For a country that has some of the longest working hours in the world, Japan sure knows a thing or two about office furniture. However, you’d be surprised, sleep pods like those found in NASA, Samsung, and Google are far from common for a culture where long working hours are expected. Workers have to take it upon themselves to acquire an Under Desk Bed if they want to take a wink at the office.
But that may change with the introduction of so-called “standing nap boxes”. Tokyo-based office furniture maker Itoki and plywood supplier Koyoju Plywood Corporation from Hokkaido have partnered to design and produce the nap boxes that will allow employees to take a cat nap… standing.
Why a standing sleep pod is beyond me. Perhaps, it is a space constraint? Or there is a more sinister motive? But my question is, can you really sleep standing? I guess you could if you drop dead tired but still, it feels like a mean treatment disguised as welfare. It’s like “oh, you want to take a nap? Sure, you can… but you can only do it standing. We totally have you covered!”
Each nap box is designed to ensure support for the head, back, and knees when sleeping while standing upright. It is hard to imagine how it is going to work out since the nap box appears to be a concept for now and there is no video to demonstrate how it works.
Images: Itoki [JP].
via Luxury Launches.
