The Future of Ergonomic Work & Improving Health

What if you could get work done without being chained to your desk?

This ambitious question consumed us as we walked along New York City's East River six years ago, discussing the concept that would turn into Kahana.

The scary truth is that the more time you spend at a desk, whether seated or standing, your cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, metabolic, and psychological health are all deteriorating - and at an alarming pace. Just a year into our corporate jobs, we were already feeling the toll of the more sedentary lifestyle that our jobs imposed.

But we also recognized that empowering humans to perform any significant amount of job-related tasks away from a desk would require a herculean effort and major advancements in AR & VR, voice, gesture, and AI technologies. In short, it would require the ability to access and use the necessary materials we need to be productive away from a computer and monitors, just as easily and as quickly.

While we're not quite there yet, massive strides have been made across each of these areas over the last six years, bringing this vision from a science fiction pipe dream to a tangible goal that is within reach.

In this paper, we will examine the progress that has been made, the obstacles that still remain, the players that are best positioned to overcome these obstacles, and what the next few years will bring.

But first, we will dive deeper into the sharp rise of physical and mental ailments that have come with the societal shift to spending more and more time in front of a desk.