CalmConnect
Design sprint creating solution for mental health and social isolation in the workplace.
UX Research
UI Design
Context
The coronavirus pandemic ushered in a new era of remote work for millions on employed Americans. The development of new online tools that enable structure, communication, and efficiency for teleworkers has paved the way for the future of working from home.
However, this emphasis on productivity and constant online access has resulted in new challenges regarding separation of work and life. Without clear space distinctions, workers are now feeling new levels of pressure to work around the clock, making it more challenging to create boundaries that emphasize healthy living.
More specifically, workers experience high levels of burn out, limited personal lives, and general unhappiness. As our generation emerges into the work force, never having worked in the workplace, it is important to explore and understand the purpose of a distinct working environment to help mitigate work life balance.
Team + Roles
Sarah Mun – Designer
Yeana Song – Designer
Mina Lim – Researcher
Duncan Krey – Researcher
Tools
Figma
Project Duration
6 hours (design sprint)
Design Challenge
Design a solution which mitigates the challenges of over-working, mental health, and social interaction which may arise from a post-pandemic work environment.
Research
Lack of support is the leading contributor to burnout, stress and anxiety in the remote workplace.
Feeling included in the workplace can contribute to increased productivity.
Loneliness and isolation can lead to increased stress levels and bad decision making.
New college grads struggle to make friends and find their place when joining hybrid teams, especially if the team has pre-COVID bonds.
How might we...
promote mental health transparency between management and employees in a remote workplace to improve company wellbeing?
Competitive Analysis
Ginger is a self-guided service which provides resources for mental health. While it is a useful tool for those seeking mental health and wellness content, it places full responsibility on employees without addressing problems in the workplace and does not allow employees to truly connect with their teams.
First Up is a tool that can track team productivity and engagement. However, we believe that higher engagement does not equal higher happiness. This app fails to focus on mental health and its use of rankings can induce more anxiety than suggested.
Ideation
After a round of collaborative ideation, our team decided to focus on an application and paired data visualization hub that includes the following features:
Surveys detailing stress levels, overall feelings, and team demographics.
Visualization that shows team members an anonymous summary for stress levels and overall well-being.
Data summary for management to dig deeper into individual team member insights.
Personas
CalmConnect
CalmConnect is a combined app and data visualization tool that provides teams with the opportunity to start dialogues about mental health and facilitate a sense of unity amongst remote teams.
Company Hierarchy
Employees (like Darren) are able to anonymously view their own team's status while managers (like Maria) can view all teams and members below them.
Team Survey
The team survey is a multi-step questionnaire that addresses problems such as overall mood, project-related stress levels, and other outstanding factors that contribute to employee well-being.
Data Visualization
The data visualization allows Darren to see the average status of his group, while Maria receives in-depth summaries of these surveys. This allows Darren to feel more connected to his teammates and provides Maria the information needed to help accommodate her team’s needs.
What’s Next?
Thanks for our team's efforts, we placed first out of five teams in the design sprint. I am grateful to have worked with a team of talented designers from different disciplines who share a passion for empathetic design. From this project, we saw the capability of design to connect individuals and highlight the importance of conversations around mental health.
If allowed more time, we would have liked to take the following next steps:
Conduct interviews with post=grad workers to better understand their struggles adjusting to remote work environments.
Test our prototype with potential users.
