Stress, digital fatigue, and packed schedules are part of the daily reality for many employees, especially in the 2020s. As HR professionals, even if you're doing everything you can to support your teams with their mental health at work, it can still feel as though something is missing. While many companies already offer great employee wellbeing programs like yoga, chair massage, nutrition classes, and mindfulness sessions, there's another tool that can add real value to your workplace wellness efforts, and that is: nature.
We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Aaron Hipp, a professor at North Carolina State University who has spent years studying the relationship between mental health and greenspaces. It was encouraging to hear how his research lines up with what we often see in the workplace and how easy it can be to achieve. Simply put, spending time outside is good for us. It helps us feel better, think more clearly, and come back to our work refreshed, and with more focus.
Getting out in nature means literally thinking outside the box, that is, the box being your office space. Nature can become a practical part of your mental health at work strategy and allows your employees space to recharge and reset while reaping the benefits of being outdoors. From walking meetings to outdoor retreats, there are really simple ways to support your team's mental wellbeing and strengthening their resilience as a result.
What Dr. Aaron Hipp Taught Us About Nature and Mental Health
Dr. Hipp has spent years looking into the impact of natural environments on mental clarity and emotional balance. He told us that nature helps us restore our ability to focus through a process known as Attention Restoration Theory, and specifically the Four Stages of Attention. He broke it down for us by explaining that it can be as simple as:
- Being Away: Stepping away from your usual environment (such as your desk or workstation) gives your brain a chance to rest. If you can't get outside, make sure to at least walk a lap of the office.
- Soft Fascination: Observing the flowers outside, seeing birds fly, or clouds drift by gives your mind something to focus on that isn't draining. Fascination helps us refocus and gives greater mental clarity.
- Coherence: Natural settings that feel familiar or easy to navigate help us feel safe and at ease, and in turn, make it easier to access.
- Compatibility: Being outside might look different for different people. It could be a solo walk, a team picnic, or sitting quietly in the sun or under the shade of a tree. Knowing what you enjoy helps you 'get there', and nature meets us where we are.
These experiences are essential to mental restoration and in the context of a work environment, making space to have these outlets during the working day allows employees to return to work feeling calmer, more refreshed, and more focused. This type of mental reset is something that scrolling through Instagram on your phone (which might feel like a mental reset) or time spent chatting with your colleagues just can't offer in the same way.
How Much Time Outside Makes a Difference?
It's easy to feel overwhelmed at the idea of getting time outside when you're in the middle of a busy workday or perhaps, an intense project that makes you feel you can't step away. But Dr. Hipp shared that even short visits to natural spaces can have a positive impact. As little as 15-20 minutes outdoors can help reduce stress and improve mood, while longer experiences, like hikes or weekends spent outside, often offer even greater benefits.
For employee mental wellbeing programs, this means small steps can still make a big difference. If you're in need of inspiration, try one of these ideas to incorporate time outside for reaping the benefits for mental health at work:
- Invite teams to take outdoor breaks or to take their meetings outside (especially when the weather is great!) instead of staying at their desks or in a meeting room.
- Organize guided walks or nature-based team-building days. We can help you plan something that harnesses nature's restorative power while being accessible for your team members.
- Encourage employees to use time off for trips that include time in nature. That could mean choosing a beach or mountain vacation over a trip to the spa, or hiking at a local nature reserve with their family during school breaks.
Remember: these moments don't have to be elaborate or expensive. They just need to give people a chance to reset and connect with the natural spaces around them.
Nature Belongs in Your HR Wellness Initiatives
How do you make being in nature doable for the everyday busy employee? Well, that begins with considering what nature means. The word alone might make some people immediately think of a hiking a trail or visiting a beautiful national park, and while these things are important, they might not be achievable every day. It's important to find access to nature that fits for you. Dr. Hipp reminded us that meaningful outdoor experiences can happen anywhere. If you're living in a urban area, find your nearest pocket park or rooftop garden to reap nature's benefits. No matter where you live though, don't forget the small things - even houseplants play a part in mental wellness.
Here are some simple ways to make nature part of your workplace wellness:
- Host a meditation session outside or forest bathing session in your local area for colleagues to join.
- Add indoor plants throughout your building to brighten up your workspaces.
- Start a shared micro-garden in your outside space, or even on a balcony. Easy to grow plants include: herbs (like basil, rosemary and mint), spinach and lettuces (loose-leaf varieties, romaine or butterhead), and some flowers (zinnias, cosmos and sunflowers are beautiful and grow prolifically with access to sunshine).
- Create a 'walk and talk' meeting culture rather than catch-ups and team meetings always being inside.
- Organize group trips to nearby greenways, parks, or nature centers.
Consider adding pet-friendly policies as part of your wellness plan to encourage dog ownership (which necessitates pet-owners get outside for regular walks). You could try allowing an area of your office to be dog-friendly, hosting pet-friendly events at work, subsidizing pet adoption fees, giving time off for veterinarian visits or offering pet insurance as an employee benefit.
Nature is an intrinsic part of mental health at work, as well as at home. If you're exploring corporate wellbeing initiatives, we would encourage you to include outdoor activities as these go in hand-in-hand with more traditional benefits like chair massage, reflexology, sound baths, and nutrition classes. Nature gives your employees one more way to slow down and reconnect, allowing them to be their best, healthiest selves.
A Proven Resource for Burnout Prevention
We often talk about burnout prevention for employees, but nature gives us a practical and research-backed way to address it. Dr. Hipp referenced large-scale studies showing that people who live near green spaces are prescribed fewer antidepressants and report less anxiety.
There's also research that measured stress markers like heart rate and cortisol levels before and after nature exposure. The results show that even one walk outside can lower physical signs of stress. Employees often feel more grounded, present, and emotionally balanced after spending time outdoors. That's exactly what we are aiming for with corporate wellness programs.
Help Employees Get Outside More Often
Sometimes the hardest part is getting started. Dr. Hipp shared a few helpful tips for helping people build outdoor time into their lives outside of work:
- Pair it with something you enjoy: Listen to a podcast or catch up with a friend on a walk.
- Make it social: Walk with a coworker or join a group like Walk with a Doc.
- Schedule it: Add nature breaks to your calendar, so that you remember to prioritize it.
- Add houseplants: Even a small green space can make a difference.
- Encourage families to get involved: Many cities offer outdoor programs for all ages, so rope in the kids, your partner or a roommate.
The Missing Piece in Your Employee Wellbeing Strategy
There's no single formula for supporting mental health at work, but one thing is clear: employees need consistent, meaningful tools that help them reset. Nature offers that support in a way that is easy to access and grounded in real results. Whether it's a quiet walk, time spent forest bathing or an outdoor team meeting, these moments help people feel more present, more balanced, and more able to engage fully with their work.
If you're already investing in employee wellbeing programs, consider adding nature into the mix. Whether it's building outdoor time into mindfulness programs for staff or suggesting that employees include a nature hike in their next vacation, these experiences make a difference for mental well-being, and corporate well-being as a whole.