There's A Positive Connection Between Nature & Happiness: Why Not Incorporate That Into the Office?

When you think about fun and vacationing, what do you picture? Do any of your imaginings include something having to do with nature? Odds are, the answer to that question is “yes” — which presents an interesting case for the usefulness of wellness technology and biotech in the office.

A recent study revealed a positive connection between nature experiences and overall happiness.

An AI analysis of 31,500 photographs across 185 countries showed that images of fun activities and vacations are more likely to contain elements of nature. They sourced the images from various social media posts.

According to Science Daily:

The team’s analysis of the photographs uploaded on social media revealed that photographs tagged as #fun, #vacations and #honeymoons are more likely to contain elements of nature such as plants, water and natural landscape as compared to photographs tagged #daily or #routines.

This finding, which is consistent across different countries, provides global evidence of biophilia hypothesis — human’s innate tendency to seek connection with nature — and implies a positive association between nature and fond memories in memorable events like honeymoons.

The team also found that the amount of nature experiences in a country is linked to the life satisfaction of its residents.

Should biotech be taken seriously as a office must-have?

While many bosses might be hesitant to bring too much vacation-related mentality into an office, the results of doing so may include happier, more productive employees.

After something like COVID-19 sweeps through and destroys morale and increases distractions, it may benefit employees to be surrounded by biotech in the office when they return. This could include human-centered lighting or biomimicry-focused sound masking.