Built environment - nurturing performance work.

Before we begin the latest edition of our Monthly Highlights, we're delighted to share we will be hosting an online Workplace Wellbeing Summit.

SAVE THE DATE : November 16-17 2023. Bringing Together: Our Workplace Wellbeing Initiative of the Global Wellness Institute members will be joined by global thought leaders.?? Trends?? Insights?? Case studies??

The below article is proudly written by our Initiative Member Joana Kebss, MD

Joana is a Wellness Experience Designer with more than 13 years as an integrative health specialist, focusing on lifestyle as medicine, anti-aging and aesthetic procedures. All of which brought her a deep understanding of industry-leading wellness experiences. Joana focuses on personalization, functionality and aesthetic sensation to design projects.

7 office decor ideas to support workplace productivity

People might forget the details of how a space looks or what it did, but hardly anyone forgets how it made you feel or how it doesn’t make you feel.?

Whether our homes or our workplaces, the spaces where we spend our lives affect us on nearly every level – physically, emotionally, and cognitively. From how we learn and grow to how we restore and relax, a sensory experience can impact health and performance.

Enhancing the recruitment and retention of a competent and competitive workforce and creating more attractive work conditions have become increasing priorities for organizations. A growing body of evidence from medicine, environmental psychology, nursing, palliative care, architecture, and evidence-based design emphasizes the importance of key environmental design factors for quality of life and wellbeing.

How does décor can influence your dopamine mood?

Architects, neuroscientists, and policymakers have been leading an interdisciplinary discussion about how to accelerate the field of neuroaesthetics.?

According to the theory of colors, different hues can truly promote various feelings and emotions. Decor can be designed to uplift your mood by incorporating elements that stimulate the release of dopamine, the so-called ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter. This can include the use of certain colors, textures, and shapes that have been scientifically proven to evoke positivity, joy, and relaxation.

Different colors can trigger various emotional responses. For instance, warm colors like red, orange, and yellow are known to stimulate energy and happiness, while cooler colors like green and blue promote a sense of tranquility and peace. Color can certainly enhance the visual world and it shapes our understanding of the environment as it adds definition and distinction to all things.

Interior color schemes on emotion, task performance, and heart rate.?

How would a school be designed at an architectural level to promote learning, or a hospital designed structurally to accelerate healing? What are the possibilities for rehabilitation if prison interiors were designed to lower anxiety and stress amongst inmates and staff alike?

It has been shown that interior color schemes affect emotions, task performance, and heart rate. By determining color cognition levels and linguistic levels, we can identify workplace design priorities and prepare color schemes based on color-emotion associations. Specific keywords are linked to environment-response, such as quiet, calming, lively, exclusive, reserved, and natural.?

For example, red is perceived as significantly heavier, warmer, exciting, tenser, and unpleasant. On the other hand, study shows fewer errors occurred during white-environment immersion versus green-environment immersion when people completed a task performance exercise. Significant heart rate decreases were detected in the blue, white, and green color scenarios.?

Creating a dopamine-infused space that brings you joy and focus

1. Unleash the Power of Color

Inspiring hues like sunny yellow, uplifting orange, and fiery red can boost your mood, By and large, warm tones like red, orange, and maroon make people feel passionate or energized.?

?Whereas cool tones, like blues, purple and greens, can calm you down and have a relaxing effect. And finally, neutral tones like gray and white usually leave people feeling serene.

2. Scent-sational nooks smells like vanilla

In a calming nook, your team can take a break, have a chat, sip a cup of tea, and enjoy a functional scented candle. From a list of 10 unique scents, researchers found that people’s favorite scent was vanilla.?What’s more amazing is that these researchers tested multiple scent preferences from cultures around the world, ranging from Seri hunter-gatherers in Mexico, to urban New Yorkers, to the Mah Meri in Malaysia. And what should be avoided ? The scent everyone least liked is isovaleric acid, an unpleasant odor commonly associated with cheese, soy milk, and sweat.

3. A Touch of Comfort

The power of touch in ergonomics is often underestimated. You can create a sensory experience in your decor by introducing a variety of textures. Think soft throws, plush rugs, velvet cushions - all of which will help you achieve a better mood. From your décor to your wardrobe textile, it all comes together to make your work environment comfortable and conducive to staying focused.?

4. Invite Nature Inside

There’s something undeniably therapeutic about nature. Just the sight of greenery, a blooming flower, or even a beautifully captured nature-inspired artwork can give you a dopamine boost. Bring some of that green goodness indoors. Your happiness quotient can be enhanced with plants, flowers, and nature-themed decor. However, adding green scenery to your office takes more than just adding plants in small pots. You should also consider the following:

• Succulents
• Flowers
• Small Trees/Bonsai
• Green Paintings
• Landscape/Nature Photographs and Paintings

5. Light It Up

For a good reason, sunshine is synonymous with happiness. Natural light not only brightens up your room, but also lifts your spirits and increases your vitamin D levels. Furthermore, strategic lighting interior design will ensure your space is well-lit at all times of the day.?Using natural light encourages a neat and organized space.

6. Spread Positive Vibes?

Decorate your office with positivity. Put up wall hangings or decor items with uplifting quotes or affirmations in your office to encourage a positive mindset.

7. Pet-Friendly Spaces

Creating a pet-friendly space in the workplace can bring immense joy and stress relief to those with furry or feathered friends. Seeing them enjoying their space around us adds an exciting touch to our tasks.

The psychological dimension of your environment

Whether you go all-out with a color scheme or add a pop, like a bold accent wall, you’re certainly sure to feel its impact.?

However, two people could react differently to the same shade or scent. Studies have proven that the psychological effects of color on human behavior vary from person to person. So, carefully consider the atmosphere you want for every room in your workplace. Thereafter, chat with your live-in team to see if they’re on board. This way everyone is bound to love the spaces they inhabit.

Better inside-out & outside-in outcomes

Design married to intuition has indeed created extraordinary work environments, but, given the wide breadth of research about human behavior, brain, and body, it raises the question:? How can neuroscience further inform human-built design? Can users play a more active and collaborative role in the process?

Emerging from this discussion we invite you to brainstorm with us about tools and tactics of wellbeing and architecture that resulted in stronger community building. Share your comments below and help us amplify better outcomes for people.

Thank you for reading. We look forward to bringing you future editions of the Workplace Wellbeing Monthly Highlights.

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