Concurrents – Environmental Psychology: Beating Burnout, Via Design – Part 1
People in many workplaces are talking about burnout – perhaps due to the time of year, and perhaps because the World Health Organization recently and publicly discussed it. Whatever the reason, it’s a hot topic; burnout degrades both employees’ wellbeing and their professional performance. Burnout related research makes it clear that there are a number of forces that contribute to people being burned out, many of which are beyond the responsibilities of people who design and manage workplaces. Published research also makes it clear that design can reduce the likelihood that people will feel burned out, primarily via creating a more positive atmosphere that is inconsistent with burnout. One burnout risk factor, for example, is employee workload; when job demands exceed employee ability to achieve, burnout can ensue. Workplace design that supports the effective completion of the task-at-hand and also provides opportunities for cognitive refreshment can help make these “overload” …
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