The report describes the design process that led to an implementation strategy for a design intervention that fosters a sense of belonging and cohesion in working environments, by increasing opportunities of spontaneous face-to-face informal encounters. The research follows two different approaches: the classical double diamond process from the Design Council (Ball B. J., 2019) and the Empirical Research through Design (ERDM) in which a design hypothesis (expectation about the effect of the design on behaviour and well-being) is formulated and then tested (Keyson, D. V., & Bruns, M.,2009). Since it was difficult to find an office physically open during COVID-19, the design process was developed at the IDE faculty involving IDE employees’, Team managers, experts in Social Sciences and Technology, the Human Resources and Facility Management department.The Discover phase of the project consisted of in-depth literature review and semi-structured interviews to explore the concept of social well-being in the workplace, and learn about the personal experiences and opinions of workers. The Define phase was devoted to scoping the problem, and the formulation of a design vision and hypothesis. The Develop phase aimed to explore several directions for the final design intervention, and consisted of three generative phases with different stakeholders involved through evaluation, co-creative and iteration sessions. The fourth Deliver phase, was aimed at defining the final design intervention in terms of feasibility, desirability and viability. This phase involved testing the prototype in the coffee corners of the IDE faculty (through observations and short interviews), and formulating an implementation strategy that emphasises the importance, methods and stakeholders’ benefits of adopting the final design solution.During the pandemic, the sense of cohesion and belonging between colleagues is significantly reduced due to the decrease of spontaneous face-to-face informal social interactions. As the hybrid working mode is expected to be the future of the way of working (de Klerk J. J., 2021), it is important that organisations emphasise the social aspect of the office by increasing the possibilities for social interactions between colleagues (Dahik, A., 2021). A sense of belonging and cohesion in the office benefits not only the well-being of employees, but also the performance of the organisation (Rosales, R. M., 2016). The final design is a demonstration that it is possible to increase the sense of cohesion and belonging among workers, by means of an interactive object that increases the chances of informal serendipitous encounters. For implementation, organisations need to maintain long-term contact with supplier partners (e.g. furniture companies) to produce, assemble and develop new design features. These change according to the evolution of the pandemic, and the insights generated by ongoing user testing. The organisation is responsible for monitoring and directing the social behaviour of the office (Team Managers and HR Department), and for the installation and maintenance of the object within the office café corners (Facility Management Department). The continuous sharing of research insights between companies and supplier partners contributes to the development of knowledge for a healthier and socially connected workplace in the post-pandemic era.

This project aims to improve employees’ social well-being in offices through informal interactions. It consists of 3 phases in total, context research, idea generation and concept development. Experiencing prototyping was mainly used in the design process.

In the first phase, observation and interviews were conducted in 2 offices in Beijing to know about the context and discover problems and design opportunities. Another round of research was carried out in StudioLab for verification of the insights from Beijing offices. The results, combining with the results of the literature review, led to the design goal defined.

Then the project started to focus on stimulating meaningful chats among employees to increase their sense of belonging. Ideas were brainstormed and selected, prototypes and storyboards were made to let participants evaluate the concepts through interviews. After 3 cycles of idea generation, the final concept direction was defined.

After that, 2 cycles of concept development were conducted to iterate the concept. Again, prototypes were made and interviews were done to evaluate the concept and get feedback from participants. In the end, the final design was defined, final prototypes were made and final evaluation was conducted.

Overall, it is a design project exploring solutions for solving one of employees’ social problems in offices, lacking the sense of belonging.

The amount of people working from home has been increasing. However, working from home has its issues and consequences. The degree to which one experiences recovery from stress and fatigue is limited when working from home, which has consequences on motivation, performance, health, and well-being. The aim of this project was therefore to develop a product that supports restoration during working from home. One way to achieve restoration is described by the Attention Restoration Theory, which poses that interaction with an environment can restore mental fatigue if it meets four properties: 1) a sense of being away, 2) fascination, or effort less attention, 3) extent, or a feeling of immersion, and 4) compatibility and congruence between the person and the environment. If an experience meets these properties, it can have similar restorative powers.  User research with homeworkers following the context mapping method revealed where the opportunities for an intervention lie. This user research showed that the four properties of attention restoration were not all met in the current home-work-environment, thereby limiting the possibility for the home-work-environment to be restorative. Especially the sense of being away is limited, due to inability to distance oneself physically as well as psychologically from the workplace. A design direction was defined: re-establishing the borders between work and non-work, and making the switching moments more conscious.   Nature is particularly good in meeting the four properties of attention restoration. Besides, nature can reduce stress, and improve mood and wellbeing. Biophilic design takes into account these advantages of nature and translates them into guidelines for design. A red thread throughout the concepting phase of this project is therefore biophilic design. The resulting design of this project is Ecflo, an inflatable lamp that functions as a break-reminder through dynamic light textures. Ecflo creates a liminal moment at the switching moments between work and non-work. Upon the start of a home-work-day the user inflates Ecflo, an interaction functioning as energizer. When it is time for a break, Ecflo moves and creates light effects, drawing the user’s attention away from the screen, towards a moment of fascination. Ecflo creates a conscious decision at this switching moment: continue work, or take a break. This way, it helps in structuring the home-work-day and helps separate work and non-work. Ecflo is restorative in the sense that it creates fascination through random and ephemeral patterns and movements. The design sustains interest, and thereby creates extent. The design is compatible in the sense that it is suitable for working from home and the home environment. However, evaluation study showed that the feeling of being away is limited, as Ecflo does not fully create an escape experience. Evaluation of the concept was done using the Perceived Restorativeness for Activities Scale. However, this scale is not fully suitable for product evaluation. Development of a research method suitable for evaluation of a product’s restorative potential is thus needed to evaluate Ecflo’s restorative potential. For further development of the concept, a functioning model should be made and tested with homeworkers.