How Much Space Does an Academic Need?

The moral of Leo Tolstoy’s 19th-century classic, "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" is that no matter the wealth amassed or the breadth of one’s earthly conquests, in the end, a person needs only six feet of land—just enough to fit his or her grave.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and here we are, transitioning into our dazzling new Engineering building at our university. This architectural marvel is undeniably state-of-the-art, equipped with all the modern technologies necessary to educate tomorrow’s digital natives. However, it comes with a small catch: all academics must exchange their traditional four-walled offices for "modernistic" open-plan spaces.

Gone are the glory days of the '70s brick-and-mortar academic offices, adorned with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, almost like a mini library of their own. Now, we're thrust into a monumental shift in work culture as we move from expansive, four-walled offices to an open-plan arrangement where desks connect back-to-back, like in a busy "call center". All you get is a six-foot-long desk, a chair, a minuscule drawer, and a cupboard on wheels under your desk. And oh, yes, we also get a massive, kick-ass monitor and noise-canceling headphones.

Obviously, all academics, myself included, fought tooth and nail to keep our beloved offices, one of the few perks we have in academia. But alas, the battle was lost, and we were handed three boxes—precisely 30 cm x 40 cm x 45 cm each—to pack decades of our work to move into our new abode. Many academics, who had "lived" in their offices for over three decades, faced a Herculean task. Their offices were treasure troves of hardcover books, vintage journal prints, old exam papers, some dating back to the '70s, student theses, drafts of countless rejected papers, and walls adorned with accolades. Shrinking this down to fit in three boxes? A colossal challenge! Yellow recycling bins quickly brimmed as stacks of paper and books were reluctantly discarded. After sorting out what was absolutely essential and donating most of my hard-copy books to eager students, I was surprised to find I only needed two and a half boxes to fit my 15 years worth of possessions. It turns out, I wasn’t the only one; many colleagues also didn’t use all three boxes. Talk about downsizing!

Moving from our secluded caves to an open-plan office was a dramatic shift from the work culture we had grown accustomed to. While most of the corporate world has already embraced such spaces, we academics treasured our privacy and solitude and are slow in the game. Now almost a month into working in this ultramodern office, so far, so good. Everyone has maintained the etiquettes listed to us: no loud bodily functions, no unpleasant odors, and no smelly lunches in the office. Each person has been maintaining a fairly clean desk. To be honest, I don't have many complaints; I am absolutely loving the noise-canceling headphones.

This transition is a cultural revolution, upending every traditional notion we’ve cherished about academic work environments. But just as Tolstoy would have said, in the grand scheme of things, perhaps all academics really need (read: will get) is a six-foot desk to bury our heads in pursuit of knowledge.