Preview
Creation Date
Spring 2026
Description
This image captures the Aesthetic Enrichment intervention room of my master's thesis, which examines how aesthetic enrichment (beautifying a room with art and plants) and music affect employee well-being and job performance in a work simulation. This environment directly contrasts the bare control room by incorporating factors known to promote energy restoration: optimal lighting, plants, and landscape art. The use of nature scenes with blues and greens is specifically intended to lower stress and increase well-being, following the Attention Restoration Theory (ART) and the biophilia hypothesis which explains the natural human desire to gravitate towards nature. Participants complete a work simulation in this setting, allowing us to measure the effect of this visual enrichment, either alone or in combination with music stress. Task performance is measured via the work simulation, and measures of well-being are completed following this task. By visually enhancing the workspace, this study explores a practical intervention to improve employee outcomes without significant architectural changes.