Book Review: A Guide to Active Working in the Modern Office: Homo Sedens in the 21st Century

Most human factors and ergonomics professionals start our training in engineering, psychology, or in medical fields. When there is a problem waiting to be solved, we look into our inner self, and project the solutions based on our understanding of the problem. The process could be a little like the famous story of blind men and an elephant: we perceive the problem as how we understand it, but it seldom occurs to us why the problem is what it is now. In the pandemic of modern sedentary lifestyle, and the ill-health effects it burdens on humans, researchers and practitioners focus on engineering, organizational, behavioral, and psychological solutions, hoping to address the issue with a magic pill. But more often than not, we forget how we, modern humans, evolve to sit and stand as we do now.

Although this lightweight book is titled “A Guide,” do not be fooled. The subtitle “Homo Sedens in the 21st Century” gives away the scope: it encompasses the basics of evolution, history, anthropometry, physiology, biomechanics, sociology, and even the psychology of office works, which constitutes a significant portion of modern works. This is where I find this book most interesting. It presents the sedentary problem at a complicated depth to allow us to tinker with more comprehensive solutions. Solutions should address not just a mere sitting or standing problem but should consider the context as well. Amid the rich information, I would wish the quality of the photos and figures in this book to be on par with current reading expectations and publication standards. All photos are black and white, and with insufficient and inconsistent resolutions.

The study of office works has been trendy for decades now. It is a bit disappointing that this book does not contain more up-to-date references. Similarly, new peer-review publications undoubtedly will quickly emerge with new evidence of effective interventions which evolve faster than any such book can include. The value of this book, therefore, is on the background. It provides a crash course of a quick understanding of the various aspects of sedentary work; and it is a quick read. By no means is it a definitive guide to tackle contemporary light-speed office evolutions. As this review was written, the world is experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic. As a means of prevention of the disease, a substantial proportion of the working population now works from home, instead of in an office environment. According to a recent survey, over 48% of workers now work from home as a response (Brynjolfsson et al., 2020). We are yet to witness how the workplace will change as people all over the world modify their work patterns. The future solutions, still, are dependent on the readers themselves to explore.