual and collective – and cyclical, self-nurturing processes – in which coincidence, change, and accidents may all come into play – construct our worldview and the variety of relationships we forge with it and with our fellow human beings and influence our way of creating and using design, our tendency to replicate and our desire to innovate. This arises because ways of defining, designing, and describing an object are restricted, biased by beliefs, myths, rituals, institutions, and accepted knowledge that we put into practice through our cultural background and the special communities we belong to – that is, the environment where we grow up, the ethnic group we are part of, the 242

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country we live in, our blood relatives or adopted families, the educational institutions we are part of, the (political, religious, economic, etc.) groups we join, and the groups of friends with whom we share our daily lives. According to Kopytoff, designs are culturally determined (that is, configured by metaphors of the special community) when they are adopted, chosen or inherited and also by their overall use until they are discarded. A design is always individualised: each object is singled out in a domestic role or specific ritual (see Kopytoff, p. 89). Every design has a life story; each one possesses its own biography. Kopytoff clearly states that the biography of a thing can bring to the fore that which might otherwise have remained obscure or even, we might add, invisible. For example, he argues that cultural contact situations highlight what anthropologists have frequently emphasised: the crucial aspect in adopting foreign objects (and concepts) is not the fact that they are adopted but the manner in which they are culturally redefined and put to use. Kopytoff points out that objects have a triple biography: they are at once technical, economic, and social. Nevertheless, he argues that these biographies may or may not be culturally shaped. What turns a biography into a cultural biography is not its content but how it approaches the matter at hand and the perspective it employs in doing so. For example, a culturally configured economic biography conceptualises an object as a culturally constructed entity imbued with culturally specified meanings and classified and reclassified according to culturally established categories (see Kopytoff, pp. 93-94). Two important moments concern the history of things or the ‘object biography’ (Martín Juez, p. 152): project and design. The former, project, is a way of seeing the world. It is an interpretation that arises from the social group in question and its peculiarities. It is a way of understanding the world, of giving meaning to space, form, context, etc. The project is strongly connected to the designer’s mental state and is conditioned by the sociocultural circumstances that surround him or her. The designer’s internal wish guides and sets apart the process of exploring relationships and possible transformations, of discovering alternatives that arise from the context it inhabits. The second important moment in the history of the object – design – represents all of   ­ 243

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the accessible possibilities to make a project a reality, that is, the techniques, technology, materials, styles, forms, production types, etc. that are typical of a given group of humans. The project conceptualises and plans how to implement the idea, while the design brings it to fruition. Project and design are inseparable facets of creation. Last but not least, an important but often disregarded topic is ‘design and gender’. Like Martín Juez, we could reflect on whether the majority of objects and images in the world was created by men. Given the way in which history is explained and the fact that we constantly return to this question, it would seem like the answer is yes. Yet according to Martín Juez, a large number of the original tools and instruments – important objects, images, and archetypes – were designed by women. As Martín Juez points out, “the majority of objects which demonstrate a sensibility and understanding of nature and of humanity were envisioned and created by female designers, just as many biological archetypes are the product of species, genera, and classes which predated and were different from Homo sapiens. We unquestionably need to revise patriarchal, homo-centric history and theories of design and give weight to both genders and other life forms” (Martìn Juez, p. 148).

Design, Female

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The International Desk Project This reflection on anthropology and design was written in the context of the international Desk Project (henceforth, the ‘Desk Project’). But what is this Desk Project? It is a research project looking at intercultural and gender issues and the importance of private or personal objects and the way in which they are arranged in a key work space: the desk. The Desk Project research is directly related to the considerations discussed above, but adds one further pertinent thought: how workers design their workstations, in this case, their desk. Administration, Male

Indeed, desks have become an integral part of the working lives of people across the globe and are thus much more than a functional piece of office equipment. Desks are subjective, personal action spaces in which practical and emotional aspects come together and lead to identifying the desk as a material and symbolic object. Hence, the objects on the desk inform the world about the person who occupies the space – the person who works with them – and they also tell viewers something about the facets of the workplace and the company where people are employed. The Desk Project’s anthropological methodology was based on ethnographic observation. Photos were taken of various desks and their settings and a questionnaire was used to collect data to support and enrich these photographic images. Ethnographic observation records   ­ 245

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everything that is perceived about our shared reality (in writing, on film, through photography, etc.). Ethnographic studies demonstrate that people around the world are quite different, but are still confronted with similar problems and situations, from basic needs (eating, having or not having children, educating their descendants, organising themselves socially and politically etc.) to designing all of the objects that make up our daily lives. Ethnography – whose methodological tools include ethnographic observation – attempts to provide us with answers about what happens to people who live their individual lives in foreign places. Often, the answer is that they do things that are quite similar to what we ourselves do. But research has proven that people do things that bear no resemblance to what we do. Adaptation, form and meaning vary significantly, yet the conditions of and responses to the material facts of life are the same or very similar everywhere on the planet. Call Centre, Female

Call Centre, Female

One of the reasons we decided to participate in the Desk Project was the fact that we believed that design research was able to contribute to creating awareness and understanding of a context or setting. We also imagined that design research could further the development of approaches for working on and with design. We believed this because design goes beyond aesthetics. For instance, participatory design involves a collaborative approach to designing products, services, spaces or systems, by including all participants in the creative 246

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process. Non-Intentional Design – a form of ‘redesigning’ through ‘reuse’ (see Brandes & Erlhoff, 2006) – makes objects multi-functional and combines them as appropriate to generate new functions. A case in point would be a key used as a letter opener. Non-Intentional Design arises every day, everywhere and in every aspect of our lives. The same is true of gender issues in design, since gender is part of culture. Implications and desires always create a ‘subtext’ that underlies gender. This phenomenon may be more or less visible, but it creates effects that necessitate exploration. In short, design is incomplete if it does not consider gender.

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Final Reflections The research carried out as part of the Desk Project3 in Barcelona has yielded a wealth of data. In particular, we would like to point out that desks have provided us with information about the people who work with and at them, both with regard to the type of work they do and to their officially sanctioned and individually desired communication styles and privacy levels. Our research has demonstrated that desk users basically design their desks based on the type of work they do and the number of hours they spend at the workplace. Only at a later point, the number of years of service with the company and the full-time working day will lead to desk designs where desks are decorated with a larger number of personal objects. Technological objects (laptops, mobile phones, stereo systems, etc.) and, frequently, objects with sentimental value (photographs, notes, small posters, etc.) are most often considered ‘personal objects’. Finally, it should be noted that personal objects are much more visible in design studios and call centres than in administrative offices (whether public or private) or in banks and insurance companies.

1  “Paradigm” as defined in the Enciclopèdia Catalana and in the sense that is particularly related to the meaning this paper hopes to convey: “En la teoria platònica, model perfecte i immutable pertanyent al món de les idees, a imatge del qual són fets els objectes del món sensible” (“In Platonic theory, a perfect and immutable model from the world of ideas, an image from which objects from the tangible world are made”). Retrieved 4/14/11 from http://www.enciclopedia.cat/cgi-bin/CercaGEC3.exe?APP=CE RCAPAR&PAG=0001&PAR=paradigma 2  We understand ‘community’ to be a type of group whose members can identify the temporal and spatial limits that define the group, and that allow a certain cohesion with regard to member solidarity and reciprocity. 3  The document entitled “Projecte Internacional Desk Barcelona: anàlisi de dades” (“International Desk Project Barcelona: Data analysis”) provides a breakdown of the Desk Project data and results. (Document not yet published.)

