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SENSORY SEEKER
SENSORY PROCESSING CONTINUUM
SENSORY SENSITIVE
ERIC SUE
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Key Issues with Open Plan
Only 52% agree
“it enables me to work productively”
• Noise levels
• Temperature control
• People walking past workstation
• Air quality
Leesman (2016). 100,000+ A workplace effectiveness report
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Eric – Sensory Seeker
• Variety of activities
• Hot desk or in the
middle
• Regular movement
breaks
• Visual reminders and set
alarms
Sue – Sensory Sensitive
In the Open Plan Office
• Fixed desk/position
• Quiet corner, facing
inwards
• Away from the coffee
machine/ kitchen area
• Ringer tone turned
down or set to vibrate
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Case study: CSIR
Self awareness and regulation training
33%
74%
81%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Before training April 2013 Following training August 2013 3 months later October 2013
FCR %
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SENSORY
PROFILING
STAFF
TRAINING
WORKPLACE
SENSORY AUDITS
DESIGN
CONSIDERATIONS
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PERFORMANCE
PRODUCTIVITY
WELLBEING
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Take Aways…
The senses have a significant impact
on brain function
Consider PEOPLE and SPACE
Sensory
Audits
E-Profiling Workshops Coaching
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“Creativity is thinking up new things.
Innovation is doing new things.”
Theodore Levitt
www.sensoryintelligence.co.uk
Editor's Notes
Slide 2: Introduction (contrasting work spaces) and outline
Which do you prefer? Where do you do your best work?
Do you prefer the open plan office OR find it overwhelming?
Like your own plain office OR find it too boring?
People are not a ‘one size fits all
Different theories as to why the office impacts - psychological models and personality types, design models, ergonomics, Feng Sui
Holy Grail – how to improve Workplace productivity. No ONE theory provides the ‘panacea’
A new perspective; Sensory processing – a vital, yet often overlooked aspect of the individual.
background to the development of this concept, explain why it is important and outline what you can do as a result
Slide 3: Background and Development
OT - come at workplaces from a different perspective. Worked with children with sensory processing difficulties, using a Sensory Integration Approach. Dr Jean Ayres, an OT and Neuroscientist and has a strong research background as well as providing a model for therapeutic intervention. Training for schools. SI Not commonly known. My ‘Ah ha moment’ -, teacher training, saw this being used by the adults for themselves. Concepts work for ‘adults too! - based in Neuroscience.
How SP could be applied to ‘normal’ adults in the business environment. Impact on our daily lives – influencing our lifestyle choices, preferred working environments and likely career choice in the first instance. Wellbeing and performance in the workplace.
Research in call centres. Results show a strong positive correlation – those that were ‘sensitive’ from a sensory perspective had poorer performance, worse productivity and higher rates of absenteeism
AL coined term ‘Sensory Intelligence’, and has been applying this theory for the past 12 years with companies in South African to offer solutions for team working and productivity in the open plan office.
Slide 5: Brain and Senses
What is the Theory? What is the neuroscience behind this?
Simplification of a complex process – apology to neuroscientists, trying to keep this as straightforward as possible
We are sensory beings. Live in a sensory world (often sensory overloaded!)
Information from senses enter our brains (via the brain stem). The 7 senses, based on having receptors, that fire and travel along nerve pathways to the brain
Sensation is the ‘food’ of the brain, goes in along sensory pathways to the brain stem. Can’t get into the brain from the top! Only way in is through the senses.
Slide 6: IQ, EQ and SQ
SP - filtering out unnecessary information, choosing what to focus on and stress response. Primal system, necessary for survival and operates at a subconscious level.
Sensory information impacts on overall brain functioning. Gateway to limbic (emotional centre) and cortex (thinking brain) [two way – but more from brain stem to limbic and cortex than other way around]. Help to regulate both our behaviour and emotion.
What is sensory intelligence?
Supports 3 main, fundamental functions of performance: attention, emotion and behavior
Link between the senses, work environment and behavior
A profiling and development tool to understand and develop people and space
Profiling to determine thresholds and sensitivities – how our unique wiring/DNA contribute to work behaviour
Innovative neuroscience approach to people and space
Slide 7: Brain Filter Analogy
Percentages of brain activity – more lower than upper (and lower impacts upper – stress management, adaptation to environment, resilience etc)
40 millions bits of sensory information each second. Lower brain has to screen and filter – what to attend to, what’s important, what to screen out etc
Filter analogy
Size of holes – how much passes through
Slide 8: Sensory Processing Continuum (Eric and Sue)
SP occurs along a continuum.
