First experiences
Our ‘first’ experiences are often our most intense. They shape our world from birth, and as we age, each ‘first’ invokes varying levels of emotional reaction. Whether visceral and full of fear, exhilarating, stressful, pleasurable or provocative, the legacy of a ‘first’ becomes a reference point for all similar experiences.
Repeated exposure lessens impact
Once you’ve absorbed and assimilated this initial reaction, your response to the same experience in the future will be less intense. For example, when you taste a rich new recipe for the first time, it engages your senses and brings unique pleasure. Each subsequent taste, however, while pleasurable, will not have the same impact as that first experience. And the pleasure response will proportionately lessen each time you encounter that recipe. It’s a natural effect.
You become, in effect, dulled by a thousand cuts. That first, deep, emotional response is eventually replaced with normalisation and a baseline response. While your overall quality of experience will have been elevated by the recipe, your emotional response will have normalised.
The slow decline after the honeymoon...
‘Firsts’ in the workplace
Research conducted by the Leesman Index shows that a carefully researched and well-delivered space will cause a significant uplift in happiness and wellbeing among users. However, this uplift is not sustained over time, returning to a base or normalised level around 18 months from the initial peak. In essence, no matter how beautifully prepared and designed the workspace, sustained exposure will dilute the impact on users, ultimately reducing the value of the investment. The veneer of the new is only skin deep.
Well-designed solutions deliver long-term benefits
Clearly, a well-designed solution meeting real needs will ultimately deliver a deeper level of satisfaction and contribute to greater efficiency than a design relying on wow factor. The pragmatic, objective qualities of the design will continue to provide benefits long after the subjective, experiential qualities have been normalised through time and familiarity. For example, many new office spaces incorporate small, cellular open or closed spaces, or booths, that facilitate concentrated working or one-to-one conversations. They might appear novel at first sight, but they also add real value.
The interplay between subjective and objective factors
Is there a way to manage the erosion in subjective engagement with a workplace over time? Is it possible to combine the two types of response – emotional and pragmatic – with a design that both excites and stands the test of time?
According to Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman in his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, our brains are perfectly capable of reconciling two different, subconscious ways of thinking, instinctive gut reaction and rational appreciation.
Rekindling the spark
At Burtt-Jones & Brewer, we believe it’s possible to re-inspire people’s enthusiasm for their workspace and renew the flame of engagement long after the initial honeymoon is over. We do this partly through the use of a well-tested psychological tool, delivered via workshops and staff engagement communications, and partly through a series of judiciously managed, light-touch interventions at specified intervals. Employers need to understand that just as their people grow and develop, so their workplace needs to remain fresh, relevant, and fit for purpose.
We also believe that these small nudges can be designed in from day one and integrated into the design process before any refurbishment. One such nudge is creating areas that allow change to happen more frequently and, in some if not all cases, are instigated by the staff themselves. Other hints designed in might be simple ideas like changing the artwork every six months, moving certain furniture around, repainting walls and refreshing the planting. All ideas that keep the work environment alive and prevent it from becoming static.
After the honeymoon
After the honeymoon is over, there is work to be done. For all those counsellors out there that discuss with couples how to reignite a flagging relationship, none of this is new. However, when there is an opportunity to improve what is most likely the second most significant relationship in your life, the honeymoon period is not just an issue for couples struggling to keep the flame alive, it’s a potential warning sign to employers that they need to re-inspire, re-engage and review their workplace.