Pasini Margherita, Brondino Margherita, Trombin Rita, Filippi Zeno
Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Independent Consultant, Verona, Italy.
Front Psychol. 2021 Sep 17;12:718446. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718446. eCollection 2021.
Exposure to environmental stressors has physical and psychological consequences. A demanding physical environment involves the allocation of additional attentional resources and an increase in psycho-physical stress. This study illustrates the process of a research-intervention aimed at designing a workplace, using a participatory design approach, and considering the beneficial effect of restorative environments in reducing stressful elements and improving well-being at work. Stressful situations occur daily, compromising proper functioning while causing the occurrence of physiological and/or psychological disorders. To be able to safeguard their psycho-physical well-being, people normally adopt coping strategies, i.e., remedies that allow them to cope and manage situations that generate stress. One of these strategies is the exposure to natural environments, which promotes recovery and sustains psycho-physical well-being. The restorative properties of natural environments have been scientifically proven. However, even built spaces can be thought of as restorative environments, in particular when certain conditions are granted. An applied science, known as biophilic design, provides useful indications from this perspective. This project involved 57 employees of the Italian site of an international non-governmental organization, in the transition from a site no longer adequate to a new site requiring renovation. In a first phase, a survey was conducted, to verify the perceived quality of the current workplace and to detect the unmet workers' needs, and to assess some other important psychological constructs connected with perception of restorativeness and well-being. In a second phase, the findings emerged from the survey was analyzed in depth through a participatory interior design process, together with an interdisciplinary team of architects, technicians of the organization and environmental psychology researchers. The team, together with some representatives of employees, worked together through possible scenarios, adopting a biophilic design approach, to design the new workplace. At the end, the same survey of the first phase was conducted, to detect differences in perceived quality in the new workplace compared to the previous one.
暴露于环境压力源会产生生理和心理后果。苛刻的物理环境需要分配额外的注意力资源，并增加心理生理压力。本研究阐述了一项研究干预过程，该干预旨在采用参与式设计方法设计一个工作场所，并考虑恢复性环境在减少压力因素和改善工作幸福感方面的有益效果。压力情况每天都会发生，损害正常功能，同时导致生理和/或心理障碍的出现。为了能够保障他们的身心健康，人们通常会采取应对策略，即能够让他们应对和管理产生压力的情况的补救措施。其中一种策略是接触自然环境，这有助于促进恢复并维持身心健康。自然环境的恢复特性已得到科学证明。然而，即使是人造空间也可以被视为恢复性环境，特别是在满足某些条件时。一门名为亲生物设计的应用科学从这个角度提供了有用的指导。该项目涉及一家国际非政府组织意大利分部的57名员工，他们正从一个不再适用的场地过渡到一个需要翻新的新场地。在第一阶段，进行了一项调查，以核实当前工作场所的感知质量，检测未满足的员工需求，并评估与恢复性和幸福感感知相关的其他一些重要心理结构。在第二阶段，通过参与式室内设计过程，与一组跨学科的建筑师、该组织的技术人员和环境心理学研究人员一起，对调查结果进行了深入分析。该团队与一些员工代表一起，采用亲生物设计方法，共同探讨各种可能的方案，以设计新的工作场所。最后，进行了与第一阶段相同的调查，以检测新工作场所与以前相比在感知质量上的差异。
