Sammenhengen mellom restituerende omgivelser på arbeidsplassen og stressnivået til de ansatte

Abstract

Human beings have lived in close contact with nature as hunters and food-gatherers for hundreds of thousands of years. Only for the most recent part of history people have lived in cities. Nature is therefore the well-known environment in which humans have evolved and adapted themselves during predominant parts of history. Studies show that nature exposure gives increased well-being, by providing restitution, stress reduction, physical activity and better mental health. Stress is familiar to many these days. People get stressed at work, at home, and in most places. What can we do to reduce stress responses? The purpose of this study is to explore whether there is a correlation between stress level and exposure to natural environment at work. 91 respondents from two different Rambøll offices replied to questionnaires about their stress levels, and exposure to nature during work. The results show that nature can buffer against stressors. But if there are too many stressors compared with the available job-resources, the nature contact will not be able to fully buffer against stress.