Date of Award
Spring 6-4-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Industrial Design
Department
Industrial Design
First Advisor
Tom Weis
Second Advisor
Soojung Ham
Third Advisor
Louise Boyle
Abstract
Social anxiety has become the third most common mental illness in the U.S, but there still is a lack of public understanding of this issue as it often goes unspoken. Through my research, I found that social anxiety is deeply entangled with environments, situations, and interpersonal interactions; especially within unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and unsafe situations.
Workplace exacerbates social anxiety as people are constantly being evaluated by others, exposed to new situations, and required to perform well, which leaves no room for people to share the unspoken and seek support. Guided by the questions of what social anxiety is and how it affects people, this thesis researches how internal and external factors produce and sustain social anxiety.
I create tools and activities for people to support themselves and their peers, while making space for people to voice their needs. This thesis advocates for emotional awareness in the workplace and emphasizes the need to create an emotionally supportive environments built o! mutual understanding, support, community, and care.
Recommended Citation
Chen, Jingxuan, "To be seen to be heard: embracing social anxiety in the workplace" (2022). Masters Theses. 914.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/914
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Comments
View exhibition online: Jenny Jingxuan Chen, To be seen, to be heard