Nature contact and organizational support during office working hours: Benefits relating to stress reduction, subjective health complaints, and sick leave

Issue title: Workplace-based Efforts in Promoting Health and Preventing Disability in Norway

Guest editors: Randi W. Aas, Ruth K. Raanaas and Lynn Shaw

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Bjørnstad, Siv | Patil, Grete G. | Raanaas, Ruth K.^*

Affiliations: Section for Public Health Science, Department of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, As, Norway

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Ruth Kj_ti Raanaas, Department of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Post Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway. Tel.: +47 67231268; E-mail: ruth.raanaas@nmbu.no.

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Improving social support, and providing nature contact at work are potential health promoting workplace interventions. OBJECTIVE:The objective was to investigate whether nature contact at work is associated with employee’s health and participation, and to study whether the possible associations between nature contact and health can be explained by perceived organizational support. METHOD:Data were collected through a web-based, cross-sectional survey of employees in seven public and private office workplaces in Norway (n = 707, 40% response rate). Multiple linear and logistic regression analysis were performed on 565 participants fulfilling inclusion criteria. RESULTS:A greater amount of indoor nature contact at work was significantly associated with less job stress (B = –0.18, CI = –0.318 to –0.042), fewer subjective health complaints (B = –0.278, CI = –0.445 to –0.112) and less sickness absence (B = –0.061, CI = –0.009 to –0.002). Perceived organizational support mediated the associations between indoor nature contact and job stress and sickness absence, and partly mediated the association with subjective health complaints. Outdoor nature contact showed no reliable association with the outcomes in this study. CONCLUSIONS:Extending nature contact in the physical work environment in offices, can add to the variety of possible health-promoting workplace interventions, primarily since it influences the social climate on the workplace.

Keywords: Workplace interventions, worksite health promotion, occupational health research, indoor plants, window view

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-152211

Journal: Work, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 9-20, 2016