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From Chessboards to Monopoly Games: On the Contradictoriness of Privacy in the Office Using the development of the office from a space for work and the organisation of work as an example, we are able to clearly illustrate the overall societal process of the last 250 years as a development from externally defined hierarchies to self-organisation and internalized regulations. Comparable, among others, to the studies by Michel Foucault (see Foucault), who described in detail how, at the beginning of civil society and the related successive spread of capital and the market economy, people were subjected to rules, regulations and categories through rigid targets, directives, the division of labour and other power structures to which they had to conform: surveillance and control was the order of the day because people would possibly otherwise not have done what they had to do in order to maximise profits. Tragically, through the course of this historical development, people became used to these demands. This happened either slowly or, at times, in leaps and bounds, with people transforming these demands into their own aspirations and thus instantiating them. In so doing, people learned to anticipate the necessary rules and to develop new ones for themselves. What ostensibly looks like freedom is probably more akin to pressure dressed up and interpreted as freedom. However, we must also acknowledge that some aspects of this freedom are always real because contradiction is also an inherent aspect in the context of office work. Let’s try and examine this more closely in relation to the privatisation of the office, as illustrated and analysed in this book, by using the example of desktops: a fully developed bureaucracy already existed in ancient China (since the beginning of the Shang or Yin dynasty, i.e. approx. since 1570 BCE), long before the European peoples started to develop even the slightest idea of the concept. Using brute force and rigid hierarchies, this bureaucracy was tasked with ensuring that the Chinese empire did not disintegrate into the many different regions held together under the rule of Beijing and with securing the regions’ dependency on the emperor. It was characterised by various rituals and other symbols of the prevalent power structures. This form of bureaucracy might have been perfectly organised, but at the same time, it prevented any progress towards free trade, a developed market and large-scale industrialisation. In Europe however, the first independent forms of work organisation   ­ 253

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based on trading capital started to develop alongside a conservative court culture from the 15th century onwards, in the continent’s developing markets and financial economies. This created an early type of employee who was no longer subjected to the traditional dependencies of the artisan, and who was able to benefit from certain forms of personal development options. However, the new concept of integrating human labour and the new breed of employee only came into their own with the beginning of industrialisation, i.e. from about the mid18th century. Before that, however, the state-supporting ‘bureau’ had been created in France. The head clerk, a state official, needed the patronage of the king and therefore had to come from an important family loyal to the Crown. Another term used for state officials also has historical roots: the (state) secretary was a writer of secret dispatches (from the French ‘secret’), a private rapporteur. The fact that this loyal, discreet male subject, in civilian life, later became an object, is not as surprising as it might seem at first glance because, just like its human male counterpart, this piece of furniture had to keep confidential papers and documents out of public view. In French and in English, the term ‘secretary’ is used for both the person and the office furniture item (secrétaire and secretary desk). Also, throughout the 19th century, the office remained an exclusively male domain. The ‘white collars’ or ‘en faux col’ (detachable collars) were not only indicative of the hierarchical difference to the ‘blue collar’ workers but, by being an exclusively male fashion item, also in particular of the male sex. With the spread of offices in the private business sector, the human secretaries soon became mundane writers and copiers while their inanimate counterparts were turned into equally mundane desks. However, along with the fundamental and rapid technological and organisational changes in the late 19th century offices, the male secretary started to disappear equally rapidly: the work itself and its organisation were standardised by the mechanisation (typewriter) and electrification (telephone) of the office, which accelerated and devalued office work. Within a short span of time, this devalued work, following the societal-ideological logic of gender-specific value hierarchies, was taken over by female typists and switchboard operators. To some, these modern office workers initially appeared to be beings from a different planet. After a visit to London towards the end of the 18th century, the German writer and philosopher Georg Christoph 254

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Lichtenberg, for instance, described his amazement at having seen people with pens stuck behind their ears, with faces that, due to the speed of their movements, appeared to be streamlined and with very long fingers that were able to grab and move everything, especially numbers. Lichtenberg was amazed and at the same time experienced a feeling of eeriness and wonder (see Lichtenberg).

Hong Kong, Design, Female Taipei, Administration, Female

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It might surprise us that he describes the evident nature of these new types of office work in the public realm as acceleration and human functionalism. In other early writings, office work is described, especially in contrast to spacious manufactories and industrial buildings, as taking place in small rooms and as stuffy, dark and strictly separated from public life. Charles Dickens, for example, seemed to delight in these kinds of descriptions, but it’s not quite clear as to whether this was just some form of late Romantic extenuation or whether his descriptions depicted real office life at the time. Maybe industrialisation only arrived at the office after it had taken hold in other work sectors. Thomas Mann, for example, at the end of the 19th century, still described the office as a counting house, albeit a slightly enlarged version thereof (see Mann). At the beginning of the 20th century, we began to see images of real open-plan offices with their obvious division of labour represented by a supervisor sitting on a raised platform opposite the workers in order to better be able to control them. It was only then that industrialisation, with its essential division of labour, its clear work targets and rigid controls hit the office and established a system in this field of work that was characterised by clear hierarchies, ruthless and constant control, relentless rules and the bent backs of industrious workers: a system that, thanks to the different democratisation processes after the French revolution and especially after WWI had become questionable or almost outdated with regard to society as a whole. ‘Fordism’ with its hierarchical division of labour in a country, the USA, that presented itself as a democracy might serve as a good example of a situation where political activities at state level had reached a certain degree of openness, whereas the actual work conditions were still governed by authoritarian ideas. The descriptions concerning the office organisation of the Czech Bat’a shoe factory at the beginning of the 20th century, provide a very illustrative example of office work organised in such an authoritarian style with rigid external control of the workers: huge open-plan offices were spread over five or six floors. Tomáš Bat’a, the boss, sat at his opulent desk located in a spacious and generously equipped lift, floating from one floor to the next and suddenly opening the lift doors, which enabled him to constantly and unexpectedly cast a controlling view over the mass of workers on a particular floor. This example also demonstrates that only 100 years ago, such controls, rules and hierarchical rituals were considered necessary in order to organise office work according to a company’s interests and to force 256

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Hong Kong, Administration, Female

employees to work in the most efficient way. On the other hand, this means that the people, who had become employees in an office, would not voluntarily adhere to these criteria of efficiency and order. As far as companies and, presumably, also institutions were concerned, this controlling and hierarchical authority was inevitable and implicitly appropriate, which simultaneously means that the workers must have had different ideas about life and work. Billy Wilder’s film The Apartment delivers yet another example of these open-plan offices. In order to be able to drastically illustrate the atmosphere of such an office, Wilder had 40 regular desks set up with increasingly smaller ones lined up behind those and equipped with little chairs on which equally small people were sitting. At the far end, there were only tiny models of desks with cardboard figurines. A clever play with perspective, which obviously evoked an image of the openplan office that seemed more real than the existing ones: “Acres of grey steel desks, grey steel filing cabinets, and steel-grey faces under indirect light. One wall is lined with glass-enclosed cubicles for the supervisory personnel. It is all very neat, antiseptic, impersonal. The only human touch is supplied by a bank of IBM machines, clacking away cheerfully in the background.” (Wilder) These offices were not about individuality and personality: instead people were simply part of a seemingly laborious mass. This is exactly what Siegfried Kracauer described in his book The Salaried Masses: in the   ­ 257

