Americans work longer hours than people in most other developed countries. More than 10 million employees log 60-hour workweeks. Thirty-four percent of the workforce doesn’t take vacations. Barring dramatic shifts in the cultural and political landscape, Americans will continue to work themselves into the ground. So Herman Miller has unveiled a desk that -- while no month-long holiday in the French Riviera -- promises to make life a touch more tolerable for workaholics everywhere.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Herman Miller, the Zeeland, Michigan, furniture giant, is brilliant at promoting itself. The company’s latest campaign, POV, is proof positive. It’s a microsite that uses hip California architects -- and the hip California houses they designed -- to flog sofas and armchairs. In short, it manages to wrap mundane objects in the seductive packaging of California cool.

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The amazing thing about Herman Miller is that it mostly manufactures office furniture -- in Zeeland, Michigan, no less -- yet people talk about it like it sells tickets to heaven. A lot of that can be credited to Herman Miller's crack self-promotion. The company is great at telling its own story. And thanks to an interactive website, it's gotten even better.