Living roofs for healthier living? Impacts on employee stress, engagement, wellbeing and performance
Researchers: Dr Kate Lee, A/Prof Nick Williams, A/Prof Kathryn Williams
Funding: Dr Kate Lee was supported by a scholarship funded through the Cybec Foundation. Horticulture Innovation Australia (2015)
Key findings and recommendations
- Neuroscience techniques provide direct empirical support for attention restoration theory.
- A micro-break viewing a green, but not concrete roof city scene, sustains attention.
- The green roof city scene is perceived as more restorative than concrete roof city scene.
- Results suggest city nature is valuable for healthy cities and workplaces.
Outreach
- Looking at green roofs may boost your productivity, Forbes, May 2015
- Just looking at nature can help your brain work better, study finds, The Washington Post, May 2015
- Forget siestas – green ‘micro-breaks’ could boost productivity, The Conversation, May 2015
- How staring at a green roof can improve your productivity at work, Australian Financial Review, May 2015
- Gazing at nature makes you more productive: an interview with Kate Lee, Harvard Business Review, September 2015
Publications
- Lee K, Williams K, Sargent L, Williams N, Johnson K (2015), 40-second green roof views sustain attention: The role of micro-breaks in attention restoration. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40: 182-189.
- Lee, K. E., K. J. H. Williams, L. D. Sargent, C. Farrell, and N. S. G. Williams. 2014. Living roof preference is influenced by plant characteristics and diversity. Landscape and Urban Planning 122:152-159.
Contact
For more information please contact Kate Lee from the Green Infrastructure Research Group at kate.lee@unimelb.edu.au.