INTRODUCTION

Now a days almost 60% of the worlds population is working. In which up to 40% of
workers in some countries report experiencing work-related stress , as wide range of youth
and middle-aged people spend maximum of their time in a day in their workplace, carrying a
huge amount of workload and organizational stress throughout.

Generally, layout of offices aim mainly to facilitate the company's production

system, focusing on improving the quantity produced, and not considering the state of mind
and comfort of the working staff. However, opposite to factories that operate essentially
based on machines, offices operate based on people. The way a space is designed affects the
mood because we see, sense and feel the design.

workplace has a lot of impact on one's mental health. The study focus on
understanding how a good workspace ambience can increase employee’s comfort,
motivation, relieve stress to achieve high working efficiency .

AIM

 To explore how architecture can be of aid in relieving employee’s stress in workspace

and also study on how spatial planning helps in improving work efficiency and
productivity.

OBJECTIVES
 To study the existing workspaces and understand the factors causing stress
 To thoroughly study the requirements and functioning of a workspace.
 To study the importance of acoustics in creating a peaceful work environment.

 To study about ergonomics for creating a comfortable workspace.

 To study the effects of colours on one’s mental health.
 To understand effectiveness of design solutions such as natural light, greenery,
furniture and equipment to determine their impact on employee stress.

SCOPE
  To examine how workspace design can affect employees behaviour , interaction and
productivity.
 To examine the effectiveness of design solutions such as natural light, greenery, and
ergonomic furniture to determine their impact on employee stress with supportive case
studies.
 To understand how the impact of physical environment plays a crucial role in
employees health and wellbeing through literature study.
 To analyse the psychological needs of employees including the need for autonomy,
privacy, and a sense of control with respect to existing data.
 To Identify potential stressors and determine ways to reduce or eliminate these
stressors.
LIMITATIONS

 The research would rely on the available data regarding psychological aspects of
workspace design and organizational stress in IT sector .

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

 What are the various causes of organizational stress?

 What are the effects of stress at the work place?
 How stress can be managed at workplace?
 What is the role of architecture in human well-being ?

LITERATURE STUDY

The need to enhance the workspace

Urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg calls one's "first place" the home and those that one lives
with. The "second place" is the workplace - where people may spend most of their time.
Third places are "anchors" of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative
interaction. In other words, "your third place is where you relax in public, where you
encounter familiar faces and make new acquaintances. The need for these three separate
"places" defines how human environments are unknowingly designed. Although due to the
schedule an office going person follows, the time spent in the "third place" is drastically
reducing. Hence the need of combining the "second place" and the "third place" arises.

Mental concentration is vital for good work performance. Absolute alertness and attention
are essential if one is to concentrate. There is still a large amount of offices which use the
traditional cubical and the generic open office plan which lacks to provide the necessary
privacy within an office . Whereas a design with more informal spaces, social interaction
activity areas, that help create an office promote creativity, collaboration, sharing of
knowledge, team building and relaxation.

EVOLUTION OF OFFICES

The first offices originated in ancient Rome as spaces where official work was conducted,
and that similar spaces existed in some form throughout the ages. However, it was not until
the 18th century that dedicated office buildings began to be created.

Open plan office - The earliest modern offices were remarkable for their scientific approach
and emphasised efficiency and the adoption of a rigid, regimented office layout that resulted
in workers sat at endless rows of desks with managers located in encircling offices where
they could observe.

Evolution of open plan office - As skyscrapers and other large commercial buildings were
developed, the workplace altered to become a spacious space where there was a mix of
private offices and open plan workstations, complete with typewriters, and in some cases a
dedicated staff kitchen or canteen....................................................
Burolandschaft - More socially democratic layout which consequently encouraged a great
degree of human interaction and engagement. An originally German concept, which
translates to 'office landscape', and after becoming popular in northern Europe, began to
spread around the world .

The Action Office - Included a variety of alternate work settings for staff, increased
freedom of movement and a greater degree of privacy when working. The influence on
office design was twofold with increased space required for rows of modular furniture that
provided staff with privacy and flexibility to work in a position suitable for the task at hand.
While there was an increased emphasis placed on meeting rooms, an individual's
workstation became larger and more enclosed, and though it did provide plenty of space to
work, it did lead to less interaction as staff became less visible to each other.
The influence of female workers into what was traditionally a male dominated
workplace in the 1960's also led to subtle changes in how the workplace was designed. The
office now required a greater level of privacy, and many female workers now demanded a
"modesty board', which was simply a plywood section that covered the front of a desk, and
critically their legs. In fact, the Observer ran an article entitled 'Would you let your daughter
work in an open plan office?' as lately as1968.
The Cubicle Farm - The availability of cheap, but effective modular walls alongside an
increased focus on profitability at the expense of working conditions are seen as the key
factors behind the complete shift in office design, suffered throughout the 1980 .