RESEARCH
The Effects of Workplace Nature-Based Interventions on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Employees: A Systematic Review
Summary
This systematic review investigates the effects of Nature-Based Interventions (NBIs) on the mental health and well-being of actual employees in actual workplace settings. The review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines, searching five databases and performing hand-searches for studies published up to November 2018. Studies were included if they were randomized or nonrandomized controlled trials involving adult employees exposed to workplace-based NBIs with a control group, and reported quantitative data on mental health or well-being via questionnaires. Excluded were studies on students in simulated settings, observational studies, and those focusing solely on treating diagnosed mental illness rather than prevention. Due to significant heterogeneity in study designs, nature exposure types, outcomes, and measurement tools across the included articles, a narrative synthesis was performed instead of a meta-analysis. The included NBIs were grouped into green exercise, nature savoring, and green office space, and outcomes were categorized into mental health indices, cognitive ability, recovery and restoration, work and life satisfaction, and psychophysiological indicators.
The narrative synthesis indicates consistently positive effects of NBIs on employees’ mental health indices and cognitive ability. However, the findings were mixed for recovery and restoration, work and life satisfaction, and psychophysiological indicators. A crucial finding of the review was the high risk of bias in the majority of the included studies. Specifically, not one study outcome (out of 26 assessed) displayed a low overall risk-of-bias, with some concerns (32%) and high risk (68%) being prevalent, largely due to issues with outcome measurement, deviations from intended interventions, and selection of reported results. While nature savoring interventions showed exclusively significant positive findings, the studies on green exercise and green office space reported a mix of positive, non-significant, and mixed results, often correlated with their higher risk of bias assessments. The review concludes that experimental research in this area is in its early stages and highlights the need for theory-driven, well-designed trials with sufficient detail.
