Off the wire
Red Cross says deeply concerned about increased fighting in Yemen  • French stock market index up 2.28 pct on Thursday  • (Sports) Latest world badminton rankings for women's doubles  • European officials sign Riga Protocol on foreign terrorist fighters  • Caterpillar optimistic about China market  • Despite recent criticism, U.S. gun lobbying organization still gets majority support: Gallup  • China begins large water diversion project  • Huge purchase tax exempted for small-engine cars  • Chinese businesses in Vietnam hope to benefit from Lancang--Mekong River Mechanism  • Macedonia ready to join NATO: defence minister  
You are here:   Home

Crowded Chinese offices stressing workers: report

Xinhua, October 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Office workers in China are packed into floorspace more than twice as tightly as their U.S. and European counterparts, stressing them out and limiting their productivity, a new report has warned.

The density of desks in offices in the mainland and Hong Kong has roughly doubled over the past decade, meaning that any given office now contains about twice as many workspaces as it did 10 years ago. The average space per desk has shrunk from 100 sq. ft. to 50 to 60 sq. ft. (roughly the size of a table tennis table) each, according to research by CBRE, a commercial real estate services firm.

Density norms in the United States and Europe are around 150 to 200 sq. ft. per desk.

CBRE believes that giving office workers anything less than 60 sq. ft. puts their productivity at risk. Tightly packed desks lead to a lack of privacy, increased noise and distraction by neighbors.

"Benchmarking metrics, such as workplace density... are becoming more critical in helping corporate occupiers make informed workplace and real estate decisions, and manage their real estate as a strategic asset," said CBRE China executive Helmut Weih. Endi