Beating Burnout With Better Workplace Design

Stress levels are on the rise, but what we really want to know is whether workplace design can help us ease the pressure and, in turn, prevent burnout. Scientific research suggests that it can. Being stressed occasionally is part of being human, and it has been so since our very first moments as a species. Our minds and bodies have developed systems for dealing with being stressed that have repercussions for our psychological and physical health. A consequence of being stressed in the modern workplace is ‘burnout’ – fine-tuning design practices can make stressing out and burning out less likely.

Linking design to burnout

Research suggests that organisations can promote actions that encourage workers to feel securely attached to their workplace. Allowing employees to personalise their space and make it comfortable contributes to this sense of attachment. Personalisation can also help counteract worker burnout, especially in environments with low privacy. It enables the creation of a ‘psychological home,’ which can boost satisfaction with the work environment questions.

Uncertainty causes stress

Uncertainty, interestingly, not only leads directly to stress when people can’t figure out how conditions may ultimately influence their health or something else they value but, in slightly different contexts, to a feeling of ‘creepiness’ (how did that online system know to fill in that value on my profile, for example).  A feeling that something is creepy is a very specific sort of stress.

There are many situations within the workplace that can cause stress. Workplaces with break areas where people can’t have pleasant conversations that bind them together psychologically increase stress levels, as do situations where people perceive that they are being observed and assessed (whether they actually are or are not). Distracting conversations can cause stress, but so can workplaces that are as close to silent.

Ability to control and modify 

Places that meet our physical and psychological needs keep our stress levels lower. We like to have some control over our surroundings. Choosing a specific workspace that suits our tasks is one way to achieve this. It helps keep stress levels low and ensures our work stays ‘on track’ towards positive outcomes.

When we can tweak that workspace slightly, for example, when we can raise or lower a window blind or open or close that window, more potential stressors evaporate. Any sort of sensory experience can lead to stress, or not, even the simple process of breathing at work can be stressful in uncertain times.

Power of Plants

Some research ties mental refreshment via exposure to nature to lower burnout levels. A report via a series of workplace experiments reveals that ‘enriching a previously lean office with plants’ serves to ‘significantly increase workplace satisfaction, self-reported levels of concentration, and perceived air quality. . . enriching space also improved perceived productivity^’.

Biophilic design, or recognising how we found comfort in the spaces we spent time when we were a young species and conceptually replicating those experiences in the areas we create for ourselves today, can help keep stress levels in check.

Design isn’t magic, it won’t eliminate stress from our lives, but it can help keep our stress levels lower and make it less likely that we burn out.

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This article is based on a research piece ‘ How to beat burnout with better workplace design’, authored by Sally Augustin, a practicing environmental design psychologist based in Chicago, for WORKTECH Academy. Workplace Futures Group is a Corporate Member of the Academy, which is a global online platform and membership organisation for the future of work and workplace design.