Written by Mahjabeen Bilal
Cities are economic hubs with industries supported by large, culturally diverse labour forces. Often tagged as ‘engines of growth,’ urban metropolises act as the backbone of entrepreneurial economic activity. The quality of this economic activity relies heavily on the well-being and productivity of the workforce. While labour productivity is determined by a multitude of factors, aspects of the ‘workspace’ are often neglected and even understudied in the Pakistani context.
The physical and psychosocial features of people’s work environments have a significant impact on their well-being and performance. This is also true for the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including workspaces for start-ups. Start-up founders are known for their passion and determination, often translating into long working hours, extended periods spent in brainstorming and ideating on laptops, team meetings, and networking. There is a constant cycle of hustle, where a conventional 9 to 5 schedule is rarely observed, as start-up founders juggle multiple roles and switch gears constantly to maintain steady momentum. Yet, start-up founders seldom have office space of their own. In Pakistan, several founders opt for coworking spaces and start-up incubation labs to build their enterprises, and these spaces become their ‘office’ for the duration of their initial business development.
University-Based Incubators: Bridging Academia and the Market
Incubators at Higher Education Institutes are playing a pivotal role in economic growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship throughout the world.
In Pakistan, university-based incubators are being recognised as a critical platform that bridge the connection between academic knowledge and the market by supporting start-ups. While significant effort and progress have been made in other aspects, such as managerial, organizational, and training frameworks, the ergonomic design is often overlooked.
Ergonomic design seeks to enhance comfort, efficiency, and safety by tailoring designs to fit the physical and cognitive needs of the users. This article will explore how the spatial and ergonomic needs of incubators in Pakistani HEIs should be designed to facilitate creativity, learning, and collaboration by looking into the spatiality and spatial orientation in coworking settings in Pakistan. It offers evidence-based recommendations for ergonomic design to deal with “invisible challenges” that help increase the overall productivity of the workforce.
Ergonomics refers to the technology of work that understands and improves human interactions while incorporating biological sciences, including psychology, anatomy, and physiology, aimed at human efficiency while minimizing the risk of injury. Ergonomics considers the dimensions of the body, the application of forces the expenditure of energy, the effects of the physical environment, and information processing and decision making[1]. Ergonomics is not only restricted to physical adjustments but also includes psychological factors, such as how individuals interact with their environment. Meanwhile, ergonomic design seeks to enhance comfort, efficiency, and safety by tailoring designs to fit the physical and cognitive needs of the users. One of the key aspects of ergonomic design is the application of anthropometric data, including measurements and statistics related to human body dimensions. Ergonomic design principles are essential in creating furniture in an office and workspace that fits the needs of each individual, leading to increased productivity. comfort and reduced stress levels[2].
As Pakistan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem familiarises itself with incubation centres, it is fostering a culture of innovation by providing start-ups with resources to turn their ideas into viable products and prototypes. It is important to consider the long-term interests of the start-up and consider the capacity of incubators at an intermediate stage. Networking is essential for collaboration and the acceleration of any entrepreneurial venture. Coworking spaces and labs serve as catalysts for networking within your local entrepreneurial ecosystem. For this reason, incubators in Higher Educational Institutions need to consider the design of their workplace in a way that enables productivity as well as interaction
With around 250 coworking spaces and at least 30 incubation centres across Pakistan, there is a significant shift in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the county, these spaces offer a collaborative work environment along with amenities like mentorship and trainings for growing start-ups. As these centres look towards building spatial capacity to cater to the need of start-ups, the design element of these spaces is often overlooked and they fall short in infrastructural planning and design due to the lack of integration of cultural contexts.
“State-of-the-art” spaces are usually technology-driven, they follow a generic template without contextual spatial considerations and have a hostile infrastructural design that creates a stressful, fast-paced environment, which doesn’t necessarily mean hyper productivity but alienation from the community, around. This mitigates the whole point of a coworking open-layout space. It has been shown that offices that are not designed to optimize surveillance and efficiency using bright lights, and prioritize spatial zoning, to reduce noise levels and other distractions, promote individual well-being and growth while boosting morale and employee output.
