Design Team
Individual project
Timeline
May 26 - August 4
Location
Glasgow
MY ROLE
This is my master design research project, I am responsible for the entire project planning and production
INSPIRATION
We all know that mental health has a huge impact on people's daily life. Research has shown that among many mental health problems, social anxiety disorder is the most widespread and difficult to self-perceive mental health threat. People with social anxiety will voluntarily avoid some social situations, but for most of the social situations that need to be faced at work, these people will suffer. To make matters worse, many workplaces do not take effective measures for the mental health of employees, and even stigma and discrimination still exist. My project will address the social anxiety problem in the workplace, develop a method so that every employee can treat social anxiety problems fairly, and provide opportunities for employees with social anxiety problems to express their needs. The ideal is to create a Work environment with less social anxiety and more positive atmosphere.
IDEATION
The research methods affected by lock down are all conducted remotely. I discussed with two experts online the in-depth understanding of social anxiety and the current methods of coping with social anxiety at work. We discussed the future workplace concerns about employees’ mental health. possibility. I conducted in-depth research with a netizen with social anxiety. He described to me his feelings and needs at work. At the same time, I observe people's descriptions of their own psychology and behavior in the communication of many anxiety groups on the Internet.
This information shows that people with social anxiety have the behavioural characteristics of conditioned avoidance. They think that exposure to a social environment is a danger signal, and avoidance is a self-protection behavior. This behavior has existed in their daily work for a long time, which caused the misunderstanding of colleagues and bosses, and they developed a kind of value, that the social positivity shows their work capacity. Then it can generate feelings of self-blame and low self-esteem.
Remote Expert and User Interview
Get information about the current situation of social anxiety, as well as target user behaviours and their needs
Observation
People with social anxiety disorder and their experience and feelings
Problems Mapping
Categorize the social anxiety related problems in workplace
User Journey Map
The journey of user's daily work routine and the different anxiety levels between three persona
THE OUTCOME
Considering the cognitive and behavioural balance of social anxiety people could be the key to alleviating anxiety in the workplace. Based on the theory of change, I designed a toolkit for the workplace and named it Cheerboard. It is suitable for use in a team or an entire company. For those who are about to face public occasions or stressful social engagements, Cheerboard provides a card to write down their work tasks. They can either choose to do this anonymously or disclose their name. Other members of the team can choose to paste different gesture symbols on the board to encourage the sufferer, or they can choose to leave a message to tell the sufferer their own experiences or feelings. The only principle is to encourage employees to actively express their encouragement for others.
User Journey Map
The journey of user's daily work routine and the different anxiety levels between three persona
Cheerboard
Storyboard