Creating Space for Sensitivity

Rachel Kasa
Oct 3
2 min read

When we think about what “normal” looks like in work styles, communication, and productivity, one concept you might not be familiar with is:

High sensitivity

As defined by sensitivity experts Andre Solo and Jenn Granneman, it's a term used to describe folks who have a high sensitivity to the sights, sounds, emotional cues, and other stimuli around them. Essentially, a highly sensitive person is someone who experiences acute physical, mental, or emotional responses to stimuli.

The term was first thought of back in the 1990s by Dr. Elaine N. Aron. Her website has a huge amount of information and resources, including her original book The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You.

There has been a huge amount of psychological research around this topic, and it is likely that around 15–30% of the population has a more finely tuned nervous system. This means that these folks

process stimuli deeply, leading to greater empathy, creativity, and awareness, but also
have a much higher susceptibility to overstimulation, stress, and burnout.

So what does this mean in the workplace?

We can support highly sensitive people (HSP) in our workplaces by creating an environment that values depth, and reducing unnecessary overwhelm.

Specifically, you might try to:

Respect focus time. Minimise constant interruptions, allow quiet workspaces, and offer flexibility around how tasks are completed.
Communicate clearly and early. Provide expectations, feedback, and advance notice of changes so HSPs can prepare.
Celebrate their strengths. Recognise their empathy, creativity, and attention to detail as assets to the team.
Balance stimulation. Encourage breaks, manageable workloads, and recovery time after intense projects or meetings.
Create psychological safety. This applies to ALL kaimahi, but normalise diverse working styles for people to feel safe voicing their ideas or needs without judgment.

Keen to find out if YOU'RE highly sensitive? Fear not - there is an online quiz for that.