PhillyInc

The man on the moon may be lonely, depressed, unproductive and even suffering from cardiovascular problems -- as would any initial workers assigned to an isolated lunar work station. How does something like this even come up? Earlier this month, Rutgers University in New Brunswick hosted a conference titled "The Rutgers Symposium on Lunar Settlements." Yes it did. Among the speakers was Chester Spell, an associate professor management at Rutgers University's School of Business in Camden. Spell drew on research tracking workers assigned to isolated work places, such as remote Australian mining tones or Antarctic research stations. Based on his work, Spell predicted that depression in one worker might also cause depression in others, a social contagion and particularly dangerous on the moon where co-workers would have to depend on each other for their survival.
- Jane M. Von Bergen