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1920s and 30s and also later in some Hollywood films, these ‘salaried masses’ were only visible as ‘the mass ornament’ (see Kracauer). So, if the above descriptions are correct, we can state that during the 1920s people who worked in offices were not ‘dyed-in-the-wool’ office workers, meaning they had not yet internalised the doctrines of their work. The 1930s, however, represent a decade in which brutal authority, the most vicious controls, inhumane orders and total subjection to the system virtually became a matter of course, especially in fascist Italy and Germany. And this is also true for the offices of that time, in which everything was signed according to orders: death sentences, genocide and the movement of military forces with the corresponding propaganda as well as matters of daily life. Indeed, for people who did not emigrate or who subversively opposed the government, this totalitarian control resulted in a process of internalising the respective rules and systems in order to avoid any conflict. They had to believe in and to conform to the system without questioning it. (Understanding how they acted and survived in these systems is only possible against this background. In other words: you internalise the rules to avoid punishment, even if these rules are utterly inhuman.) This marks the actual beginning of a time where office workers did not need to be controlled any more in order to ensure that they did what they were supposed to do, because they simply carried out their orders correctly and without questioning, as if they themselves were the ones taking the decisions. Without this form of obedience, these systems would never have worked. A totally new dimension in office work was created, in that external control and supervision, as well as rules and regulations, were not needed to such an extent as before because only a trigger would suffice for office workers to activate and roll out their own routines. What we see here is a paradigm shift in the area of office work: the work, including all its various forms of organisation and individual tasks, was no longer carried out according to the orders of an external authority. Instead, workers anticipated the intentions and desires of the respective authorities, resulting in total identification with the work. Once this goal is established, then control and surveillance are no longer needed, since workers have internalised these mechanisms. This kind of obscene over-identification with both the rulers and their rules could be seen as a significant step towards a new reality of work and behaviour, where these mechanisms continue to be effective even if an explicitly totalitarian system no longer exists. Once a system is 258

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internalised, the moral and cognitive authority to question it is incapacitated to such a degree that almost everything will be accepted. An ideal situation for companies and institutions because they are free to do whatever they want, because the people working in their offices are, as it were, automatically at their command. This is closely connected with the desktops introduced in this book because the obvious privatisation and cultural connotation of workplaces is based on the possibility of being able to customise one’s own workplace and thus to secure a perceived degree of freedom and to collect objects of identification with one’s work that reinforce the illusion of self-determination. Altogether, this is an activity that, only a few decades ago, would have been utterly impossible due to the above-described controls executed by employers. The privatisation of the workplace, however, is crucial in creating the option of identification with the workplace and the work itself, i.e. with the individual tasks and contents of the work. However, by employing a somewhat contradictory argument, we could also state that the increasing disappearance of traditional hierarchies and control mechanisms in office work are an indicator of the actual existence of personal responsibility and decision making, as well as of a link between work and private life, which creates a new potential dimension. By focusing on a critical discussion of the inhumanity of internalising work and its conditions and of a perceived self-determination and combination of private and office life, we might overlook the inherent contradictions of work. In other words, we must also acknowledge that the privatisation of desktops is real and thus also indicates that a certain degree of freedom has indeed been achieved. External control in the historical sense does not exist any more and, at least in theory, people now have a certain degree of freedom to express themselves, to design their own workplace and to do so in a critical, or at least appropriate, way. These forms of privatisation might also express a desire, on the one hand, to set oneself apart from the employer and, on the other hand, to establish contact with colleagues and to do so as an individual and not as part of a machine. Hence the actual issue here is to identify and instantiate the potential of these new developments instead of falling for an ideological concept that mistakes privatisation (individualisation) for democratisation. We might, for example, acknowledge that in today’s offices the existence of computers and telephones has resulted in senior management writing their papers and correspondence themselves, in other words,   ­ 259

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that the traditional hierarchical allocation of tasks no longer exists. Furthermore, other particular symbols of hierarchical work organisation have mostly disappeared: the desks and offices of senior management are no longer distinctly different from those of the workers and can also display a surprisingly high degree of privatisation. On the other hand, however, different hierarchical levels still exist and in spite of their individual desktop designs, office workers still have to do, to a greater or lesser extent, what is expected of them. Hence, there is an odd contradiction between what appears to be a newfound freedom and between a mere ideological concept of freedom. This ambivalence becomes perfectly obvious in the analyses of the desks shown in this book. They are a document to the current expression of the meaning of office work.

Taipei, Bank, Male

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Process The first step in the project was to gather subjects for observation. This was done through emails and phone calls to arrange visits to various offices. During visits to the offices, the desks and larger surrounding areas were photographed. I asked people about any private items that caught my attention and about basic information such as age, job description and which object they would miss most or least. Finally, I sketched the layout and made notations of where the entrance was located and of the source(s) of natural light. These sketches were used to describe how you would enter the room where the desk was located, how a visitor would arrive at the desk (from front or back) and to record the orientation relative to daylight and the position of other desks nearby or the position of the visitor’s chair. My observation through photography and sketching was done as quickly as possible to avoid wasting people’s time. Difficulties My initial approach was to examine the desks of one female and one male employee at each office in order to directly compare gender similarities and differences. However, this did not work in practice. Although I had made appointments, it was not always possible to get access to both. There were only a few sites where it was actually possible to document both female and male desks. Many people were reluctant to participate unless there was a prior personal connection through Parsons or through the director of my program. It was very difficult to get a foot in the door, especially at banks, insurance companies and call centres. After many attempts, I found that it was impossible to get access to banks in New York City due to security restrictions. Call centres were also difficult to contact and unresponsive to email and phone calls. My experience was that when calling a call centre I didn’t get through to the people in charge and my emails to a ‘contact us’ email address ended up in the junk mail.

