Creating an attention restoration-friendly office

When we think of the office, as well as work, it is usually less related with comfort, happiness, or fun; instead it is more associated with stress and dissatisfaction. The articles I found when I searched for keywords “office” and “happiness” in the Internet triggered this assumption. Most of the articles I found included language such as: “How to make you office a happy place,” “37 ways to feel happier in work ASAP,” “25 little things that will make you happy at work,” “How to design an office to maximize happiness,” or “How to make your office a happier place.” All of these tips and self-help articles show how people are not quite as happy as they would like in the office, thus the environment needs improving.

But, what if I told you that with a minimum investment, an office could also be a “happy” place that could play a big role in restoring your attention from directed attention fatigue (DAF), while boosting the productivity? Good news, that kind of office—with relatively low interior design budget—it actually exists!

This is what you will see in a reception/ waiting area of that office. Yes, a collection of plants.

Tiny corner garden at the reception area

It’s Greenpeace Indonesia’s office. Aside from this collection of plants, the office also has a lot of plants in every corner, and has a fluid interior design by using short bamboo (less than 1.5 meters) as separator between departments. They believe that seeing green will help to give you a peaceful mindset and boost your productivity. This belief is supported by research saying that having plants in the office will increase productivity more than 40% and also is related to the Attention Restoration Theory.

Attention restoration theory explains three different kind of restoration: basic restoration, deep restoration, and wise management. One of the quickest ways to pursue is basic restoration that can be achieved by resting the mental resource. By resting the mental resource for a while, the mind will become fresh and ready to be productive again, or perhaps even more productive than before. Meanwhile seeing the green, or having vegetation (plants, trees, etc.) around is one way to rest the directed attention and switch to involuntary fascination, says the theory. Hence having a greener office will help to restore the mind, and at the end help boost the productivity of employees.

Aside from being surrounded by green, another way of practicing the basic restoration according to attention restoration is by taking a nap — providing a resting area supports this practice.

Lounge/ beanbags area normally use to have a quick rest,
or just to have a relax position while working.

This beanbag area is often used by employees to take a rest and have a quick nap during the day, so they will be able to go back to work fresh and with a clearer mindset.

More than just providing a beanbags area, the office is also very supportive with work-life balance and taking care of your mental capacity. For example, the office has a strict rule about building hours. The workspace will not be open before 8.00 AM and will be locked at 6.00 PM. If staff need to work before and after that time they can order a key. However, the office will not provide electricity before and after the official office hours. If staff urgently need to work overtime at the office, they have another option, which is to pay 75,000 Rp/hour (5.7 USD) for electricity, or 125,000 Rp/hour (9.6 USD) including air conditioning. These barriers prevent employees from being overworked, which might result in DAF.

In addition to working time, another way employees avoid DAF is through the regulations related to working hours. Staff are only eligible to work 40 hours a week. Staff will not get paid for working overtime. However, holiday (in a form of time in lieu/ TIL) will be provided as a substitution, as much as the amount of overtime, and this holiday should be taken within three months of the working time.

Furthermore, another way proposed by attention restoration theory to avoid DAF is by doing deep restoration, which can be completed by doing the basic restoration plus the effort to pursue reflection and reduce internal distraction. Yoga and meditation are two examples that can lead to deep restoration. Greenpeace Indonesia supports this practice by providing Healthy Living Benefits, which is an incentive that can be reimbursed for some activities: yoga and meditation are two of them. The idea behind giving these benefits is not about giving as much benefits to make an employee do it, but it’s rather about giving incentives as a trigger to do something beneficial for themselves. This way, the habit will be created and hopefully will be sustained.

Last but not least, attention restoration theory also proposes wise management, which includes the practice of eliminating external distraction and selecting preferred environments. This incentive is provided by giving freedom for staff to work from wherever. Most of the staff work from their office desk, but some move to more isolated rooms when they need more silence to reflect. The freedom to choose a workplace is extended to outside the office area. Some staff might choose to work from home, or wherever is more convenient to get their work done. This way they are able to choose familiar domains in order to avoid unnecessary effort, which could cause more DAF.

Creative Room only have one bright yellow sofa (with pillows and stuffed animals),
 and some floor-seated options, staff can use this room to do work, to contemplate, or to have a meeting.

This example might be not ideal if we compare to some other offices (Google’s office for example) which have a real nap room, play ground, or sophisticated technology. However, it shows that big investments are not a necessity in order to be able to provide spaces for attention restoration during the workday. Every office can do it, or even should do it, because, as we know, burned out people won’t be able to save the planet!

Sources:

Griffiths, S. (2013, December 6). Could having a plant on your desk get you a Promotion? Houseplants 'make workers 40% more productive and creative'. Daily Mail. Retreived from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2519437/Houseplants-make-workers-40-productive-creative.html

Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of environmental psychology, 15(3), 169-182.

Nieuwenhuis, M., Knight, C., Postmes, T., & Haslam, S. A. (2014). The relative benefits of green versus lean office space: Three field experiments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 20(3), 199.