Valuing personal space

It is Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Since it opened on January 4, 2010, the tower has been named officially as the world’s tallest free-standing structure at 2,723 feet (829.97 metres). The science of measurement enables us to know how high the Burj Khalifa is. Lots of things around us, from one short step to the circumference of the entire earth, can be measured.  

Measurement has been important ever since man settled down from his nomadic lifestyle and started living together in communities. Prior to the introduction of a standard scale for measuring length, older measurements often derived from the typical size of body parts. People had to use their own hands, feet, and arms to measure things. However, as people are built differently, the measurements were not as exact as one might expect and that made scientific discourse and construction work very difficult. 

The English Standard System of measurement was then created around the time of King Henry VIII of England. The story goes that the king measured his foot and used it as the new single standard, called the “foot”. He then divided the foot into twelve equal parts and called them ‘inches’. King Henry VIII had also defined the “yard” as the distance from his nose to the tip of his outstretched hand. The English measurement system became the world standard as the British empire spread throughout the world. The English system became less popular around the turn of the 20th century when a new and much more accurate system – the metric scale was developed. Instead of using human body parts as a reference, the metric system used the immutable laws of nature to set the length. The standard “metre” was determined from one 10-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. However, because of easier conversion and the need for standardised units of measure, the metric system finally gave way to today’s International System of units (SI).

Society has now become more technologically oriented. Much higher accuracy in measurement is required. Although human body parts are no longer used for measuring things, people still draw a psychological distance to organise their personal space when they interact with others.  A distance of about an arm’s length is invisibly determined as a personal space and used during conversations with friends or in group discussions. In a queue, on a bus or even at a party, anywhere in public or private areas, most people value their personal space and feel discomfort, anger, or anxiety when their personal space is encroached.

However, everyone’s personal space is different. The comfort zone depends on culture, social situation, gender, and individual preference. How close we normally stand to someone else when we are talking to them will depend on who it is we are talking to, and under what circumstances. In addition, different generations maintain different standards of personal space. Having a wide range of age groups in offices requires companies to be mindful of how each generation can work efficiently and happily. Older generations usually prefer privacy and need more personal space whereas we may notice that Generation Y do not require much privacy but would prefer to work wherever they can find Wi-Fi.  

Everybody has their own personal space no matter who they are: rich, poor, educated, or uneducated. Personal space has nothing to do with inherent social status or positions in an organisation. To value and respect people’s personal space appropriately, we need to allow people to be the master of their own space. Then we have to create an artificial boundary in our mind and seek to never break through that boundary unless we have been clearly invited.  More importantly, no matter how close two people are, the rule of personal space should never be taken for granted.

 

Nutavoot Pongsiri is assistant governor at the Bank of Thailand. Follow his articles in  Hi! Managers every second Friday of the month. The views expressed here are the author’s own.