Young entrepreneurs in Pakistani higher education institutes often move from flexible informal schedules to more structured hours that typically involve prolonged sitting and sedentary behaviour, which is “any waking behaviour characterised by an energy expenditure ≤1.5 metabolic equivalents (METs), while in a sitting, reclining or lying posture[3],” which leads to fatigue and reduced productivity. This behaviour has been linked to many negative health outcomes such as muscle discomfort, cardiovascular risks and metabolic issues, as well as fatigue[4]. Integrating organisational culture into office spatial design can positively influence employees’ psychological well-being and reduce fatigue. Workspaces that embed cultural elements like separate prayer areas for women and daycare can significantly enhance employee well-being and shows how integrating organizational culture into office spatial design can positively influence employee’s psychological cognition (Hu & Zhang, 2022). One of the significant findings from this study shows that workspaces embedding cultural elements significantly enhances employee’s wellbeing and engagement. This highlights that working spaces in BIs should be built while keeping in mind the ergonomics to enhance the cognition and productivity of employees.
“In this space, ideally, you should have events for the community. You should have separate spatial zones for networking and gaming, like the already present common room.” – Fareed, Resident at the LCE Coworking space
The Problem
Spatial design is not just limited to aesthetics but is essential for productivity as ergonomics influences cognitive performance, reduces stress, and improves the productivity of workers. Businesses that adopt ergonomic interventions see a 25% improvement in productivity on average. A study done by CSRC Global on “Business Incubators in Pakistan: State of the Art and Future Outlook” supports the role of spatial design in business incubation centres in Pakistan, highlighted effective business incubation centres provide not only administrative and technical support but also a social and collaborative environment that supports entrepreneurial success. The study emphasises that well-designed incubation spaces promote interaction and networking, resulting in reducing isolation and stress. The physical layout of these centres includes open workspaces, communal areas and informal meeting spots which encourage social connectivity and peer support, enhancing mental well-being and confidence.
“Co-working spaces allow for more collaboration with people around us, rather than being in a single office space. The best thing to have happened here was that I came across so many women entrepreneurs and their stories, they were amazing, and I realised that age, race, and gender didn’t matter- all that did was their passion. The mentorship we give each other is invaluable. People come to us, we go to them, and we help each other out.” – Quratulain, Resident at the LCE Coworking Space.
This social dimension of spatial design is crucial in start-ups and sustaining entrepreneurs’ motivation and productivity. Many Pakistani business incubators and universities are still evolving to meet these needs, effectively suggesting that improving spatial design and facilities can substantially increase their impact to better assist young entrepreneurs in managing psychological and physical challenges of structured working hours. It has been shown that office workers with optimized daylight conditions performed 10-25% better on cognitive function tests than those workers had poor lighting conditions. Another study revealed that air conditions in working spaces, such as low ventilation and increased levels of indoor air pollutants, reduce cognitive performance by 50% in comparison to those individuals that are in well-ventilated spaces[5],[6]. Another major factor includes temperature regulation; multiple studies show that thermal comfort is different for both genders which can make it hard to accommodate both in the same space. Data reveals that “men are at their cognitive best at 68-69 farenheight while women’s cognitive peak is from 70-72.” [7].
Menstruating individuals are disproportionately impacted and their productivity compromised. All these environmental factors contribute to the overall cognition, productivity, and well-being of the employees, revealing that ergonomics plays a key role in and should be integrated into Business Incubators.
Global Practices
Incubators around the world have become places that go beyond their traditional function of finding funding and mentorship; they have become hubs for innovation and creative problem-solving. Globally, as incubators transcend their traditional roles, they have embraced spatial considerations to foster collaboration and creativity, which has had an impact on the overall well-being and success of the start-up communities. Sweden, Japan, and Singapore are case studies for built space and its impact. Scandinavian incubators follow Nordic design principles – simplicity, functionality, and user well-being, and incorporates cultural practices like “fika” (informal coffee breaks) and adds soft design interventions into the institutional design, helping create relaxed communal zones that improve collaboration and long-term retention[8]. Japanese incubators prioritise efficiency through creating an environment that promotes mental clarity. Shibuya QWS Tokyo used spatial zoning to reduce an overload of audio-visual stimuli, for this they use privacy pods, acoustic panelling, and ambient lighting, as studies show that reduced sensory stimulation reduces fatigue and improves focus by up to 35% (SAITO et al., 2019). Japanese incubators use modular furniture that is designed based on the national average anthropometric data. Japanese incubators follow a human centric design which include zen gardens and incorporation of natural elements such as plants or water vies which help in managing stress levels[9]. Lastly, Singapore takes up an intersectional approach towards design where they prioritise inclusivity and cutting edge functioning smart ecosystem. Incubators like BLOCK71 use IoT-enabled lighting, sleeping pods, prayer rooms, flexible lab spaces, and gender-inclusive restrooms. Additionally, due to Singapore’s mandated green mark certification for buildings, there is better air quality and focus on improving the environmental health of the workplace[10].
