Neuroscience research makes it clear how the spaces where video conference sessions take place can be designed to support effective discussions, clear and pleasant exchanges between those present, in real life and virtually.
Not too much, not too little sound
Goel and colleagues evaluated workers’ experiences in various sorts of workspaces. They report that “Data from 225 office workers were collected for perceived fatigue, perceived sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]), physiological stress response (standard deviation of heart rate variability [HRV]), and physical activity (total activity in minutes) during three consecutive workdays. Stress and physical activity were measured using chest-worn sensors.
Geng and colleagues studied the effects of light color on employee decisions. They found “that blue light more likely promotes individuals choosing the farsighted intertemporal option (i.e., delayed but larger payment) than red light. . . . The current study demonstrates the effectiveness of light color and provides a solution to nudge people to make farsighted choices.”
Klotz and colleagues studied the implications of employees experiencing outdoor nature after spending a day at work indoors. They determined that “Our results, based on three studies employing different methodologies (i.e., an experience sampling study, an experiment, and a recall study), indicate that evening nature contact positively relates to beginning of [next] workday positive affect [mood] and subsequent work effort.
What, when, why
Wellbeing elevating spaces
Kim, Holtz, and Vogel link clothing design-related choices to behavior at work; it is likely that their findings can be applied more broadly. The investigators report that “the results of a 10-day field study of employees from four organizations generally supported our predictions, showing that daily clothing aesthetics and uniqueness had effects on state self-esteem and downstream behavioral consequences.” The researchers determined that when employees perceive that they are dressed well their task and social performance are better.
Adikesavan and Ramasubramanian studied the implications of hotdesking at universities. They determined that “University faculty, researchers and graduate students are increasingly working out of hotdesks, nonterritorial workspaces available on a ‘first come first served’ basis and cleared of all work and personal possessions at the end of every work session. . . . participants [doctoral students] work early or late to secure suitable hotdesks, perform important tasks in locations other than the study site, incur co-working space and home office costs, etc.
Ayoko and teammates reviewed how office noise influences employee mood (affect), which is particularly important because more positive moods enhance cognitive performance, getting along with other people, wellbeing, and health. The research team reports that data collected in an open office showed that higher levels of perceived office noise were linked to more negative moods, and those more negative moods could in turn be tied to greater employee withdrawal and task conflict as well as to people trying to mark their physical territories: “Specifically, we found that, as perceived open-pla