Employee-nature interactions: A scoping review on employees' green exercise behaviors.
Buket Aydemir, Bahattin Karademir, Güney Çetinkaya
Outdoor activity in parks and forests is linked across 13 studies of working adults to better mood, lower cortisol, and less burnout.
This is a map of what has been studied, not evidence that any specific programme works.
Key findings
1The review included 13 studies published 2011 to 2022, comprising 5 randomised controlled trials, 3 cross-sectional surveys, 2 quasi-experimental studies, 1 mixed-method study, and 1 longitudinal study, covering office workers, healthcare professionals, military personnel, and medical workers.
2Across the reviewed studies, green exercise was associated with improved mood and life satisfaction, reduced anxiety and depression, lower blood pressure and cortisol, and less burnout, though tranquility and somatization symptoms did not reach significance in two of the included studies.
3Eight of the 13 studies used a theoretical framework, most commonly Attention Restoration Theory and Stress Reduction Theory; five reported findings without one.
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How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The authors did not assess the methodological quality of the 13 included studies, so the range of rigour is unknown. The studies use very different designs (RCTs, cross-sectional surveys, quasi-experimental), making it impossible to compare effect sizes or draw a single conclusion about what works. Several included studies had very small samples: 13 medical workers, 14 employees, 34 healthcare professionals. None of the reviewed studies systematically examined what helps or hinders employees from actually doing green exercise (time, access, weather, workplace support). No qualitative studies were included, so there is no account of how employees experience or make sense of these activities. Occupational outcomes (burnout, job satisfaction, detachment) were the least frequently measured domain, despite the review's focus on employees.
Declared interests
The authors declared no funding and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that a green exercise programme will reduce burnout or lower blood pressure. It is a map of 13 studies with mixed designs, some as small as 13 participants, and no quality assessment. In two of the included studies, specific outcomes (tranquility, somatization) did not reach statistical significance.
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