Considerations for health, wellness, and inclusivity are fundamental to creating spaces that are productive, creative, and welcoming for a diverse workforce. Considerations for neurodiversity are a paramount part of this conversation.
This is the 6th post in our series about Environmental Psychology considerations and how they can help inform your workplace design and protocols.
Closely tied to our memory function, our sense of smell is yet another form of non-verbal communication that can have an impact on stress levels as employees come back to the workplace. Environmental psychologists even have some pretty interesting specifics on the power held within certain fragrances.
Imagine this—you walk into the office after months of working from home and the first thing you see as you enter the building is tangled caution tape, blocking off the public seating area in the entry way.
Most employees who have been working from home for the last 90+ days were directed to ‘because working in the office was not safe,’ and many likely in less than an ideal situation – such as finding time to work full-time and homeschooling their children. And as challenging as home might be, the idea of returning to the office for a ‘safe re-entry’ may stir up a good amount of anxiety. So, to help overcome some of that added stress, it’s crucial for an organization to develop a specific change communication plan to help employees understand ‘what to expect’ when they come back to the office.
We’re all familiar with stress and how it complicates our performance on any given day, but there’s a certain level of austerity to our current situation that few could relate with prior to the onset of this virus. It’s as if we’re seeing the world from a new COVID-colored lens, which brings with it an expectedly powerful potential for new stressors.
Our Workplace Advisory team recently got together with Dr. Sally Augustin to discuss the research we had commissioned her to pull together regarding environmental psychology considerations in the interim/post-COVID workplace. It was a great conversation; we all asked questions, brainstormed ideas, and challenged each other. So how might a workplace embody those positive vibes? By becoming a place where one feels safe + connected + inspired.
