CBI A3 22-23 Team SQUID Phase 1 White Paper

Challenge Based Innovation 2022-23

Phase 1 White Paper

Laura Bartlett

Javan Fan

Chen Haw Chien

Published by Swinburne University of Technology, School of Design, 2023

Printed in Melbourne by Laura Bartlett, Javan Fan & Chen Haw Chien

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from Swinburne University of Technology.

Declaration of Originality

Unless specifically referenced in the bibliography, the mark and all other material in this book is the original creation of the author.

Copyright Agreement

I agree for Swinburne University to use my project in this book for non-commercial purposes including: promoting the activities of the university or students: internal educational or administrative purposes: entry into appropriate awards, competitions papers; use in research papers or conference presentations as student examples of co-design projects and other related non-commercial activities: as an example for future students on line and face to face and in lectures. In some situations, this may involve repurposing the work to meet the requirement of Swinburne’s use.

I agree to grant to Swinburne a worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable and free-of-fee license to use this project produced in DDD60001 in any way for non-commercial purposes.

Signed Laura, Javan, Justin Date 19 / 1 / 2023

Executive Summary

We aim to target workplace burnout as this is a growing societal problem that impacts a large majority of Australians. We aim to improve o ce workers workplace culture by addressing the aim to improve the connection of workplace burnout and promote a healthy work life balance with the use of technology.

Societal Challenges

Working cultures are increasingly becoming more accepting of mental behaviours that impact employees within the workplace. Statistics record that 62% of employees feel burnout compared with 53% of global employees. As the working culture is becoming more adaptable to working from home, there is no better time than to support workers to improve their mental stability and attitude within a workplace. Through research we found that people o en feel burnout out due to the reasons listed on the right.

48% Global employees

66% Australian mangers

53% Global mangers

62% Australians employees

Sharples, S. (2022, September 26). Australian workers su er most burnout in world.

Lack of autonomy

Job security

Poor working relationships

Long hours

Heavy workloads Boring work

Tight deadlines

Stress

Workplace burnout is a type of work-related stress characterised by long term physical and emotional exhaustion. It is usually caused by a combination of issues with management, work culture and work/life balance. These stressors tend to be small and insidious, accumulating over time, leading to burnout which can be very di cult to address once it has already happened.

Following the pandemic, workplaces have moved towards remote work and working from home. This trend has only shown signs of increasing, with "work from anywhere" likely to become the norm as more and more businesses moving away from physical workplaces and hiring employees overseas. As this happens, certain stressors such as isolation and blurred work/life balance become more important as the way people work change, and thus the way workplace burnout needs to be addressed also changes.

Workplace Burnouts

Focus Area

We aim to elevate burnout by targeting three core areas that we believe to have the highest significance relating to burnout.

Management

-Increasing awareness. -Providing e ective burnout resources.

-Altering burnout for management.

Workplace culture

-Improving connections.

-Increasing awareness.

-Meeting individual needs with solutions.

Poor work life balance

-Improving workplace pressures.

-Management resources.

-Increasing individuals motivations and ambitions.

In 2030: Future Senarios

In the future, CERN and ATTRACT technology will play a key role in reducing workplace burnout, particularly in the context of working from anywhere. There is expected to be an advancement with the 6G technology allowing people to connect faster and more e ciently which allows working from anywhere to be a thing of future society.

With the ability to automate repetitive tasks and assist with decision-making and data analysis, AI can help to reduce the demands on employees and improve their overall well-being. Additionally, AI-enabled technology and sensors may be embedded in o ce equipment and working environments to detect signs of burnout in employees. For example, AI and sensor algorithms could analyze employees' voices and facial expressions, monitoring for signs of stress and fatigue. This information could then be used to trigger interventions, such as providing employees with rest breaks or connecting them with resources for support.

However, it's important to consider the ethical and moral implications, privacy and data protection, and security and safety risks involved in the use of this technology for detecting burnout and working remotely. The use of advanced technology to monitor employee well-being raises ethical and moral concerns, such as the potential for invasion of privacy, and the collection and analysis of sensitive personal information. Furthermore, there are security and safety risks associated with the use of this technology, such as the potential for hacking or data breaches, which can compromise the privacy and security of employees.

To mitigate these risks while also respecting employees' privacy and well-being, organizations must implement robust security measures with encryption and access controls, to help protect data and systems from being accessed unauthorized. They also have to be transparent and accountable in their use of technology, clearly communicating their data collection and usage policies to employees, and providing them with the option to opt out if they prefer. It's important to give the employees the choice of whether they want to use the tech or not and how they can use it can di er depending on where they are working from and how they best communicate and collaborate with peers.

Proposed Solution Hygiea

An AI-powered home o ce with smart furniture designed to reduce workplace stressors and prevent burnout.

User

o ce workers, more likely to be WFA, have similar work environment and stressors across many industries, make up a large majority of Australian workforce.

67%

Percentage of workers who sometimes or always work from home in 2021

https://aifs.gov.au/media/two-thirds-australians-are-working-home

Hygiea AI

Utilizing sensors to detect the physical symptoms of burn-out. Provide regular self-assessment for workers, and analyse trends. Intelligent schedule to prevent overwork.

H office

Ergonomic design to avoid digital fatigue.

Embedded with sensors to collect information.

Flexibility to situate in di erent workplaces.

AI

Management Worker

Hpod

Provide clear boundaries. between personal and work areas. Have toggle-able sensors to prevent overwork Zero latency connection with co-workers.

How

H o ce is a collection of furniture and sensors which are ergonomic and unobtrusive in order to reduce digital and physical fatigue when working.

