Workplace Green Space for Health and Happiness: Case of RSPCB, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Abstract

"Stress and stress-related diseases are increasingly becoming major health challenges with an enormous cost for individuals, organizations and communities. Workplace is both a source of livelihoods and a major contributor of stress and related illnesses. Green spaces in the office environment have been found to reduce stress and enhance productivity. Even a view of greenery through the office window or a small stroll in the office garden can help uplift mood and cheerfulness. Indeed, access to natural elements in urban systems has been found to promotes physical health, relaxation, positive emotions, tranquillity, revitalization, satisfaction, cognitive fitness and psychological well-being. Thus, provisioning of green space in the workplace can contribute to health and happiness of workers. Interestingly, workplace green spaces are among the least studied types of urban green infrastructure. In our recently-assembled database of globally published research on urban green spaces comprising of 15765 papers, there are just about a few papers on workplace green space. With this understanding, we developed a small workplace green space in the campus of Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, Jaipur. This document provides a practitioner perspective on the process and a pictorial representation of the green space today. Benefits of urban green spaces are wide-ranging including physical and psychological health, social cohesion, climate change mitigation, pollution abatement, biodiversity conservation and provisioning of the ecosystem goods and service to urban inhabitants. Workplace green space at RSPCB is an interesting example of connecting science to decision-making aimed at creating multifunctional landscapes to enhance urban resilience and human well-being. We hope, in coherence with substantial scientific evidence, that the RSPCB workplace green space provides health and happiness to both employees and visitors. People who have to stay indoors for a long time, such as office workers, are likely to benefit from green space by going outside and feeling the atmosphere for as short a period. The workplace green space provides employees the experience of serenity, wilderness, and intimate contact with nature at arm's length."