Brain health and Peak Performance of Employees in Office Spaces Research Intern | HKS, Inc., Dallas, Texas, USA

This research project was conducted in collaboration with HKS. Inc and Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas. In this project, we investigated the issue of how the design of office spaces can improve focus, reduce burnout, and empower complex decision-making across different sectors. We studied brain health through the lens of equitable access to well-being in hybrid environments. I, as a research intern, was involved in different phases of the study including literature review, behavioral da-ta collection, intervention spaces design, IEQ sensors data collection, and analysis. Initial findings of this ongoing collaborative study revealed that acoustics is a leading environmental factor related to peak performance. Having a solid process in place, psychological support, and “no distractions” were also specific callouts for describing peak performance. One of the other significant findings of this study was that place, process/policy, and technology needs to come together to create a workplace that is conducive to brain health. The results of this study will be disseminated in the high-impact journal of Environmental psychology or Environment and Behavior.