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Also, it was very difficult to get high profile people to participate (some even declined) as they needed approval from Public Relations departments and asked for property release documents, light setting and professional photography. Many of these people also wanted to see the documentation of the results and inquired about who else was participating. Due to the difficulty of finding willing participants, I decided to work with people I already had access to. With the contacts found through my director, I had a few more people to choose from and with that luxury, I eventually selected the most interesting desks at the places I visited. To me, the most interesting desks were the ones with a lot of personal objects – those were the ones that stood out and were not necessarily representative of how offices usually look like in New York. But I also realise that a survey of only twenty desks, may not be representative of the majority of desks in New York. As a result of my visits, I found that the desk is only a part of office personalisation, which also includes nearby walls, wall-units, cabinets, shelves etc. Therefore my documentation contains more than the desk itself. Due to the busy schedule of participants, documentation was done very quickly in order not to delay people during their working hours. During documentation, desk owners had to leave their desks and there was definitely a great deal of time pressure during the interview/documentation. This time restriction obviously influenced the research. New York is known to be very busy and many people do not want to take time out for something that is not work-related. Assistants were usually more willing to share some time. Generally, I found that people with a lot of personal things in their office were much more open and more willing to take the time to tell me stories about their personal objects on display. It was much easier to connect with these people. At times, I felt uncomfortable doing the documentation, as if I was an imposing stranger. The documentation seemed to violate privacy in many cases. But private things on people’s desks were the catalyst for me to get to know the people and to interact with them in a more natural way in this unnatural situation. The most difficult questions to ask people were those about people’s age and if I could take photos of their personal drawer. When people were willing to talk about their items, it was a great way to connect with and to get to know them, and it also felt easier to ask about age and if I could see their drawer. 262

The New York Experience

It is difficult to determine if people’s personal items reflect their true character. But I definitely felt that I was able to ‘see’ the participants’ character in the items they had chosen to display. When asked which personal objects on the desks would be missed the least or the most, work-related objects were most often chosen. I found it difficult to identify gender-related tendencies in the personalisation of the desk. I had stereotypical presumptions about genderrelated tendencies, assuming that men would have nothing personal on their desks whereas female desk owners would have pictures of their loved ones, kids’ drawings and hand cream containers on their desk. But this was not the case. The project also made me ask: What is considered a female object? Why would we assume that children’s artwork was predominantly to be found on the desks of female employees? Or is a container of hand sanitizer more of an indicator of a female-owned desk than a male-owned one? Is it more feminine to have a decorated workspace than not? My comments on the personalisation of the desks and of the related gender issues are based on my assumptions and free interpretation of the objects found at the locations I visited and on how I perceived the atmosphere there. They do not necessarily reflect a general truth.

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Bank & Insurance, Female (40) Financial Advising, Financial Advisor (10+ Y), US, orig. India Most missed object: the chair (black office chair) Least missed object: tissue box

Personal drawer contained napkins and gloves 264

Least missed object

The New York Experience

A 100% functional office, seems very uniform. The furniture appears old-fashioned and very worn. The appearance of this office seems unimportant, and as if not many customers visit. The appearance of the company overall does not seem to be a priority. No personal stuff at the desk –æ only lunch, a banana and a tissue box. Personal drawer: gloves (the documentation was done during the heat of August) and napkins. Due to the lack of personal stuff, it is difficult to comment on the gendered personalisation of the desk. The tissue box does have a feminine appearance, but the overall environment and the choice of furniture create a very masculine feeling.

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Design, Female (41) Publishing, Co-Owner (19 Y), USA Most missed object: “I do not keep personal things on my desk” Least missed object: phone ( my guess is the mobile)

Gym clothes rolled up neatly

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The New York Experience Note: Questions answered over email – only the desk owner’s assistant was present at the visit.

The only personal items on the desk are a mobile phone, an apple and a glass of water. Next to the table is a little red stool used as storage for books. All tables, cabinets and walls are white and the chairs and few other elements are red. The office appears fresh, clean, orderly, creative due to the chosen colours and furniture. Overall, everything appears very presentable and professional. There seems to be a very strong attention to details, quality and taste (note: lemon in the water). The Phone and computer are surprising. I would imagine a person sitting here would have an iPhone, not a Motorola and an old MAC laptop. But maybe the desk owner is not interested in technology? And maybe this is why this person would not miss the phone if it were gone? Private drawer: clothes all black/greyish colours rolled up in a very neat fashion. Again, very orderly and a great attention to detail. Based on the appearance of the desk alone, I would not be able to guess the gender of the desk owner. The red colour (present throughout the office and not just this desk) and the lemon in the water glass might tend to point more in the female direction.

Lemon in water glass   ­ 267

The New York Experience

Administration, Male (62) University, Dean (1 Y), USA Most missed object: new screen Least missed object: vertical file cabinet

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The New York Experience

The desk is a very small part of this office. The personal items filled the room. The whole room is very personal and feels very warm, inviting and interesting. Lots of books, lots of everything. It seems that both the personal and professional side of the desk owner are fully integrated into this room. It could very well been a home office if it had not been for the giant white board on the wall. The choice of round tables as desk seemed unusual at first. But I believe it added to the ‘home-like’ and inviting atmosphere. The personal drawer was filled with tracing paper rolls, tools and a graduation picture was lying on top. Lots of artwork displayed on the walls, pictures of family displayed side by side with objects and tools such as utility knives. Overall, this room had a masculine atmosphere.

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Administration, Female (47) Museum (Architecture & Design), Senior Curator (15 Y), Italian Most missed object: “My computer, of course. My life is in it. Everything else can go – although some objects have a very strong emotional value.” Least missed object: “The post-it notes. They HAVE to go. They’re my to-do list so every day they spend on my desk is a reminder I haven’t gotten rid of a task.” She also adds that the post-its are definitely ‘personal objects’ to her even if some may not believe so.

Brass dusters

Personalized stapler

`The Office Pet´

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The New York Experience Note: The desk owner’s assistant was present at the documentation. Answers received by email after visit. The answers to the most/least missed object are presented as received (as I thought they are really great and very personal)

The whole room has such a strong presence and lots of personality. The desk contained a limited part of the items displayed and present in this office. Therefore, I found it difficult to document only the desk. There were so many interesting items in the whole room; many were gifts to the desk owner. A few items I notice are: The ‘Office Pet’, a gift by the assistant, lying on top of books beside the computer. The office pet, a mechanical “toy”/ art project looking a bit like a giant white caterpillar, when embraced it responds to both heartbeat and stroking. I also notice personalized white gloves in wrapping hanging on the wall and a pair of brass dusters wrapped in meat packaging material. The room is dark for a workspace. Wool wall panels (Teppo Asikainen’s Swell Soundwave) are covering an entire wall (the one with the light switch for the ceiling lighting). The ceiling lights are never used. A desk lamp and natural light are only light sources used in the room. The room appears to be occupied by a female, based on the granola on the desk, the soft woollen wall, the red colour and items such as the little four-leaf clover pinned to the wall.

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Design, Female (40–49)/Male (40–49) Architecture, Founder & Partner (2 Y), USA Most missed object: computer/Coffee Least missed object: calculator/Email

The computer the most missed object . The desk looked very tidy (I am told it was cleaned the day before). Most personal item was a plastic waterbottle.

272

Everything very orderly and all white. A few adapters and cords on the desk indicates that technical equipment is used here. Personal items are an iPhone, notebooks and a pink pencil.

The New York Experience

Note: The firm partners are partners at work and in their private life.

It’s an all white office, very minimal in a warehouse type building, and a very busy office – there was very limited time for questions during my visit. Everything is very simple, no personal items at all on the desk! Books, pens, and printer on the shelf-unit mounted on the wall were shared by the two partners. Strong sense of order and detail (though she pointed out that she felt the office was not looking very neat, due to the disorderly cords and that the outlet box behind partner’s table were not lying flat and in place.) The atmosphere is very gender neutral and no items on the desk really indicate that the desk owner is female. Based on the pictures alone, I would probably have guessed that the two partners were male.

