Why You Need an Outdoor Office: The Benefits of Working Next to Nature

20th May 2019

An outdoor office is a relatively new concept. Although people have been working from home for many years, advances in technology and employers attitudes towards the holistic well-being of their staff means more people are working from home than ever before. Working in an outdoor office (as opposed to sitting on your sofa) is a trend that’s catching on among the modern remote workforce.

A garden office can help to increase your productivity, improve your mental health, and double up as place to entertain once your working day has finished. Working in an outdoor office has loads of advantages, some are listed below.

The benefits of working in an outdoor office

Whether you’re self-employed and trying to avoid the stresses of the daily grind, or your boss lets you do your job from home part of the week, there is a lot to be gained from working close to nature.

Fresh air is a miracle worker

In addition to fresh air being much nicer to breath in than the communal office air-con, it’s got lots of benefits for your overall health. Open your windows (and doors – weather permitting) when working in your outdoor office to improve your well-being.

Breathing in fresh air has been linked to improving digestion, lowering blood pressure, and strengthen your immune system. Stale indoor air can house a lot of nasty bugs that fresh air doesn’t, so don’t be surprised if you don’t get ill as much when you’re regularly working in fresh air.

Your stress levels might drop

It’s hard to avoid stress completely, but working close to nature can help decrease your stress levels. It is thought that stress levels drop when people spend time in nature for a few reasons. One being that the air quality is better, and breathing in oxygen-rich air can help your body produce more serotonin – the happy hormone.

Another reason your stress levels might drop is down to being surrounded by plants. Researchers aren’t sure on the exact links, but found that people are calmer and more productive when working surrounded by plants than when they are not. Some surmise that because the green colour of the leaves is easier for your eyes to see, they’re doing less work and that helps you to relax all over.

Better Productivity

Working close to nature in an outdoor office can increase your productivity. As mentioned above, studies show that people who are surrounded by plants are more productive, which could be one explanation.

Another explanation is based on a management theory, where if a worker feels they have more freedom to make their own choices, they will be more productive than when a manager is breathing down their neck. Modern management techniques try to consider what makes workers happy, because a happy worker is a hard worker. Unsurprising, it was found that workers don’t like to be told what to, so the freedom of working at home in a garden office might means the workload gets done much quicker.