Concurrents – Environmental Psychology: Recognize the Rituals!

Workplace rituals help groups become and stay psychologically healthy and perform to their full potential – so, it’s important that the physical design of a workplace syncs with positive, well-practiced work group customs.

Watson-Jones and Legare report in a recent Current Directions in Psychological Science article that rituals, in general, can aid in the building of social cohesion, or bonds between group members, which can support professional performance, particularly in stressful situations. Trust and cooperation grow between people who feel that they are members of the same group. Participating in group rituals can identify someone as a committed member of a group, someone who shares values and beliefs with other group members.

Celebrating birthdays during the workday can be a workplace ritual. The same goes for eating lunch together or seasonal parties. I know of a work group that plays cards together every lunchtime; that card playing is a ritual for that group.

Workspaces can support rituals. A centrally located table to play cards at makes life easier for those card players, for example. A relatively open space, or an area where furniture can be scooted out of the way, can be a great place for celebrations.

During programming research, designers must identify their client’s rituals if they’re going to help sustain them. Observing and interviewing are great ways to collect information about rituals. Structuring crisp to administer survey questions to learn about rituals can be challenging.

Recognize rituals. The people who use the spaces and objects you design and manage will be glad you did – and so will their employers.

Watson-Jones and C. Legare. 2016. “The Social Functions of Group Rituals.” Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 25, pp. 42-46.

Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. 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.