Uneven placed extension cord

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Administration, Female (40) Communication, Principal (16 Y), USA Most missed object: artwork by her kids Least missed object: any phone

Children’s artwork - most missed object

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A bright, warm, and colourful office. The whole room is personalized with beautiful children’s drawings. There is a large skylight that provides the room with lots of natural light. The desk owner tells me: “My kids drawings are inspirational to me”. On the pin-up board at the desk there are pictures of family, postcards with artwork and graphic patterns. The desk owner moves and changes the stuff in her office if she starts not to see it anymore: “Then it’s time to clean up.” She reorganizes every month. In the private drawer there are some snacks for the long workday. The male bike parked in the office belongs to the desk owner, but she does not ride it to work very often. The office space seemed very warm and inviting. The room has a definite female atmosphere due to the warm colours in the children’s drawings. Personal drawer

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Administration, Male (43) University, Dean (2 Y), USA Most missed object: 3 photographs of wife, daughter & mother Least missed object: the In-tray

The private drawer holds original boxes for James Bond collectables and drawings made by daughter.

276

HM The Queen

The New York Experience

This office oozes personality, mostly from the personal stuff surrounding the desk. The only personal stuff on the desk is a small James Bond figure and a gold-coloured Aston Martin. I am told that the desk was not cleaned before my visit and that is it always like this! On the desk lies a Chinese Vogue (with an interesting photo shoot of the offices of famous designers – an interesting parallel to this project). In the room there are lots of things and stories to match. The desk itself is a Parsons desk designed in the 1920´s. The art displayed is from former students of the University. The art changes occasionally, as there is a collection to choose from at the school. There are several antiques including red uniforms from the British army (red is also considered a lucky colour in China) and lots of British curiosities and toys (most of these given as gifts) are displayed. On the window sill is a figure of the Queen waving (solar cell operated), antique ”Bobby” dolls from China and toy cars including a London cab, a Rolls Royce and a London bus. The toy cars are often moved around and positioned according to each other as they each have adapted “roles”. In the personal drawer there are original cases to the James Bond memorabilia and drawings made by the desk owner´s daughter. The room seems very orderly decorated but not feminine. Although the colour red is dominant in the room the atmosphere is masculine. This might be due to the uniforms, which add to the masculine feeling.

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Administration, Male (52) High End Tool Company Web Catalo, Purchase Manager (20 Y), British Most missed object: pictures of Family Least missed object: formica tabletop

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I notice a lot of British artifacts, including a picture of the Queen, a “Keep calm and carry on” postcard, notebooks covered in Paul Smith iconic stripes, and a London guidebook. Next to the office chair is an antique desk chair. This chair was used in a former office, where the tables were higher. Now it is too high for the desk, but was kept because the desk owner really likes it. The pillow on the chair was made by the desk owner’s wife from the family tartan fabric. A few Tintin figurines are placed in toy race cars in the window sill. The cars are kit cars that the firm used to sell, and the desk owner is a big fan of Tintin. The Paul Smith striped covered notebooks are old scrapbooks. These include notes and contact information I am told some of it is now outdated. Old photos of the desk owner’s kids are stuck inside the scrapbooks along with old business cards. Most of the items on the desk are samples or products for testing, such as the brass clocks. The desk is very personalized and interesting. I chose this particular desk out of the other choices at this office because of the quantity of stuff displayed and the cute old chair. I felt the stuff reflected a mix of sentimentality, national feelings and humour. I certainly felt the stuff displayed the owner’s persona and made the place feel warm, inviting, and even a bit homey. The office is very decorated, which might seem feminine and yet the way the photos are put up – very linear and ordered – is masculine to me. Also the chair with the tartan pillow, the Tintin figurines and the racecars are masculine objects.

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Administration, Male (40) High End Tool Company Web Catalog, Vice President (17 Y), USA Most missed object: computer, the view Least missed object: computer, mail pile

The much loved view 280

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This office was kept very orderly and was not very personalised. A blue desk dominates the office space. The blue colour matches the painted furniture and shelves in the front office. A picture/painting of a deceased dog made by the desk owner’s wife and a few children’s drawings are hung on the wall behind the desk. A discreet photograph of the desk owner’s wife is placed against the window sill. Bird stickers are mounted to the glass panel towards the office. When seen from the front office it looks like there are three birds flying away in flock. New products are lying around, including a new children’s tool set in a blue jean holder and books with red graphic fronts. The private drawer is a little messy, and when asked the desk owner does seem a bit uncomfortable showing this to me. It holds random stuff and vitamins. The fantastic view and especially the daylight are highly appreciated by the desk owner. The office is masculine to me, perhaps because of the tool sets lying on the desk and the light blue colour.

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Design, Male (31) Advertising, Director of Creative Development (5 Y), Danish Most missed object: robot, FCK ( Danish soccer team) mouse pad Least missed object: Adobe prize, rocket

Japanese doll w/ secret message

282

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This desk is part of a long group of multiple tables in a very big ”one room office.” The appearance of the office is very clean and modern. The furniture and walls are white. The desk is very orderly. Personal items on the desk are displayed behind dual computer screens and only visible to the colleagues, not the desk owner himself. A black lunch box looking case is used as a shrine for notebooks. This was originally a case for a phone that was being tested (gift from Adobe). The Adobe pillows in the chair next to the desk were bought by the desk owner in an attempt to add more colour to the office. The big robot (most missed object) used to belong to the former Creative Director. The robot is still holding the former colleague’s business card in its hand. It can move and is the office attraction when kids are visiting. The blue Cookie Monster is a gift from a colleague. It is a funny reference to the desk owner’s nickname, Cookie. The Japanese doll is a gift from the desk owner’s girlfriend. It has an unread message inside (it has been sitting on the desk for months). A Magritte inspired black sticker on the back of the MAC is also used as the desk owner’s Facebook profile picture. The Adobe prize is the least missed object. The double computer screens and the robot add to a masculine atmosphere. The office space and the interior is more gender neutral.

Chair with Adobe pillows   ­ 283

The New York Experience

Administration, Female (27) Engineering, In-House Lawyer (2 Y), Irish Most missed object: Nothing Least missed object:Cables lying on the desk

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The New York Experience

The office is very big. Everything seems very corporate but nice. The office seems clean and newly refurbished. Everything is very presentable, yet a little anonymous. The space is not very colorful and cubicle walls are grey. Most workplaces in this office were semi-open cubicles. There are no personal items on this desk apart from two small figurines and a box of tissues. The little figurines were a gift from the desk owner’s boss’s kid. In the personal drawer there is a small bag of chips. All the pens are gathered in a paper cup. The most personalized thing on the desk is the computer desktop. Everything else is very professional looking, and perhaps a bit impersonal and gender neutral.

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Design, Female (I was told to google the desk owner’s age: 38-52) Fashion, Founder (20 Y), USA Most missed object: rose lotion Least missed object: pile of clutter

One of many creams and perfumes 286

Inspirational board

The New York Experience Note:Only the desk owner’s assistant was present during the visit. Most/least missed object question was received by email after the visit.

