Whilst there is a broad body of research highlighting how physical workplace environments may impact psychological experiences of stress (Law et al., 2020) and thriving (Ho & Chan, 2022), there is currently little research summarizing the potential pathways by which tacit and explicit aspects of workplace design influence neurophysiological stress within body systems (Bergefurt et al., 2022). Further, research evaluating the relationship between workplace design, stress and cognition largely focuses on explicit aspects of workplace design, with limited insights into the effects of tacit aspects of workplace design on neurophysiological stress and cognition (Bergefurt et al., 2022). Although research within wider architectural genres, such as schools and public spaces, does show that experience of tacit architecture positively affects neurophysiological stress and cognition (Jelić et al., 2016).

Research on the impact of sensory modalities and cognition are typically researched theoretically, through the genre of architectural philosophy (Richie, 2021); within broader architectural environments, such as public spaces, cities (Griesbauer et al., 2022) or using virtual reality (Lyu et al., 2023); as a result, these effects may not generalize to workplace environments.

Consequently, there is no unified framework or state-of-the-art highlighting the various pathways and relationships between workplace environments, neurophysiological stress, cognition and the psychological experience of thriving. Without this knowledge, workplace designers and health practitioners are limited in their ability to design better workplaces to reduce stress, enhance cognition and create overall environments for thriving.

Grounded (and/or embodied) Cognition is the theory that many features of cognition are shaped by the experience of an organism's entire body within a physical and social environment. The sensory experience of our physical environments and how we move through those environments using our motor systems are seen as fundamentally integrated with cognitive and emotional processing (Barsalou, 2010). This model is provided in Appendix A. This theory is also supported by neuropsychophysiological models of stress (Scott et al., 2015), Cognitive Psychology (McManus et al., 2022), the James Lange Theory of Emotion, and the Schachter-Singer Two-Factor theory of Emotion (Stanojlović et al., 2021). All of which highlights the interdependency between neurophysiology, sensory processing, psychological experience, and cognition.