The document discusses how workplace design can help reduce stress. It summarizes research finding that being in an enclosed space without any potential for escape can increase stress levels, while being in a more open space allows for reduced stress responses. Specifically, one study found that participants responded with higher cortisol levels and continued stress when in a closed room compared to an open room. The document also discusses how incorporating more natural elements like plants and wood into office design can help reduce stress by making the environment feel more open and visually interesting. In conclusion, workplace design features that allow freedom of movement and visibility may help lower employee stress levels.

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CAN YOUR WORKPLACE DESIGN
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Published on January 10, 2018 - By Cecilia Amador
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Research suggests that spaces bordered by transparent
glass walls, or no walls at all, enable workspace members
to feel more energized. Image: The O ce Group press
gallery (White Collar Factory, London).
Wellness and mental health are a top priority
when it comes to the workplace experience
The way an indoor environment is built and
designed can have positive or negative e ects on
stress
Humans feel safer and perform better in spaces
that allow for a certain degree of visibility and
have “openings” where one can move around
freely
In his research paper “Hotel of Memory: Interpreting
Neuroscience to Design in a Memorable Guest Experience”,
Alvaro Alvarez states that “there are ve physical cues that
can make a space more memorable: Depth, Complexity,
Landmark, Symmetry, and Repetition.”
This is based on the fact that “our hippocampus is extremely
important in spatial memory — any time we enter a new
place, our brain interprets our environment and takes
physical cues to assemble a mental eld map.”
This mental eld map strongly in uences the way we interact
with our surroundings, both indoors and outdoors. There are
various research studies that dig into the way humans
interact with their surroundings. Wellness and mental health
have become a top priority for companies across the globe.
Various studies have con rmed that the better a worker feels
(both physically and mentally), the better he or she will
perform.
While most companies and exible workspace operators
have focused on health through wellness programs, recent
studies suggest that companies and managers should also
focus on design to improve the workplace experience.
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One such research was conducted by Lars Brorson Fich, Peter
Jönsson , Poul Henning Kirkegaard , Mattias Wallergård, Anne
Helene Garde, and Åse Hansen. “It has long been established
that views to natural scenes can have a dampening e ect on
physiological stress responses. However, as people in Europe,
Canada, and North America today spend 50-80% of their time
indoors, attention might also be paid as to how the arti cial
man-made indoor environment in uences these
mechanisms.”
Their study — titled “Can architectural design alter the
physiological reaction to psychosocial stress? A virtual TSST
experiment” — aims to answer the questions of whether
certain design or characteristics of indoor spaces can make a
di erence on the physiological stress response.
Taking the classical ght-or- ight behavior as a point of
departure, the study used a “virtual version of the Trier Social
Stress Test, in which the space is computer generated and
properties of the space, therefore, can be systematically
varied. We measured saliva, cortisol, and heart rate variability
in participants in a closed room versus a room with an
opening.”
Their experiment aimed to con rm or deny whether stress
responses are modulated depending on whether an escape is
possible or not, and how spatial features in the environment
might in uence the magnitude of a stress reaction. Their
assumption is that “the stress response to a stressful event
that takes place in an indoor space might be in uenced by
whether the space o ers potential escape routes.”
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Using VR technology, the study induced stress in two
di erent settings: a) in a closed room potentially not allowing
escape, and b) in a room with three large openings,
potentially allowing for escape.
Their ndings showed that “participants in the closed room
responded with more pronounced cortisol reactivity to stress
induction, and continued to show higher levels (of stress)
throughout recovery, compared to participants in the open
room.”
In other words, stress response can be greatly in uenced by
how freely a person can move in any given setting.
With this in mind, workplace design can have a positive or
negative impact on stress.
Design trends over the past couple of years have favored
‘natural elements’ in indoor spaces, with companies
incorporating more plant and more natural wood in the
interior architecture and furniture, as well as adding garden
and rooftop space.
Synonymous with the study’s nding that stress is increased
in closed environments, is the belief that people working in
spaces bordered by transparent glass walls, or no walls at all,
feel more energized while working. Similarly, visually open
environments are perceived to enhance professional
performance. This was con rmed in the case study “At Work,
In View: The Cognitive Science of Working in Spaces with
Transparent Boundaries”.
The takeaway here is that biophilia should play an important
role in workplace design. Biophilia can make indoor
environments more aesthetically pleasing, but — more
importantly — they can also greatly in uence our ability to
function e ectively in a given environment.
While it is simple enough to “bring the outdoors in” by adding
plants and wood elements to the workplace, more thought
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Tags: biophilia, design, o ce
plants, wellness
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ABOUT CECILIA AMADOR
Ceci Amador, Senior Associate Editor of Allwork.Space, is
based from wherever her laptop is. She enjoys traveling and
visiting new exible workspaces. If you'd like Ceci to check
out your workspace, feel free to reach out to her at
ceci@allwork.space (and send a plane ticket).
VIEW ALL POSTS BY CECILIA AMADOR
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can also be given to how the furniture is laid out, how much
space there is to walk around, how many openings there are,
and how much visibility individuals have from their particular
workstations.
Featured image: The O ce Group (White Collar Factory,
London)
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