There is a lot of stuff in this office and on the desk. Many bright colours and textures everywhere. The newest collection was present in the room placed on two transportable racks, which I was not allowed to photograph as the visit was just a few days prior to New York Fashion Week. Numerous inspirational boards were displayed in the office. One of the boards is showing pictures, and memories of the desk owner’s mother who had just passed away. I was told that her mother was a big inspiration of style to the desk owner. On these boards there are also fabric samples in different texture and colour. Textures and patterns are everywhere in the room. There are a lot of fabric samples on the desk and on the shelves against the windows. I see a huge collection of very feminine objects on the desk such as jewellery, perfumes and creams. I was told that the desk owner loves accessories such as bracelets, necklaces and earrings and she finds a lot of them on flea markets. She does not wear rings as much. The desk looks like it was just left by the desk owner, but somehow I very much feel her presence in the atmosphere of the room. The private items seem to include the BlackBerry, glasses, coffee cup and a left over fruit plate for breakfast. I am told that the jewellery and perfumes are very valued and personal items too. Every detail in the room is very feminine.

Breakfast

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Bank & Insurance Company, Male (56) Mortgage company, Owner (20 Y), USA “No personal stuff, it’s all business”

This desk seems to be US standard. Nothing fancy, traditional furniture, a bit old-fashioned, and not really designed to be presentable – the priority is function. The room is narrow with very limited space. My experience visiting the office is what I expected at more places here in busy New York – the desk owner did not get away from his desk while I was documenting it, he was too busy. He does not have any personal stuff at all on his desk. When asked about his most or least missed personal objects, he said “It’s all business”. The office space seems impersonal, masculine and uninviting. 288

Cologne, Bank, Male

Curitíba, Call Centre, Female

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Milan, Bank, Male

290

Curitíba, Call Centre, Male

Hong Kong, Design, Female

Cologne, Bank, Male

  ­ 291

Auckland, Call Centre, Male

Pune, Design, Female

Fukuoka, Administtration, Male

292

Milan, Banks, Male

Curitíba, Design, Female

  ­ 293

Cairo, Administration, Female

Fukuoka, Design, Female

294

Cairo, Design, Male

Pune, Design, Male

  ­ 295

Taipei, Design, Male

Taipei, Administration, Male

Taipei, Desig, Female

296

Taipei, Design, Male

Fukuoka, Design, Male

Pune, Design, Male

Taipei, Administration, Male

Taipei, Design, Male

  ­ 297

New York, Admin, Male

298

New York, Design, Male

  ­ 299

Pune, Design, Female

Taipeh, Design, Female

Milan, Design, Male

300

Potential Practical Design Implications from this Study Theory and Practice Need Each Other The results of studies such as this one can only rarely be translated into future designs on a direct, one-to-one basis. However, they form an important basis in that they highlight some key aspects to be considered in future design strategies and provide a wealth of inspiration for innovative design and marketing ideas that can, and should, be implemented as intelligent new forms of design, in this case for desks and office interiors. Regardless of how thorough and well-conducted a research study may be, it cannot provide any ‘instruction manuals’ because there is always a gap between thinking and acting that, although it has to be taken into account in both theory and practice, has not yet been closed, despite the many attempts at solving this inherent reciprocal relationship and contradiction. Theory and practice need each other: research usually tries to understand and explain ways of acting but, equally, self-reflection is an indispensable necessity for practice, since the latter is always also configured by theoretical worlds, but all too often simultaneously blinded by ideology, by mere claims and by assumptions that are grounded in personal opinion. In this respect, and not just for reasons of a general, and certainly necessary, understanding of what this type of research can deliver in terms of insight, this study is relevant to practice. In the following, we will introduce some aspects of this practice-related relevance: Acknowledge the Importance of Use Let us begin with an urgent appeal to all those who are involved in the design of desks and desktops: do not underestimate the importance of the real use of objects (and also of services and information), because design and its potential is only instantiated in use. (This, by the way, constitutes the inherent social dimension of design as opposed to art, for example.) A design that ignores the ways in which it is used, and the related changes that are applied to it and to the original intention behind it, must inevitably be authoritarian and disregard the interests,   ­ 301

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desires and needs of the users. Such a design does not even understand the respective implications of different markets. Throughout the last few years, or even decades, design communication has changed significantly (not least due to new forms of participative media), in that the relationship between production and use/consumption is no longer a monologue, but a dialogue: people articulate demands or, if these are left unnoticed, they simply adapt products according to their individual purposes and needs. Users intervene and want to be taken seriously as participants in the overall process of design and economy. This, in turn, means that we have to look more closely and observe what, in this case, happens on desks because this kind of observation and its analytical evaluation create an initial understanding of what the people who work in offices actually want, or expect, from design. Furthermore, it would be utterly incomprehensible, and could only be described as hypertrophic, if design, marketing and communication professionals were not interested in gaining insight into, and developing an understanding of, how their products are used. Ignoring this opportunity, would not only mean disregarding users and their ways of life but also cutting oneself off from this everyday source of ideas. Another aspect is worth noting in this context: based on research into the use of products and on critical reflection on the relevance of this type of research for design, it has been suggested that at least those companies that produce consumer goods should understand themselves as part of a service industry: the products manufactured by these companies should be seen and evaluated as parts of, or as tools within, the frame of a specific service offering. This makes a lot of sense if we consider that the real offering of the automotive industry or those enterprises that produce motorbikes and bicycles is ‘mobility’, a competitive form of mobility in comparison to public transport. Producers of toothbrushes and soap do not just sell these products but offer hygiene, attractiveness and the promise of ‘wellbeing’. Mobile phone manufacturers provide communication and information, navigation systems, games, music etc. And the true merchandise of office furniture manufacturers is a better work atmosphere, communication and, occasionally, also conviviality to make people feel ‘at home’ at work. If companies realised this (and some companies in the office furniture sector understood this years ago, for example Vitra and Wilkahn), then they have to drastically change the presentation of their products (as accessories within a work process), as well as their design, in order to improve the user experience and user acceptance of 302

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their products. This however, can only be achieved if prior research, i.e. research into the real use of products, has been carried out and the respective results have been taken into account. This type of research provides both a basis and future perspectives for intelligent and truly useful service design. Identify Differences Additionally, this study demonstrates what is happening on the desks of this world, on five continents and in four representative business sectors, and how desks are organised by the people who work at and with them and including what these personal desk arrangements might mean for the category of work. As we have seen, this kind of design research clearly shows one thing: there are quite substantial cultural, business-specific and gender-related differences. And these differences must, first of all, be recognised and taken seriously because they provide valuable insight into the various concepts of office work in existence and their respective implications. They also tell us something about different concepts of time and communication and of the relationship between privacy and publicity that exist in the world. If we now relate this insight to the different cultural-, gender- and businessspecific activities and forms of organisation along the detailed aspects explained in this study, we can frame a number of questions relevant to design and to its communication: Is it still enough, if designers and companies work on the assumption that those different uses and needs can be met with a single product? Would we not have to consider these differences by offering different products or, at least, different designs of a product? And, if we aim for variability, will it be possible to design it in a way that will satisfy users? This throws up the question as to whether a certain degree of multifunctionality can, indeed, be achieved. Some designers and companies are already trying to offer multi-functionality: in other words, allowing people to use or ignore certain aspects and functions of a product, depending on their respective needs. However, in practice, this often means that usage options are being restricted or that users have to invest a great deal of effort to adapt the product according to their particular needs. If, however, these options are clearly represented in the sense of the above-mentioned dialogical design-, production- and usage concept, this strategy could work, and users could be enabled to anticipate and self-confidently accept these new options. But, as emphasised before, this would have to be clearly communicated and   ­ 303

