The Art of Human-Centric Design in the Workplace

One step that we can take in the immediate future, however, is to design spaces that encourage some form of movement, whether in the circulation flow, the seating configurations, or the on-site facilities. After all, a neuroscience-focused perspective isn’t just psychological but also physiological. “A lot of our emotional processing (certainly our physiological processing and our health) comes from the experience of moving step count and being active,” adds Schuller.

Another actionable and neuroscience-backed takeaway is providing relaxation areas – something that smaller startups have placed importance on for years, but that more traditional companies have yet to integrate. “So much of modern work, especially in offices, is about cognitively and intensively using your brain that your biological hardware can't cope with that. So having periods of active relaxation where you can lie down or recline, or take a different perspective, can provide areas of cognitive respite that we don’t accommodate in office environments,” she continues.

Demographics and psychographics shape the everyday experience of the office, and so do the more transient factors like mood, time of day, season, and much more. “My need and experience on a Monday is not my need and experience on a Friday,” adds Schuller.

According to Sarto, one can think they have the right solution – but if it's not right in that context, then it isn’t the right solution. “We’re individual and we perceive the world in different ways,” she says. “What is good for me and feels comfortable and safe might not be comfortable and safe for another person.”

Team Rituals in Human-Centric Design

The individual is core to human-centred design and the emphasis of a singular “human” is in its very definition, but ultimately, there is no denying that most offices house teams rather than solopreneurs, so the collaboration dynamic is likely to influence productivity and well-being. And team dynamics have certainly shifted with the integration of remote and hybrid setups. 

For Treacy, building rituals that reinforce team dynamics is that missing puzzle to human-centric design. “As we move into a new reality of how we're all interacting with each other – not just in the office, but socially, too – I think we've kind of lost a sense of what ‘team’ is,” he says. “I think the rituals that help to build a team are almost the key to everything we speak about around human-centric design.

Indeed, such rituals can be key to community-building in a workplace, and companies that not just celebrate them, but also account for them in their office design, might be holding on to an advantage.

Treacy brings up the espresso breaks that employees collectively take at the neighbourhood cafe in Italy, or long lunch breaks in France. Such cultural rituals might reinforce how people feel about being in the office and what he refers to as the “the happiness factor”.

Group rituals, however, are not necessarily culture-specific, and many companies intentionally schedule meal, clothing, or game activities in an effort to formally introduce new ones. “Casual Fridays” is one popular activity that workplaces worldwide have long implemented. Other common organisational rituals include birthday celebrations, pizza lunches, and yoga sessions.

The social scientists Smith and Stewart argue that group rituals are important because they provide meaning, manage anxiety, exemplify and reinforce social order, communicate important values, enhance group solidarity, include and exclude, signal commitment, manage work structure, and prescribe and reinforce significant events.^[1]

Much like they consider employee processes and routines, interior designers can consider factoring in preexisting rituals into the office design process – or providing ample space for new ones to naturally and independently take form. 

Building Human-Centric Workplaces

Despite the multitude of fascinating case studies and insights, there’s no umbrella approach to successful human-centric design in the workplace and the contextual factors are quasi-infinite. As Sarto says, “one size fits no one.”

As such, it comes as no surprise that human-centric office design can certainly be a challenge, especially when designing for particularly large groups of people. “Until we can create environments that can accommodate levels of both visible and invisible disability, for me, there will never be a single unified office environment that can support all needs,” says Schuller.

Those looking to explore human-centric design at the office can perhaps consider heading directly to the best source for feedback during the ideation and development stage: employees.

For more from Anne Sarto, Justin Treacy, and Sophie Schuller on the topic of human-centric design in the office, watch the on-demand webinar “The Art of Human-Centric Design: What are the missing pieces in the puzzle of workspace design?”.