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magazine
11
Environment
Instinctively, most of us understand
that getting outside or experiencing
nature in some way is good for us
– we just feel better afterwards. A
number of studies have attempted to
prove a connection between health
and nature, for example by providing
hospital patients with plants to care
for or by encouraging people to spend
more time outside.
In April, the University of Derby and
TheWildlife Trust published the results of
a month-long nature challenge,
30 Days
Wild
, which found that people who did
something ‘wild’ every day for a month,
such as eating lunch outside or growing
plants, experienced improvements in
their physical and mental well-being.
Now, a new project is seeking
to prove a link between workplace
absenteeism and office workers’ access
to the natural environment.
The Good
Life Project
, endorsed by the Soil
Association, is being spearheaded by
behaviour expert and author Jez Rose
supported by a team of psychologists
and neuro-scientists.
Rose said: “Latest figures show that
the average level of workplace absence
in the UK is 6.9 days per employee,
with minor illness remaining the most
A separate study looking into
the effect of office plants on
productivity is being undertaken
by Craig Knight of the University
of Exeter, with sponsorship
fromWaterford Plants and
employee engagement specialist
Engage4Success (E4S).
This follows on from a 2010
study by Dr Knight which found that
people working in ‘enriched spaces’
decorated with plants and pictures
were 17% more productive than
those in ‘lean’ or bare and functional
workspaces. Those in an ‘empowered’
space designed by the occupants
were 32% more productive than ‘lean’
counterparts.E4S andWaterford Plants
are currently recruiting participants
for this study and there are a range of
sponsorship options on offer.
engageforsuccess.org
New research project investigates link between nature and
well-being and productivity
Flower power
common cause of short term absence
and creating a cost to the employer of
£554 per employee.
“Too many organisations are moving
backwards towards hot desks and banning
personalisation of working spaces and
even plants in the workplace. This flies
in the face of years of evidence-based
research proving that a connection to our
natural environment is not only important
but also makes a huge difference to
individual performance and well-being.”
He added: “Happy people are more
productive and take fewer sick days.
If we can create environments which
promote that, organisations will be more
profitable too.”
The Good Life Project
, due to take
place over a period of six to twelve
months, aims to find out what effect
a range of workplace initiatives based
around the natural environment have on
employees’ well-being.
The project team is inviting
businesses to get involved, by
nominating colleagues to become ‘Good
Life Ambassadors’. The first cohort, which
includes employees of a number of large,
well-known organisations, started in
October and will be conducting a series
of ‘interventions’ in their workplace,
reporting the results back to The Good
Life Project.
Interventions include displaying
different depictions of the natural
environment on office walls to gauge the
effect art has on workplace stress levels;
an indoor herb garden for employees
to tend and enjoy during downtime;
and encouraging outdoor activity at
lunchtimes and after work.
Rose hopes the research will prove
that having contact with, or sight of,
nature improves workplace wellbeing,
efficiency and workplace profitability
through reductions in stress and
absenteeism.
Jez Rose,
Behaviour Expert
and Author
Happy people
are more
productive and
take fewer sick
days
Plants for profit
