Workplace stress is often addressed through visual or auditory interventions, yet these modalities can compete with attention and contribute to sensory overload. We explore olfaction as an alternative ambient medium for representing stress-related physiological signals in office settings. We present AuraDesk, an olfactory data physicalization system that translates wearable-derived physiological cues into situated scent expressions at the workstation. The system combines local physiological state inference with a constrained actuation strategy to produce temporally regulated and spatially localized scent output suitable for everyday work environments. To examine the feasibility and experiential qualities of this approach, we conducted a one-day in-situ field deployment with 25 knowledge workers at their actual workstations. Our findings show that participants often interpreted the scent output not as an explicit alert, but as a subtle atmospheric cue that supported momentary awareness, micro-break taking, and perceived environmental attunement. At the same time, participants raised important concerns regarding scent preference, habituation, and contextual appropriateness in shared offices. This work contributes (1) an olfactory interface for physiologically driven ambient feedback in the workplace, (2) a hybrid mapping approach for coupling continuous biosignal interpretation with constrained scent actuation, and (3) empirical insights into how workers perceive, negotiate, and appropriate ambient olfactory feedback in real office contexts. Rather than claiming therapeutic efficacy, we position AuraDesk as a probe into the design space of olfactory data physicalization for workplace wellbeing and attention-sensitive interaction.

翻译：工作场所压力通常通过视觉或听觉干预来应对，然而这些模态可能与注意力竞争，并导致感官过载。我们探索将嗅觉作为替代性环境媒介，用于在办公环境中表征与压力相关的生理信号。本文提出AuraDesk——一种嗅觉数据实体化系统，该系统可将穿戴设备获取的生理线索转化为工作台旁具有情境性的气味表达。该系统结合本地生理状态推断与约束驱动策略，生成适合日常办公环境的时空调控型气味输出。为检验该方法的可行性与体验特性，我们在25名知识工作者的实际工位开展了一日实地部署。研究发现，参与者通常将气味输出解读为微妙的环境线索而非明确警报，这种线索支持了瞬时觉察、微休息行为以及感知环境适应。与此同时，参与者对共享办公室中的气味偏好、习惯化与情境适配性提出了重要关切。本研究的贡献包括：（1）一种用于工作场所基于生理驱动环境反馈的嗅觉接口；（2）一种耦合连续生物信号解读与约束气味驱动的混合映射方法；（3）关于工作者如何感知、协商与适应真实办公环境中嗅觉环境反馈的实证洞见。我们并不宣称其具有治疗功效，而是将AuraDesk定位为探索工作场所健康与注意力敏感交互设计空间中嗅觉数据实体化设计的探针。