Moving Well explored what people would like to do in the workplace to improve their physical and mental wellbeing. It focused on simple and gentle movements that might be recognisable from Tai Chi or similar mind body practices.
The Experience Lab team led two co-design workshops in collaboration with Glimpse Ltd., who are knowledgeable and experienced in running Movement for Wellbeing workshops within workplaces.
It was proposed that people can increase their wellbeing by introducing and maintaining a simple regime of gentle exercise during their working day. We asked how to practically achieve this and how to promote the pursuit of wellbeing within the workplace.
In each co-design workshop, we used several design research methods to explore the possibilities in this space together with participants who showed an interest in the context or, in some cases, had particular personal issues around wellbeing in the workplace, such as having to manage chronic conditions.
The first co-design workshop looked at the context participants work in and the reasons for addressing wellbeing in the workplace. This produced personas and scenarios representing the typical habits, motivations and lifestyles of people with long hours of desktop working and included opportunities for bringing wellbeing practices into their daily routines.
The second co-design workshop looked at how people attempt to manage their wellbeing at work and how wellbeing practices can be promoted and sustained.
Recommendations for future work emerged from the co-design activities, creating space for the discussion and consideration of wellbeing by addressing topics such as: the value of wellbeing and feeling self-conscious; sustaining the practice of wellbeing within the workplace; considering motivations such as relieving stress and anxiety; managing long term conditions by working with props and recording and evidencing progress; implications for supportive technologies; and the importance of changing the culture of the workplace.
