Open AccessFrom the Space Station to the Sofa: Scales of Isolation at Work
Author(s) -
AIKEN JO,
RAMER ANGELA
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ethnographic praxis in industry conference proceedings
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1559-8918
pISSN - 1559-890X
DOI - 10.1111/epic.12044
Subject(s) - isolation (microbiology) , operationalization , international space station , work (physics) , pandemic , covid-19 , space (punctuation) , workspace , scale (ratio) , architectural engineering , social isolation , computer science , engineering , aeronautics , psychology , mechanical engineering , geography , physics , medicine , cartography , biology , artificial intelligence , psychotherapist , pathology , robot , quantum mechanics , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , microbiology and biotechnology , operating system
Since March 2020, many employees around the world have been forced to work from home due to the COVID‐19 global pandemic. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have experience in working in isolation and confinement. This paper focuses on a comparison of astronauts on the ISS and Earth‐bound architects and interior designers restricted to working from home (i.e. their sofas) due to the pandemic. Isolation at work emerges as a complex phenomenon characterized by the measured and perceived distances between physical, social, and temporal spaces. By examining the scale‐making activities of NASA and HKS, analogs provide a possible means for studying and predicting the complex dimensions of isolation. The work ecosystem is a useful tool in conceptualizing and operationalizing the employee experience to design the future of work and workspaces.