Making Your Office Work for You

The office is a second home, asserts sociologist Yager ( Creative Time Management ), and hence should be designed to provide comfort, esthetic pleasure, stimulation and privacy. The author, who notes that she researched the book through extensive interviews and questionnaires and through ``undercover'' work as an office temp, suggests commonsense steps to gain control of office environments whether one works at home or in those ubiquitous eight-by-eight-foot cubicles. No startling insights emerge: alter work surfaces and shelf heights; reconfigure storage facilities; choose ergonomic furniture. The prose is succinct, enlivened with examples and augmented at key points by line drawings, checklists and summaries. A timely chapter, ``How to Have a Healthier Office,'' reviews methods to improve the quality of indoor air, prevent office crime and reduce the eyestrain and fatigue that accompany computer use. A helpful appendix supplies names of resource centers and service organizations, and there is an extensive bibliography. (Sept.)