These sensors are powered by the Hygiea AI which uses the information to detect physical symptoms of stress and burnout. The Hygiea AI will interpret this data by analysing trends and providing feedback to the worker. It will also intelligently schedule the workers' work day based on how they are doing and the urgency of certain tasks.

H Pod will house H o ce and Hygiea AI in a physically separate room, providing a clear boundary between personal and work areas. It contains standardised inbuilt large scale features

H pod is also capable to utlize in modular ways.

What

The three main service of Hygiea, which work together to generate a great work enviroment.

Why

The modern workplace already has its fair share of stressors related to management, o ce culture and work/life balance that lead to burnout. However, with work from home becoming more prevalent, the situation has evolved, bringing di erent issues to the forefront that need to be tackled.

These include blurred work-life boundaries due to the lack of physical separation between the workplace and personal life, digital fatigue, and a

Hygiea AI

H Office

H Pod

Where

The H pod where the Hygiea AI and H o ce are housed will be located in the workers' home in order to facilitate remote work. There is also potential for the H Pod to be built externally, such as in the yard, garage, or even rented out individually from within a facility.

When During working hours. Sensors can also be turned on and o by the workers.

Place in outdoor space

Values & Impacts

Our solution aims to solve the issues around workplace burnout independently as well as from a cultural perspective by building on what currently exists to support companies. We aim to go that step further when understanding that what pain points trigger burnout and how can we ultimately stop it for happening in the first place.

This three part design solution incoperated in 'Hygiea' o ers people the flexibility to work with advanced technology or to alter it based on their demands and working arrangements. We hope to introduce Hygiea as a way to add to your o ce business structure and work internally to the company rather than existing companies that o er external life lines to improve your mental stability while working. While we want employees to feel supported by Hygiea we also want to mend the bridge of improving work life balance, Increasing awareness and supporting workplace cultures.

In conclusion, this advanced technology has the potential to significantly reduce employee burnout and improve overall well-being, especially in the context of working from anywhere. However, organizations must approach its implementation with caution, taking into account the ethical, moral, privacy, security, and safety implications involved. By giving employees the choice, being transparent, and accountable, and implementing robust security measures, organizations can ensure the well-being and privacy of their employees while reaping the benefits of AI technology for burnout reduction.

Next Steps

Moving forward, we have several steps in refinement to consider as we more directly define the way our concept addresses workplace burnout. This will be backed up with user testing and research which we will use to inform design decisions along the way. Currently, our concept seeks to improve the "Work From Anywhere" future situation in a general manner, targeting both employees and managers whilst taking a three-pronged approach to alleviate di erent issues. Using research into the contemporary workplace, we will focus our concept into an integrated solution that addresses key issues to do with workplace burnout. This will allow us to explore more defined ways in which sensors and technology will function, paving the way towards prototyping and testing.

We are the SQUID SQUAD

Laura Bartlett

I’m currently in my last year of Industrial Design with a Bachelors Degree (Honours), I’ve recently had the privilege of working at Cern in Switzerland for a two-week intensive as a part of the Design Factory Melbourne team. As an emerging Industrial designer, my interests lie in innovative design and problem-solving strategies as well as research, concept development and getting hands-on. I am also particularly interested in creating sustainable furniture to help pave the way for our future.

Javan Fan

Javan is an Industrial Design student with a love for technology. His past career as a veterinarian has provided him with logical thinking skills, also proving useful to his hobbies in technology and electronics. In his spare time, Javan designs and makes custom computer keyboards for his business Mecha Maker.

Chen Haw Chien

I’m a creative graphic designer with a positive, team-oriented personality. I put great emphasis on always learning and trying to create works that will resonate with people. I believe in design to make people feel happy.

References

Baxter, J., & Warren, D. (2021, June). Australian Government. Retrieved from Home Media releases Two thirds of Australians are working from home

https://aifs.gov.au/media/two-thirds-australians-are-working-home

Sharples, S. (2022, September 26). Australian workers su er most burnout in world: Microso Work Trends Index. Retrieved from news.come.au

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/australian-work ers-su er-most-burnout-in-world-microso -work-trends-index/news-story/b2e047251cf1009b57c9de 4b3d30f95f

Better Health. (2012, June 1). Work-related Stress. Retrieved from Better Health Channel

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress

Boleyn, A. (2022, April 1). Beyond Work Burnout: How to Spot it, Beat it and Reignite. Retrieved from Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia

https://www.hcf.com.au/health-agenda/body-mind/mental-health/work-burnout-symptoms

Future Today Institute. (2022, January 1). Telecommunications & Computing. Retrieved from 2022 Tech Trends Report

https://futuretodayinstitute.com/mu_uploads/2022/03/FTI_Tech_Trends_2022_Book11.pdf

Huang, Y., Shen, Y., & Wang, J. (2022). From Terahertz Imaging to Terahertz Wireless Communications. Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GJ, UK.Musker, M. (2019, June 4).

Workplace burnout is all too common. Here's how to tell if you're a ected. Retrieved from ABC News

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-04/workplace-stress-burn out-symptoms-and-signs-diagnosis/11174404

Safe Work Australia. (2022, September 5). Managing psychosocial hazards at work . Retrieved from Safe Work Australia

https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-11/Managing_psychosocial_hazards_at_ work_infographic.pdf

Seek. (2022, January 1). 6 ways to manage burnout. Retrieved from Seek

https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/article/are-you-head ed-for-career-burnout-the-symptoms-and-how-to-beat-it Team Asana. (2021, January 14). Anatomy of Work Index 2021: Australia and New Zealand Findings [Infographic]. Retrieved from Asana Blog

https://blog.asana.com/2021/01/anz-anatomy-of-work-infographic/