Reforesting the Mind: Evaluating the impact of mindful forest walking at work
We are launching an exciting new initiative at BFH in which we'd like to explore how mindful (urban-)forest walking can help reduce stress and enhance well-being during the workday.
Factsheet
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Schools involved
School of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering
School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences
Business School - Institute(s) Institute for New Work
- Research unit(s) Achtsamkeit und Positive Leadership
- Funding organisation BFH
- Duration (planned) 01.07.2024 - 31.12.2025
- Head of project Prof. Dr. Dandan Pang
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Project staff
Patricia Granado Sanzovo
Prof. Dr. Dandan Pang - Keywords Mindfulness, Forest, Well-being, Caring Institution
Situation
In today’s high-pressure work environments, stress and its detrimental impacts on health and well- being – such as burnout and depression – are a growing societal concern. Despite Switzerland's expansive and accessible urban forest areas, which inherently offer a respite from the demands of the workday, the potential of these natural spaces for stress reduction and well-being improvement during work hours remains untapped. While practices like Shinrin Yoku have highlighted the benefits of forest environments, there is a need for context-specific, innovative approaches tailored to the workforce’s needs. Therefore, we aim to investigate the following research question: Can the implementation of a workforce-specific activity “mindful forest walking during a workday” at Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) – an institution uniquely positioned with forest-accessible campuses – contribute to stress reduction and well-being improvement among their employees?
Course of action
In our study, we'll use quantitative methods to explore the effects of mindful forest walking on workplace well-being. We'll start with an initial survey with a representative group of BFH staff members, including teaching, research, and administrative personnel, to tailor the program to various job functions. Next, employees from BFH campus (such as W, AHB and HAFL) will be randomized into either a mindful walking group or a control group for a 4-week period, with the intervention group taking part in 30-min guided mindful forest walks, two times per week. Daily surveys will monitor momentary stress and well-being changes, offering a dynamic view of the program's effectiveness over time from day to day. Participants will fill out the experience sampling measurement of stress and well-being before and after the mindful forest walking for the intervention group or at comparable times for the control group.
Result
We expect that compare to the control group, the participants in the intervention group will have enhanced well-being and reduced stress after participating our 4-week programm.
Looking ahead
The outcomes of this project will culminate in a research paper destined for publication in prestigious journals such as the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Additionally, a succinct whitepaper outlining practical steps for implementing mindful walking in the workplace will be developed and distributed through BFH's communication channels, accompanied by briefings on key insights. We will also disseminate our findings to interested stakeholders in BFH and the wider community through various platforms and events such as workshops, presentations, policy briefs, and public talks. Another future endeavor includes a submission to the SNSF – Bridge program to expand the reach of mindful walking practices to a broader array of work environments. This project is pivotal in laying the groundwork for such expansions.
