on Work From Home
Since the invention of the personal computer and the OPEC oil crisis in the 1970s, work from home started to become a reasonable choice to save money and time. Many big companies, such as IBM, began to ask their employees to work from home as an experiment. They were often called telecommuters or teleworkers with a limitation of time. Today, with the fast development of technology, the term telecommuter is out of date. Personal computers, high-speed v and digital devices such as smartphones are all supporting work from home. The Covid-19 pandemic also made working from home a regularly discussed subject. Many companies were forced to redesign their offering for no contact delivery. Different from the 20th century, knowledge workers today can not only save money and commuting time, but they can also have more privacy and a less stressful workspace.
Question:
How can communication designers maximize the wellness of work from home?
Design Response 01:
Relink_Meditation Website
Relink Website Screenshots
Along with the development of digital devices, it is easier than ever to get lost in the internet world. We shop, entertain, and work online. If work from home is now a new daily usual, almost 1/3 of our lives are trapped in the virtual world. To remind humans that we are alive in this real world, “Relink” was born.
“Relink” is a meditation website aiming to help people who have worked for a long time virtually reconnect with the real world. This indoor guided meditation can help the participant explore their room by walking, smelling, and touching.
Relink Meditation Script
The script encourages participants to use the five senses and walk around the room. The words are carefully chosen to be general enough so they can fit the majority of indoor spaces.
The audios for this meditation are all collected from random participants. They are different in gender, age, occupation, race, etc., but they are all actual humans. Each participant was asked to think of one thing that represents them the most and categorize their audio.
Those amateur voices, loud background noises, and various accents remind us that we are human and we are here.
Design Response 02
Work From Home Manifesto
Along with the long history, office rooms also have many rules. However, most of these rules do not apply to working from home. As a young employment arrangement, work from home needs restrictions to regulate the relationship between employer and employee. The lack of regulation might cause difficulty distinguishing the boundaries between life and work, consequently affecting mental wellness. This manifesto is designed to regulate the experience of work from home and encourage workers to develop a clear line between life and work.
For details, please check this project: Link
For physical exhibition, I used lenticular printing to present my animation without using a digital device.
Design Response 03
on WFH
Actual Working Schedule Ideal Working Schedule
During the research, I asked eight participants to help me with this “on WFH” exercise
to determine what workers feel about working from home and working on-site. First, the participants were asked to fill out pie charts to demonstrate their daily schedule when they work from home and work on-site. Then they were asked to fill the pie chart one more time to find out their ideal on- site and WFH schedule. Most of the participants find the results funny because it shows how much they don’t want to work, and none of them dare to take work out of their ideal schedule. Many participants tend to work four hours a day and take a more extended lunch break. This exercise encourages the participants to say their requests out loud. There is no right or wrong in the ideal schedule.
to determine what workers feel about working from home and working on-site. First, the participants were asked to fill out pie charts to demonstrate their daily schedule when they work from home and work on-site. Then they were asked to fill the pie chart one more time to find out their ideal on- site and WFH schedule. Most of the participants find the results funny because it shows how much they don’t want to work, and none of them dare to take work out of their ideal schedule. Many participants tend to work four hours a day and take a more extended lunch break. This exercise encourages the participants to say their requests out loud. There is no right or wrong in the ideal schedule.
Archive
Design Book
I put everything into this design book to archive all my research and design responses. The contents are divided into three sections, entrance, research, and methodology. The cover is designed to mimic a floor plan, so it fits with the topic. All three sections are clipped together just like holding a pile of information. I used an alternative accordion binding for the binding so the spreads won't be cut off from the middle, and it can still open as a perfect binding book.
Thank you for viewing!
And welcome to contribute to the meditation website!