Another apology – this time to any Eric and Sue’s in the audience – randomly selected names!
Really small holes in the filter. Brains under-responds to sensory information. Instinctive need for ‘MORE. Sensory seekers
Eric the “Energizer Bunny” – always on the go
He Enjoys a busy, lively environments (copes, and even thrives in the open plan office). Screen out senses- noise, visuals don’t bother him
He has high energy and likes to be active and on the go,
He is flexible, works well across sites and with lots of changes to his routine
However, on the flip side, he can:
Miss information/details (not going to send him my reports or proposals to look at)
Fidgety, distractible, easily bored
Prone to burnout – not in touch with self, and easily goes from busy to uber stressed, without even realising this has happened
Productivity drops and disruptive in the wrong environment
Other end of this continuum Really big holes in that filter. Over respond to sensory information. Instinctive need for LESS. Sensory sensitive.
Sue the ‘Super Organiser’ Tortoise
Enjoy calm, contained environments and in this environment – she is super productive
Likes to be organised, structured, and is detail and process oriented (she’s the one to check those proposals and reports)
A good observers. She is in tune with the environment, herself and others needs
Yet, on the flip side:
Easily affected by the environment (bothered by sound, smells, touch – air cond vent, people walking behind her, lights)
This sensitivity can lead to becoming irritable, controlling, anxious/negative,
Colleagues say she is too rigid.
Productivity drops in wrong environment, due to the sensory overwhelm she experiences
Manager or a team leader, likely to have both Eric and Sue in your team. Their sensory profile will impact the way they are working and may lead to poor team dynamics, caused by lack of understanding of these neurophysiological differences.
People sit across this continuum. Those in the Middle – not overly bothered by sensation. Although most people have a sensory system or two that over or under responds. For example – less tolerant of noise or visual sensitivity (lower lighting levels, notice more details)
So what’s this all got to do with the office and office design?
Leesman – Effectiveness of Workplaces - benchmark
FCR – First Call Resolution – 20 people in an open plan office. Service desk management function. Prior to training, not productive.
Sustained changed – simple, practical, easy to implement. Managing overload and stress better.
A research company in Pretoria. We did a one day training on understanding and using self-regulation (how to identify stress and pressure in self and their team and easy sensory strategies to curb overload and stress)
Slide 12: Applications
What might this look like?
People
Sensory Profiling – start by increased self-awareness – do you over or under respond to the senses? And for which ones? Online tools, which assess the sensitivity (size of filter holes) for each of the senses.
Education and Learning – build on that self-awareness, work in alignment with their unique profile. A better appreciation of those with a different profile can also help to improve team relationships.
SP is innate, no good or bad, simply about how we are wired. NOT about bespoke space for every person in the team (sorry Sue, you don’t get your own personalised office). Not realistic or cost effective, rather practical strategies so that people work optimally in their situation and their profile.
Place
Workplace Assessment – How can these be a best fit for the people that work there and the type of work they are doing? Sensory overload? Too noisy? Floor coverings? Acoustics? Colour & contrast? Lighting? Air flow? Breakaway/break areas? Functions of teams and where they were located. For example, seen sales team next to accounting, which created lots of tension! Possible to make changes to improve
Design Considerations - how you can accommodate both ends of the sensory spectrum
In conclusion, today we are thinking about people centred design for the workplace. We will be hearing a range of ideas and perspectives. Sensory processing adds another piece to this puzzle of optimising spaces for people – so that it is good for their productivity and performance, while also enhancing their wellbeing
Slide 8: Model – People and Place
Work Performance is affected by both people and place. A dynamic, symbiotic relationship –think about people AND environment/ place.
We know that it is No good just looking at the environment (the place) – spaces need to work for people too.
Current trends - cognitive (thinking brain) level, Bio mechanical perspective, ergonomics. HOWEVER, we Need to consider the neuro physiological too!!! Better understand how sensory messages affect our lives.
Finding a good match between people (from a sensory perspective) and the environment (place) – will positively impact performance, productivity and wellbeing. We could consider this to be sensory ergonomics.