Recommendations for Pakistan
Pakistan can learn from global best practices while tailoring local solutions. The concept of employee happiness has been studied in western countries through culturally specific lenses, which cannot be well implemented into Pakistani cultures. Entrepreneurial labs and coworking spaces in Pakistan must promote diversity and inclusivity, and while designing interventions to enhance productivity and performance, it is essential to make employees feel valued at the workplace to build morale. For this, it is important to integrate their personal values into the design and promote community building. Culturally adaptive design, such as prayer areas and tea areas for short breaks can provide restorative downtime to start-ups as well as an opportunity to socialise informally. This design is also a step towards spatial zoning, as the needs of the constantly developing urban start-ups have evolved beyond open-space layout design, as it does not provide a sustainable work environment.
Spatial zoning allows the user to opt for focus zones, networking zones, and quiet zones, depending on their need throughout their workday. Ergonomic infrastructural design beyond the “one-size-fits-all” furniture that incorporates anthropometry, and adjustable design allows users to work comfortably for long periods. Since start-ups have unconventional work hours, with many of them working through the night, environmental well-being becomes an important factor.
Lack of diversity is another problem that persists in Pakistan. Inclusivity measures like space accessible to people of all disabilities should be factored in when designing workspace, which not only is beneficial for disabled people, but makes the space more functional for all users. Amenities for menstruating individuals, like comfortable chairs and heating features, should be made available.
Well-ventilated spaces with maximised natural light have been shown to improve cognitive function and reduce fatigue. Green design that incorporates nature in the interior, such as outdoor working spaces and rooftop gardens, can reduce stress. Lastly, the Higher Education Commission Pakistan and its partner organisations need to establish developmental guidelines that can serve as a capacity building blueprint made with the support of architects, health experts, and policymakers to create an environment that is not only functional but supportive and conducive to long-term entrepreneurial success.
Conclusion
Ergonomic design and spatial considerations are essential for productivity and promoting innovation and wellbeing. With Pakistan’s urban entrepreneurial ecosystem rapidly progressing to keep up with entrepreneurial trends and accommodating a generationally diverse group of entrepreneurs, it is important to move away from the one size fits all mindset and integrate adaptive design principles that prioritize both physical and mental wellbeing of founders and employees. Infrastructural models that integrate culturally relevant design into spatial zoning of workplaces, like prayer rooms or focus pods, help achieve a balance between focus and networking, foster collaboration and enhance creativity.
Drawing lessons from global practices, incubators in HEIs in Pakistan must tailor local solutions to create a human-centric environment that is inclusive, functional, and culturally responsive. These measures would ensure a steady development of the relatively new entrepreneurial ecosystem in Pakistan by focusing on spaces that support innovation and collaboration, especially because the success of start-ups is directly proportional to the environment that nurtures it. And when entrepreneurs thrive in their environments, the ecosystem and the economy thrive with them.
[1] https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2018.1502817
[2]https://ehs.oregonstate.edu/sites/ehs.oregonstate.edu/files/pdf/ergo/ergonomicsanddesignreferenceguidewhitepaper.pdf
[3] https://www.sedentarybehaviour.org/what-is-sedentary-behaviour/
[4] Sedentary behavior: emerging evidence for a new health risk – PubMed
[5] Is CO2 an indoor pollutant? Direct effects of low-to-moderate CO2 concentrations on human decision-making performance – PubMed
[6] A systematic review of ventilation conditions and airborne particulate matter levels in urban offices – PubMed
[7] Quantitative measurement of productivity loss due to thermal discomfort – Welcome to DTU Research Database
[8] Frontiers | Outdoor Office Work – An Interactive Research Project Showing the Way Out
[10] https://maisonoffice.vn/en/news/green-mark-certification/