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would, with respect to usability, imply the provision of explanations, or rather intervention options for users. Multi-functionality can, however, also result in unmanageable complexities. The promise of great flexibility necessarily entails rigid guidelines concerning the correct use of a product for different purposes, which usually defeats the idea of true freedom in use and turns this concept on its head: the combination of several functions, the all-in-one principle, eventually renders objects inflexible. For example, furniture conceived as space-saving and multi-functional is, more often than not, used in only one function, because people easily tire of constantly having to re-arrange their furniture, with the result that these multi-functional items often take up more space than the slimmer items conceived for one purpose only. At this point, we would like to remind the reader that, although this study was mainly focused on the objects on desktops, it also reflects the larger reality of office work in different cultures and business sectors at a deeper level. Hence, it seems more than fair to extrapolate from this study general requirements for office design and even for the conditions of work, communication and life in general. Accept Manifold Differences Let us assume, and we can do this for very good reasons, that the option of multi-functionality discussed above is somewhat unfeasible in the context of office work, since it would entail too much effort and circumstance in everyday working life. We are then left with two other design options: on the one hand, designers and producers would have to go down the route of specifically considering the different conditions of cultural-, gender- and business-specific differences, which means designing products that take these differences into account, so that these products will precisely fulfill the different purposes and user needs. This would, admittedly, need a great deal of attention to detail in the design, specification and communication of different varieties of the same product. But is it not time that we should suggest a different desk for offices in Hong Kong than for those in Milan or Taipei and also different ones for banks than for design studios or for administrative offices, while simultaneously bearing in mind that we also design for different genders? With modern production processes, this should not pose a problem, especially not when considering the fact that office furniture is nowadays produced on demand (which is also true for the automotive and other industries), meaning this should 304

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neither cause any serious issues in terms of logistics. Let us briefly reconsider at this point an example from a different product area: for decades, European refrigerator manufacturers had ignored the different cultural needs for keeping foodstuffs cool. In countries with very hot climates, for example, the focus is very much on cooling large bottles of water that would not normally fit into a European fridge. So the people in those countries had to completely rearrange the interior of their fridges to adapt them to their needs. The European producers did not seem to care about this until a Korean manufacturer came along who took these differences seriously and offered different fridge designs for different countries, with great success. This example could serve as an incentive to eventually understand that, below highflying ideas of globalisation, there are real worlds in which the daily use of products is anything but global. Cultural specificities become evident in use, and designers and companies have to focus on this and develop ways of integrating these aspects into their strategies. Another option is certainly feasible, too: one of the most exciting and essential issues in the context of considering different forms of use is the question of a design that would embody a new dimension of inherent openness. A concept of openness that would go beyond the multi-functionality described above, since the latter is still bound to a predefined frame within which particular functions can, and must, be selected. If we try to think beyond this idea, then we open up a totally different spectrum for the future of design: would it be possible and useful to design the usage options of products in an open, ‘elastic’ way? A case in point: Youn-kyung Lim, professor at the Korean KAIST university recently supervised an excellent project at Köln International School of Design that focused on the development of prototypes whose function and use were not defined or fixed. Instead, when presenting the project results, visitors were asked to think of potential forms of use for each prototype and to try them out. The principle of ‘we have a problem and we’re looking for a solution’ was, here, intelligently turned on its head: ‘we have a solution and we’re looking for the problem it could solve.’ It is exactly this openness of design that would probably be much better at responding to the huge variety of human interests, desires and needs and also at meeting the different objective, work-related requirements. This type of approach would also afford an enormous design effort in both theoretical and practical aspects, because people   ­ 305

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(users) could then decide for themselves what products they would like to use how, when and for which purposes. Only then would people’s skills, expertise and related interests, and also their well-founded and, occasionally, also innovative needs, truly be acknowledged. The interaction between user and use and between use, design and production would then be adequately translated and implemented in each product, service and information design. Identify Subliminal Needs All the objects on desks that, according to convention, are not directly necessary for the completion of work-related tasks, should be carefully analysed and evaluated according to design and business perspectives. The first step is to simply accept that the many items to be found on desks seem to be necessary for people’s wellbeing and are, therefore, a precondition for productive work and communication, even if we may often be amazed at, and critical about, the multitude and the type of these things that we may perceive as ‘kitsch’. But who actually has the right to determine which objects are kitsch and which are not? Who decides whether these objects are beneficial to work or not, and how many and what kind of items people are allowed to have? The task of design and designers is to understand what lies at the heart of this phenomenon, to unearth the deeper issues articulated through, and the meaning of, these allegedly kitschy objects. Simply ignoring or rejecting this ‘desk life’ would be shortsighted and merely represent a hypocritical attitude that deems itself superior to the reality of social life. One of the tasks of design research and of products created on the basis of such research is to interpret the underlying issues hidden in these articulations. We have to identify the subliminal desires, contradictions etc. and understand their intrinsic quality that can then be represented and developed through design. If people feel they have to arrange their desk in a certain way that makes them feel at home, that serves as a representative stage or as a means of communication, then we simply have to accept this and to unveil the inherent desires and qualities. We have to develop ideas as to how we can integrate and implement these aspects into a new quality of design. It is certainly not easy to take a bird’s eye perspective, as it were, onto the individually furnished desks and, from this position, start to think about how we can develop new and possibly more intelligent options for organising and accessorising desks in order to facilitate appropriation by the people who work at and with them: a considerable challenge for design. 306

