Effects of a sensory garden on workplace wellbeing: A randomised control trial

Abstract Chronic stress impacts workplace wellbeing. To counter this, stress recovery and attention restoration theories assert a need for nature connection. However, the impacts of environmental design typologies are poorly understood. This research sought to explore the potential of salutogenic design as a stress-reducing health promotion tool for ‘apparently well’ people in a workplace setting. A randomised controlled trial compared ‘apparently well’ (n = 164), 18–65-year-old staff and students at a University campus in Auckland, New Zealand. Participants were recruited and randomised into two intervention groups, sensory garden (SG; n = 57), and urban plaza (UP; n = 51), and a control group (CG; n = 56). SG and UP participants had a monitored ‘appointment outdoors’ for 30 min once weekly for four weeks. All participants were tested for salivary cortisol, perceived wellbeing, productivity, perceived stress, nature relatedness pre- and post-intervention; data were analysed using generalised linear models. Significant intervention effects (SG vs control) were observed for salivary cortisol (−16.1% [95% CI: –32.0%, 0.2%]; p = 0.048), wellbeing (6.9% [95% CI: 2.7%, 11.1%]; p = 0.001) and productivity (2.8% [95% CI: 0.1%, 5.5%]; p = 0.040). Although not significant, a surprising trend towards negative effects of the Plaza on wellbeing (−4%[95% CI: −8.78%, 0.35%]; p = 0.071), productivity (−2% [95% CI: −5.38%, 1.34%]; p = 0.238), and perceived stress (19% [95% CI: −59.87, 21.49]; p = 0.355) were observed when compared to the SG group. This study suggests a sensory garden effectively reduces stress, enhances wellbeing and improves productivity of ‘apparently well’ people in the workplace. Future wellbeing initiatives should explore opportunities for nature connection in their setting.