1. In an attempt to advocate body-conscious design
and healing work environments, this research study
of holistic health in the workplace explores cognitive,
social and physical well-being in four small US offices
that are between 1000 and 4000 square feet and
employ three to twelve employees. Holistic health,
as pursued in this research, includes social health,
emotional health and physical health. These three
factors of holistic health have been identified and
investigated in this study: biophilia: peoples’ love
and affiliation with other species and the natural
environment; ergonomics: the relationship between
the human body, movement, the immediate
environment and productivity; and exercise: exertion
of the body to obtain physical fitness. This research
study proposes that employees and employers of
these four participating workplaces desire mobility
and resources in the workplace that support holistic
health practices involving biophilia, ergonomics, and
exercise. Literature review of holistic health and the
holistic health factors of this research topic support
the idea that interaction with other species can be
healing, ergonomic body-conscious furniture and
equipment increase productivity, limit body aches,
pains and health costs; and exercise stimulates
the mind and body, increasing productivity.
This study has been conducted primarily with
qualitative and flexible research approaches using
observation,survey,interviewandpedometerreadings
as methods for data collection. Two small corporate
franchise financial institutions and two small private
healthcare providers from both Arizona and Georgia
participated in this study. Each office volunteered
one employer and two employee participants.
Of the holistic health factors considered in these
four case studies, this study found that a majority
of participants equally valued emotional health,
social health and physical health. A majority of
participants declared a preference for workplace
environments with serene natural environments
with outdoor spaces and interaction with other
species, work environments with body-conscious
furniture, equipment and workstations, as well as
exercise space and equipment. As these particular
workplace environments affirmed value for elements
of the factors biophilia, ergonomics and exercise, all
three factors are considered valueable within the
workplaces of these case studies. Furthermore, factors
that were said to contribute to personal productivity
in participating workplaces were found as well as
sacrifices that participants stated they would be
willing to make in order to implement their preferred
work environment(s). In addition, this study recorded
and calculated average miles walked by participants
in each workplace as well as existing incentives
and descriptions of ideal work environments.
Implications of this research study involve interior
design, industrial design and fashion design that can
accommodate the desires of the four participating
workplaces. Major design implications involve
accommodating these particular workplaces to
provide personnel with opportunities for holistic health
in working environments. More specific implications
of office related design involve providing access to
naturalenvironments,body-consciousequipmentand
spaces, as well as opportunities for exercise and social
interaction. These elements of the factors biophilia,
ergonomics and exercise were found to be said to
contribute to cognitive, social and physical health.
HolisticHealthFactorsintheWorkplace:Biophilia,ErgonomicsandExercise
AprilP.McEwan,MSDIndustrialDesign,ASU
PhilipWhite,Chair,ASU
RebeccaBarry,CommitteeMember,ASU
JamesShraiky,CommitteeMember,ASU
ABSTRACT
Primary areas of
concentration for
thesis study:
conceptual
framework