Hi Chiara, how are you?  

 

Hello. Not too bad - yourself?

 

Very good, thank you. I wanted to ask you about a new report that you've produced at LOM called 'Space for focus, the science and design of centred working'. It's a fascinating read. I've read most of it, but could you briefly summarize the main points that you feel are key here? 

 

Yes, absolutely. So, just to start, this study comes from a bit of a personal struggle with being able to concentrate in a busy office space, discovering that there's so much scientific research that is available on the subject, and trying to combine it with workplace knowledge that we at LOM have acquired over the last 30 years. So, the idea was to provide a study as a bit of a tool for the design industry and for our clients to try to assess their spaces and understand how they can design focus space more inclusively for a wider range of needs. The study is structured in two parts – science and design. The science bit delves into the reasons why behaviours or environmental conditions can either help promote our ability to focus or hinder it. For example, if you look at the negative effects on people from constant emails, notifications, as well as stress, fatigue, unhealthy diet, sedentary behaviour, as opposed to healthy food choices, regular exercise, mindfulness, being immersed in nature - it's looking at both aspects, both sides. And then the design section is extracting some of these critical learnings, and it's trying to transform them into practical applications. Imagine: almost like a cheat sheet to try to understand the main points that really you should hit to try to design spaces for focus that are as inclusive as they can be.

 

Right at the outset there you mentioned it stemmed from a personal journey. Were you feeling yourself stressed by your office settings or your workplace settings? And, indeed, what have you put into action from the stuff that you've unearthed in this report?

 

Yes, it was a little bit of a personal struggle, I think, particularly after the pandemic, coming back to the office, everyone being on calls all the time, as we do these days. So, it definitely stemmed from the struggle with focusing in a busy office where everyone is speaking out loud in a kind of meeting tone of voice. So, in terms of learning – things that we have put into action, into our workplace, do you mean?

 

Yes, you particularly, but also you as a practice? 

 

I mean, we are a medium-sized practice, and our office is fairly compact, so anything that we test and implement really needs to be as multi-functional as possible, because we don't necessarily have the larger space of some larger corporate offices. We are going through a number of changes internally in the practice, and we are going to aim to make some of our cellular spaces a bit more multi-functional and potentially look at using some of our smaller meeting spaces and having them double up as spaces for focus and spaces for sanctuary. But from a personal perspective, I have looked into some of the learnings that have come from, for example, time management or mindfulness that are in the document, and I've taken them on board. I try to stick to them and practice them as much as possible.

 

Do you? What do you do in terms of mindfulness? Just in terms of a tip for me and perhaps NLW’s readers?

 

I think it's useful sometimes to simply step back from when you're feeling overwhelmed. Step back from a task, and take five minutes, 10 minutes at most. I think practicing mindfulness or practicing meditation – we see that a lot with some of our clients that have also implemented what we refer to as sanctuary spaces. So, if you just get yourself into a space where nobody else is, you're there on your own; if you can do meditation on your own, great. If not, put on an app, something like Headspace, and really try to calm down and just gain a different perspective for five minutes. It's bound to leave you more refreshed as you start your work again. I found it to be very beneficial.

 

Sure. And do you find that, when you're recommending this stuff, to what degree is it about the company culture that you're the company that you're recommending it to, and to what degree is it the design of the workplace that's important?

 

I think it goes hand in hand. Company culture is essential. I mean, to be honest, many of our clients are very, very clued up, but in reality, there is a need to empower colleagues, and give them the freedom of choice as to how and where they work, that they can work to perform at their best, really. And that is also why this research is not just about focus rooms or spaces for focus alone, but it's about almost the, I would call it 'capillary effect', that you get when you are instigating more structural change in an office. And it goes from food offering to make sure that people have healthy food choices, wellbeing spaces to make sure that people can exercise, calm down or meditate, opportunities for exercise, rest, sanctuary. So, this level of change cannot just be instigated as a means of, you know, enticing people or retaining talent. It really needs to spring from an acknowledgement that our job performance is dramatically improved when some of these aspects are taken care of.

 

But I suppose it's still a question of balance, isn't it? Because you don't want to appear too nannying or coaxing or pressured, even for employees to adopt certain techniques or processes, do you? It should be a sort of free system, presumably?

 

Absolutely. That's why I mentioned choice, and leaving people free. One of the key aspects that is mentioned in the document is that idea of empowering individuals. It's acknowledging the fact that our ability to focus really changes wildly from person to person. So, acknowledging the fact that some people will need isolation, that some people will need visual separation from the rest of the office, and really just trying to make our spaces - I've called it in the document, something like 'tunability', to make spaces tuneable; to be able to change around us and suit our individual work styles.

 

What's next in terms of data collection in this area for you?

 

We would like to try to take this forward as much as possible. We are going through a phase of, first of all, sharing this information, presenting it to people in different industries. We're keen to start looking into putting together questionnaires and running them for people across a number of industries, because I think what we're really interested in understanding now is whether the way that people concentrate is purely linked to our personal preferences, or whether the environment that we work in and the jobs that we carry out have any impact on the way that we concentrate. So, we're really keen to understand whether our recommendations in terms of design need to take into account sectors and environments as well as our personal preferences. 

 

Well, good luck with it all. It's, as I say, a fascinating read, and I'm going to try and adopt myself some of these principles, perhaps firstly, with a mindfulness app. So, thank you for the for the tips.

 

Absolutely! 

 

Thanks a lot. Chiara, 

 

No worries. Lovely to talk to you. 

 

And you, bye!