Can A Desk Measure Stress?

The Purpose

Below you’ll find workspace stills taken from Week 4 to Week 9 of Term 1 2023 by four UNSW students enrolled in different degrees. I asked each student to take these stills at peak academic workload for each week, forming what is essentially a collective timeline of average stress. Why did I do this?

I think that we often take the human tendency to mask our anxieties for granted, and I wanted to highlight just how much of a social buffer this masquerade blesses (and curses) us with in a tangible way. The fact of the matter is that our view of the stories behind those we interact with is fractional; so we tend to fill in the blanks with our own narratives.

This is the birthplace of projection. Our own headspace informs the lens we use to make assumptions about our peers. For example, when we have lots of spare time, we might assume the same of our peers and think they are unnecessarily stressed over their studies. On the other hand, when buckling under the pressure of assessments ourselves, we might think our peers aren't stressed enough and even downright distracting.

Take a look at the timeline below to experience this for yourself from an outside perspective! Observe all the patterns and details hidden in plain sight - perhaps you will find yourself empathising differently with different students during different weeks.

The Resolution

The collective timeline above highlights exactly why active empathy is such a vital practice for sustaining a student community which nurtures positive mental health. The students' workspaces gave us an idea of how much academic stress they were facing weekly, but would we have known the same from just seeing them around?

This is precisely why I believe that questions – such as the classic “Are You Okay?” and the ever-relatable “Have You Had Enough Rest?” – shouldn’t be seen as cliches, but rather opportunities to make others feel heard. To avoid falling into the trap of assuming, we must lean into the act of empathising!

It might take a desk to measure stress…
But we can still feel for others,
And that’s when we’re at our best ❤️