GetOFFice: an Anti-Work System

While the #WorkFromHome culture has provided the much-needed safety and flexibility for professional workers during the COVID-19 crisis, a blurred Work-Life balance is becoming the new normal. This blurring of boundaries has resulted in an increase in social isolation, burnout, and physical ailments. GetOFFice, an anti-work system, aims to address these issues in an aggressive and unconventional manner. Drawing inspiration from hostile architecture that provides negative feedback for social coercion, GetOFFice is a service that aims to force users away from their home-work-station to encourage life off the screen. GetOFFice is controlled by a cube which is installed on the user's work table and can connect to a range of home furniture and smart devices. The cube can take control of these (non-)tech artifacts and can manipulate their working in such a manner that coerces the user away from their work. The cube is programmed to alert users of their work status and remaining time in 4 tiers: code blue, green, grey, and red. The methods of disturbance keep getting worse with every passing tier from attacking users' physical senses (eyes, ears, nose, skin, etc.) to creating social or psychological pressure; a full list of methods (and detailed explanations) can be found in the attached pdf report at the bottom of this page. The goal of our system is to achieve sensory overload (latest by code red) so that ultimately, the user will stop working and spend more time enjoying life off the screen.