How a simple hat saved the day
Then there are the more sophisticated measures. In the last few months of 2017, Steelcase will release a desk that comes with a red and green light prominently displayed. When the light is red, stay away.
You can buy similar devices now, though. Danish-company Plenom has the BusyLight, a red-green light that can connect to your calendar and automatically switch colours depending whether you’re busy or not. Latvia-based Greynut’s Luxafor Flag is a flag-shaped LED light that can stick on your computer and change colours depending on whether you're busy or not.
The former is used by more than 10,000 companies worldwide, says CEO Christian Juel Jensen, while sales have increased 200% over the last two years. The latter has seen month-over-month sales increase by 33% since launching in February 2015.