How Great Office Design Can Reduce Workplace Stress

Scientific research suggests that there are some key environmental design tips that will have a positive impact on employee mood, and even reduce workplace stress.

When entering the world of work, people seem to have the same set of motivations (as identified by Deci, Olafsen and Ryan, 2017): to be competent, i.e. good at doing whatever is important to them; to like their job; to have autonomy or a comfortable amount of control over their life; and to be able to spend time and form relationships with people they choose. Workplaces that want to be successful must recognise and reflect these drives, especially if they want to manage stress in the workplace effectively.

Living with uncertainty can be somewhat reduced by workplace policies and design, when we’re stressed we can’t work to our full potential (Lamb and Kwok, 2016). Reinstating workplace rituals, or establishing new ones, and supporting those rituals via physical design, as appropriate, will aid in re-establishing order in people’s lives, help individuals keep track of the passage of time at a macro level, and reduce workplace stress.

How Stress Can Be Kept in Check:

Scent of lavender:  You may have installed a new HVAC system at your offices or client sites, and even if an HVAC system is older, you can likely use it to very lightly diffuse scents through offices. If not, consider room diffusers or something similarly low-tech.  Research has shown that the scent of lavender is not just relaxing, it has been linked to increased interpersonal trust (Harada, Kashiwadani, Kanmura, and Kuwaki, 2018; Sellaro, van Dijk, Paccani, Hommel and Colzato, 2015).

Paint it Green: If you need to paint or create new signage, use colours that have low saturation and are lighter. An example of this is a sage green with lots of white mixed into it. Research has shown that these colours are relaxing to look at (Valdez and Mehrabian, 1994).

Cut the Visual Clutter: Doing so will not only lower stress levels but also boost professional performance (Renner, 2020). New cabinets, with non-transparent doors or drawers may be required to get things out of sight, a simple yet effective step to reduce workplace stress.

Fix the Furniture: Make sure that at least a few chairs and sofas have prospect and refuge. People feel very comfortable and relaxed in this sort of seating arrangement because they feel safe at a basic, primordial level and have a view out over the nearby areas (Kellert, 2012).

Sounds of Nature: If there’s a sound system in a workplace, playing nature soundtracks, such as a soundscape of burbling brooks, grasses gently rustling in a breeze, and birds quietly calling out to each other, can encourage us to feel relaxed (Benfield, Taff, Newman, and Smyth, 2014). Biophilic design can be a powerful tool to reduce workplace stress without any major refurbishment.

Leafy Pants: Green leafy plants are very relaxing to look and will help cut stress (Kellert, 2012). Good ‘fake’ plants can be just as effective for reducing workplace stress and they have the added benefit of being low maintenance.

Curvy Lines: Looking at curving lines is relaxing while rectilinear ones recall thoughts of efficiency (Ghoshal et al, 2016), so any new upholstery fabrics, furnishings, signs, etc, should have more curvy lines in them than straight ones.

Sit-Stand Desks: If you’re buying new desks, you may want to consider sit-stand ones because the options they provide give people a feeling of control over their lives, and with comfortable control comes lower stress levels and better performance (Lyengar and Lepper, 2000; O’Neill, 2010). If new desks aren’t in the offing, consider other ways to give people environmental control, even modest shifts can help reduce workplace stress across your team. 

There are many easy-to-implement design options that can increase employee comfort and contribute to keeping their stress levels in check.

This article is based on a research piece ‘Stressed out? Here’s how design can help your people relax’, authored by Sally Augustin, environmental psychologist and a principal at Design With Science, for WORKTECH Academy.