Introducing DSE and Workspace Wellbeing Assessments
Because a Healthy Workspace is More Than a Good Chair!
For a while now, this blog has been about the same idea, told in different ways: your workspace isn't neutral. The light you sit under, the sound around you, the scent in the air, the colours on your walls: all of it is quietly shaping how you feel and how well you work, every single day.
Is your workspace truly supporting your senses?
So I'm really pleased to introduce two new services that bring that idea to life in a practical, hands-on way: DSE Assessments and Workspace Wellbeing Assessments. Together, they look after both halves of the equation — the person, and the space they work in.
What is a DSE Assessment, and why does it matter?
If you or your team spend most of the day at a screen, a Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Assessment is the foundation everything else sits on. In the UK, employers have a legal duty under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 to assess workstations used by screen-based workers — and that duty doesn't disappear just because your "office" is a spare room, a kitchen table, or a hot desk in a coworking space.
A DSE assessment transforms your workstation into a healthier, ergonomic space that prevents strain and supports well-being.
A DSE Assessment looks at the essentials:
Chair, desk and monitor height, and how they work together for your body
Posture, screen distance and viewing angles
Keyboard and mouse position, and reach
Lighting and glare at the screen itself
Breaks, movement and habits built up over months (or years) of working the same way
It's practical, it's compliance-friendly, and, done properly, it can be the difference between a workday that leaves you achy and depleted, and one that doesn't.
But it shouldn’t stop there…
Where the Workspace Wellbeing Assessment goes further
Here's the thing: you can have a perfectly ergonomic desk set-up and still feel flat, distracted, or drained by 3pm. That's because a workstation is only one layer of the story. The other layer is the environment itself, and that's where a Workspace Wellbeing Assessment comes in.
Let’s rock your senses and elevate your workday!
This is where I bring in everything I love writing about on this blog: the sensory side of a space. We look at:
Light: natural light access, glare, colour temperature, and how well your lighting supports your body's circadian rhythm rather than working against it
Sound: background noise, acoustics, and whether your space helps you focus or constantly pulls your attention away
Scent: because smell is the sense most directly wired to mood and memory, and it's almost always overlooked
Colour and visual clutter: what your eyes rest on all day, and whether it calms you or quietly raises your stress levels
Biophilic elements: nature, texture, greenery, and how connected (or disconnected) your space feels from the natural world
Layout and flow: how the space supports the way you actually move and work through your day
It's the difference between fixing your chair and rethinking the whole room. And for many of the freelancers, WFH entrepreneurs and small teams I work with, that second layer is where the real transformation happens.
It’s about the overall experience, not just a physical desk setup.
Who these services are for
SMEs — Whether you have five employees or fifty, you have a duty of care, and a well-designed workspace pays that duty back tenfold in fewer sick days, sharper focus, and a team that actually enjoys coming in.
WFH entrepreneurs, freelancers and remote workers — Your home office doesn't come with a facilities team, which means the responsibility for getting it right lands entirely on you. A joint assessment gives you the same rigour a corporate employee would get, tailored to a space that's also, let's be honest, your home.
Whether you lead a team or work from home, how you feel at your desk directly impacts your productivity and wellbeing.
And now… coworking spaces. This is the bit I'm particularly excited about. Coworking spaces sit at a fascinating intersection: dozens of different bodies, working styles, sensory preferences and needs, all sharing one environment. A space that's too bright for one member might be too dim for another; what feels energising to one desk might feel overstimulating three desks down.
A Workspace Wellbeing Assessment for a coworking space isn't about designing for one person: it's about designing for variability. Getting zoning, lighting, acoustics and quiet-versus-social areas right doesn't just make members more comfortable; it makes your space more inclusive, more neurodivergent-friendly, and, practically speaking, a place people renew their membership for, rather than quietly drift away from.
What the process looks like
These two assessments work brilliantly together, but they don't have to be booked together. You're free to start with whichever one matters most to you right now.
If you choose the DSE Assessment
I'll come to your space (or we do it remotely, where appropriate) and look specifically at you and your workstation — chair, desk, screen, keyboard, posture, habits. You'll come away with:
A clear, jargon-free written report on your workstation set-up
Practical, prioritised recommendations: the quick wins as well as the longer-term changes
Guidance on budget-friendly fixes, not just the priciest ergonomic kit
Sign-off you can keep on file for compliance purposes
Is your desk set up hurting you?
If you choose the Workspace Wellbeing Assessment
I'll spend time in your space observing how it's actually used, and assess it across light, sound, scent, colour, biophilic elements and layout. You'll come away with:
A clear, jargon-free written report on the sensory and environmental quality of your space
Practical, prioritised recommendations: the quick wins as well as the longer-term changes
Guidance on budget-friendly fixes, not just the Pinterest-perfect version
Follow-up support to help you actually implement the changes, not just file the report away
Better together
Because posture and environment influence each other so closely, the way you sit affects how you experience your surroundings, and vice versa. Most clients find the real transformation happens when both assessments are done together. Book them as a package, and I'll assess your workstation and your wider space in one visit, with one integrated report and one set of prioritised recommendations covering everything from your chair to the light falling on it.
Invest in both your posture and your environment for a better working experience.
The bigger picture
I set up The Wellbeing @ Work Studio because I kept seeing the same thing: workspaces designed around a desk, a chair and not much else, as if the person sitting there existed independently of the light, sound and air around them. They don't. We are sensory creatures having a very unsensory conversation about "productivity," and I think it's time that changed.
Whether you're a solo founder working from your kitchen table, an SME with a growing team, or a coworking space trying to serve dozens of different people well, a healthier workspace isn't a luxury add-on. It's the environment your work, and your wellbeing, happens inside of, every single day.
Curious what a DSE or Workspace Wellbeing Assessment could uncover in your space?
Get in touch — I'd love to help you feel better, work better, live better.