Abstract

Workplace pressure can cause depression and anxiety of workers affecting their productivity. It was hypothetically assumed that exposure to mother Nature can psychologically induce workplace satisfaction leading to less stress due to the restorative effects. The regular touch with nature has been identified as an essential activity to reduce workplace stress while maintaining good mental health through the literature. The exposure to greenspaces and its impact on maintaining balanced mental health at the workplace was tested by this preliminary field investigation with reference to software companies(n=3) in Sri Lanka. The cases (C1, C2, C3) were selected based on the existing levels of greenery, with high density, moderate density, and low density of greenery, respectively. An online questionnaire survey was conducted among three volunteer groups of employees (n=20 per case) for the final field investigation. Aligning with literature, the study concluded a direct interaction between the quantity of greenspaces vs workplace satisfaction and workplace stress of the employees as the main parameters of mental health at the workplace. The perceptions of respondents clearly expressed that green spaces help to maintain a balanced mental health at the workplace while reducing stress and enhancing the job satisfaction.