For a long time, making sure that worker welfare and comfort wouldn’t be compromised by others, via sexual harassment, for instance, was not often discussed in workplaces. Now, as more attention is paid to related issues, it makes sense to consider how design can support in-workplace feelings of safety.
For decades the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) movement has been optimizing urban experiences, and many of the principles discussed by CPTED practitioners are relevant in workplaces. CPTED promotes the careful management of sight lines, for example, because areas that are, or potentially can be, “under surveillance” are spaces where undesirable acts are less likely to occur. Creating sight lines does not mean that a space has to be entirely open from all angles, just that it is visually accessible by some.
Also, CPTED’ers have learned that people feel more powerful in a space that is their “territory” and are better behaved in places that are controlled by others – so creating territories for each employee can have benefits; people can be better able to “defend themselves” on their home turf. Territories can be continuing, such as assigned workstations, or temporary. Temporary claims can be suggested by arms on single person seats and spaces for people to spread out their possessions around themselves, for example. The International CPTED Association has a website: http://www.cpted.net
Building flexibility into furnishings can also help. When people can slightly reposition relatively lightweight furniture or shift their position on a seat slightly, they are apt to be able to maintain desired personal distances from each other.
Similarly, making sure that people have opportunities for mental refreshment in a space – because they have access to views of nature (“real time” or via art/photographs), indoor plants, natural light, and/or water features/fish tanks – can help keep employees on top of their game and in relatively positive mind sets, which may, at least to some extent, support better behavior.
One of the most important ways to keep users acting in desirable ways is to signal that all users of an area are fully welcomed and respected. Nonverbal communication can heavily influence behavior – in a space where “decoration” and upkeep call to mind “frat boys,” for example, there will be more “frat boy-like” behavior.
Office design can, to some extent, reduce the likelihood/severity of inappropriate workplace behavior; it can make its most positive contribution when it’s aligned with organizational policies and cultures.
Sally Augustin, PhD, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com). Research Design Connections reports on research conducted by social and physical scientists that designers can apply in practice. Insights derived from recent studies are integrated with classic, still relevant findings in concise, powerful articles. Topics covered range from the cognitive, emotional, and physiological implications of sensory and other physical experiences to the alignment of culture, personality, and design, among others. Information, in everyday language, is shared in a monthly subscription newsletter, an archive of thousands of published articles, and a free daily blog. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.