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Although the number of blue-collar industrial workers has been declining, manufacturing jobs continue to have considerable importance, even in technologically advanced economies. This study gives a voice to this often-overlooked group of workers, focusing on the Finnish vehicle industry.

The study assessed how manual workers in automotive manufacturing describe their job pride and how their accounts were related to conceptualizations of work orientation. The data included semi-structured interviews and an open-ended survey question on situations in which the respondents had felt proud of their work. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.

According to the results, the respondents had a high level of job pride in general, but the meaning given to this attitude varied considerably, depending on the situation. The study participants' work orientation was a mixture of instrumental and intrinsic traits. However, there were also respondents who did not experience job pride or who had lost it because of the work circumstances.

Relatively little research has assessed the importance of job pride in the context of industrial manufacturing. Recognizing job pride in its variety is crucial information for employers who aim to develop working conditions and employee retention.

The observation by the authors, based on their extensive experience working in K-8 public schools in the region showed the special needs classrooms catering to children with exceptionalities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Intellectual Disability (ID) and Emotional Disturbance (ED) are typically makeshift arrangements with no consideration given to students' unseen sensory needs. A thorough literature review indicates that there are no holistic design guidelines in place to meet the sensory needs of students with ASD, ID and ED. This study seeks to address this gap by providing considerations to meet the sensory needs impacting these students' focus, behavior and classroom engagement with course content and peers.

Sensory design guidelines were established utilizing a qualitative method, providing a foundation for the development of classroom prototypes that address the sensory needs of students with ASD, ID and ED.

The new guidelines, which correlated interior design strategies with the sensory needs of children with ASD, ID and ED, and the resulting prototypes provide a basis for the further development of design standards and takes designers closer to creating more conducive and inclusive environments.

This study reinforced the belief that these recommendations should be considered in the school-wide design. Many students can be included with their typical peers for all or part of their school day if space has been designed to accommodate their differences.

This study bridges the gap while documenting the correlation between design factors and sensory needs of students with exceptionalities, in this case, ASD, ID and ED.