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Create Elastic Designs The final and fundamental question is if office workers will continue to individualise and privatise their desks in the future and, if so, for what reasons. If we look at how younger people tend to use their, usually digital, workstations, we will see that tables do not necessarily feature in this picture. Instead, the laptop lives up to its name by sitting on the users’ laps who, themselves, sit, more or less relaxed, in an armchair, for example. This trend will certainly become stronger, given that smart phones are continuously offering more functionality and that the kind of work traditionally called ‘office work’ is becoming increasingly more mobile. This is certainly a realistic scenario because we have the required technologies. Yet one question remains: what and where will be the ‘base station’ for those mobile workers? People will still need a place that connects them to work and colleagues and makes them feel at home. It is, therefore, likely – and this study underlines this aspect very clearly – that now and in the near future at least, people will still need such a place and will still tend to make it their own, identifiable place that makes them feel good and ‘at home’, no matter how alienated the nature of their work may be. Simply questioning the whole idea of personal identity in the workplace seems to ignore the social reality. At least, for the foreseeable future, people will continue to subjectively appropriate their workplace and for this they need desks, even if they only serve to provide a stage set for one’s personality. Although we can currently observe a great deal of euphoria in ‘invoking’ new work contexts and places – ‘co-working’ being the magic word here – it is by no means certain whether this will really be the workplace of the future. The concept is not even new, but has been sold in different and less enthusiastic language. Flexible or mobile offices have existed for quite some time in the form of more-rigid, objective-functional temporary solutions with ‘office nomads’ and ‘office outsourcing’ being the related buzzwords. In the original English translation of a German PR article from the year 2000, it reads: “In the office of the future you won’t have a desk of your own. Depending on the particular job you look for a quiet room, a stand-up working station. (...) With a friendly ‘Good morning’ Dr. Wilhelm Bauer greets his colleagues in the modern bright office. Taking his palmtop from his pocket he quickly checks what appointments he has today. Then he grabs his caddy – a 1.20-meter-high trolley containing his work papers – attaches his cordless telephone to the waistband of his trousers and sets out to look for a free workplace. (...) The just   ­ 307

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7.5-square-meter office has everything he needs for a short stint of concentrated work: a table, a chair and a PC.” (Fraunhofer, p. 18) Let us compare this tale of office work to a more recent description (bearing in mind that the first co-working space was already established in 2005 in San Francisco): “Coworking is a business services provision model that involves individuals working independently or collaboratively in shared office space. The typical user of a coworking facility is selfemployed, a telecommuter, or a freelance worker, although small businesses sometimes use the spaces to provide employees with equipment, space and services that they could not otherwise afford.“ (whatis.com) Regardless of how co-working will develop in the future: it is already obvious in this quote that this type of work organisation is mainly suitable for those who are self-employed or work in the creative industries and is, hence, advertised accordingly. We will certainly have to observe these relatively new (and still quite fewand-far-between) initiatives very carefully. Yet, so far, they only represent marginal re-formulations of office work dressed up in new rhetoric. This study, on the other hand, is located on the down-to-earth side of any high-flying, optimistic fantasies about future office and desk design. It presents a starting point and will, hopefully, encourage and inspire others to further explore the context of office work and, most importantly, the concept of ‘elastic design’.

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Authors

Nadine Adrian KISD student; internship at Arte Facts, Paris and at Claudia Cohens Studio, Easthampton, USA; worked as a freelancer in the areas of communication design, concept design and product design. Jan Blum KISD student, internship at the Creation Center of Deutsche Telekom Laboratories; worked as a freelancer in the areas of design research, service design, design concepts and communication design (Minds and Makers, Zum goldenen Hirschen, Mimono Design). Bastian Boss KISD student, focus on design research & theory, audio-visual communication and photography; internship at the Future Research and Trend Transfer department at Volkswagen, fellowship holder of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation). Uta Brandes Ph.D., Professor of Gender & Design and Design Research at KISD; co-founder of be design (design consultancy); author; co-founder of the St. Moritz Design Summit; guest lecturer at universities in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan etc. Andreas Breilmann KISD student, worked with Annegret Friehe, Patricia Hepe and Grit Seymour in fashion design; created and implemented graphic designs for DEELUXE and Vodafone; exhibited his work at the ‘Light&Building 2010’ trade fair, Frankfurt, Germany. Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul Ph.D., Associate Professor in Spatial Design at AUT University, Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Her research explores the pitfalls and potentials of cross-cultural activities and collaborations in the areas of architecture and design in Aotearoa, the Pacific, and Europe. Michael Erlhoff Ph.D., Founding Dean and Professor of Design Theory and Design History at KISD; author, curator, design consultant, Founding President of the Raymond Loewy Foundation, visiting professor in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, USA. Clara Sofia Fernández KISD student, works at Reisecafé, Cologne. Lived in Uruguay for one year where she worked at the Fundación de Arte Contemporáneo (FAC). Internships at a design studio, a law firm, a bicycle shop and a music festival. David Gödel KISD student; focus on audio-visual media art, design research and theory; 1999-2006 graphic design, camera work, video editing, concept at Biz.Quit Mediendesign; works as a freelancer for clients in the areas of fashion, art and music; co-founder of the collective Evil:\Try and an underground music label. Sabrina Halbe KISD student, focus on design research, usability & audio-visual media; works as a freelancer for the Goethe Institute, VIVA Plus Television, Swisscom and others; recipient of the UNIBRAL scholarship (DAAD, Brasil, 2008); award winner of the ‘animago animation award’ (logo animation, 2006) and ‘Adbusters – psycho design award’ (2008). 318

Authors

Vera Hausmann KISD student, focus on communication design and audio-visual media; editorial part time job at RTL television, one year studies at Zurich University of the Arts, department of CAST (future-oriented audio-visual media studies); working experience as an assistant director for tv and radio features. Anne-Mette Krolmark candidate degree in architecture (Royal Academy of Fine Art, Copenhagen), recently graduated in interior design (Parsons The New School for Design, New York), primarily works in retail design; won the design prize for the design of Alvar Aalto’s boat house; has received several grants and scholarships. Katharina Leistenschneider KISD graduate student, focus on design research, design concepts, exhibition design and social design, interested in human behaviour and interaction with artefacts, freelancer for TÜV Rheinland (interior design), SK-Stiftung Kultur (product design). Mara E. Martínez Morant Ph.D., lecturer for Cultural and Social Anthropology and Cultural Area Coordinator at BAU, Graduate School of Design, affiliated to the University of Vic, Barcelona, Spain. Carla Otto KISD student, focus on design research and trend & future research; international experience as an exchange student; works for the consulting department of Stylepark, Frankfurt, Germany. Anne Kathrin Rochna KISD student, worked as an interior designer and visual merchandiser at IKEA Wiesbaden and Frankfurt (Retail Preparation); works as a freelancer in interior and web design. Elena Rovati product service system designer; graduated from Politecnico di Milano, Italy; in 2011. Focus in research for design, systems visualisation, conceptualisation; UX designer for Nokia, Department of Strategy, Berlin. King-chung Siu Assistant Professor and Programme Leader of the BA (Hons) Art and Design in Education Programme at the School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; art & design commentator, independent curator who co-founded the curatorial collective, Community Museum Project, where he applies museum methodology to the visualisation of undocumented vernacular cultures and community practices. Tanja Steinebach KISD student, worked as an interior designer and visual merchandiser at IKEA Expansion (Retail Preparation) and for ‘sedes research’ (research centre for service design); also works as a freelancer in interior and web design; internship at BMW, marketing – exhibitions – trade fairs. Nadine Wessler Recently graduated from KISD (Dipl. Des.); work areas include design concepts, audio-visual communication, service design and design research. Internship in the area of Creation and Visual Communication (PPD GmbH – „sniff“Tissues); interested in the field of emotional aspects in social interaction. Daniel Zander KISD student, focus on economic and cultural aspects of design, design research & theory and trans-disciplinary design; exchange student at Shih-Chien University, department of Industrial Design (Taipei, Taiwan); keen learner of Mandarin Chinese; fellowship holder of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation).    ­ 319