GROUP PROJECT FROM LLM DESIGN WORKSHOP

WORK DURING COVID-19

The pandemic forced the majority of the work force into a fully remote or hybrid model. After an adjustment period, remote workers began to enjoy working from home and the flexibility it provided.

75% of workers said they want to work from home at least once a week

32% said they want to remain fully-remote post pandemic

Remote work is here to stay, and with that comes a new set of workplace challenges.

REMOTE WORK CHALLENGES

The lack of physical transitions and workplace, blurs the line between work and home-life. The commute was part of the workday most do not miss, however, it acted as a very important psychological transition. It was a time to mentally prepare for the day in the morning, and a time for decompression on the way home. The loss of the physical workplace took away lunchbreaks, serendipitous interactions and the barrier between home and work. Without all these small transitions, remote workers find themselves struggling to work as they used to.

Remote workers now work longer hours and lose personal time, due to lack of workday transitions.

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TARGET USER INSIGHT

**MARC GERARD**

**Director of R&D**
“ I enjoyed having designated break times and exercising during the day, which has definitely been harder when working from home.”

**MOLLY SCHOFIELD**

**Case Worker**
“I miss the decompression time during my drive home, or going out for a drink with my co-workers.”

HOW COULD A PRODUCT RECREATE WORKDAY RITUALS AND PROMPT TRANSITIONS?

HOW ORTUS WORKS

Ortus utilizes oil diffusion, circadian lighting and a planter to subtly notify the user and prompt workday transitions.

The user can select from a curated list of morning, afternoon and night scents. Each scent is diffused during specific time slot, to notify the user of time of day and what transition should be made. The circadian light follows the hue and intensity of the sun and is a visual reminder of time of day. The light turns on with the morning scent, reaches its highest point with the afternoon scent, and turns off with the night scent. These three periods represent the main transition periods of the workday and subtly notify the user as to what they should be doing.