Step Out of The Office and Into the Sunshine: Creating an Outdoor Break Room for Employees

For employees who spend excess amounts of time inside their offices, burnout rates can run high. One thing that business owners can do to help their employees feel their best at work is to create an inviting, outdoor space for employees to take their breaks. With the benefits of fresh air and sunshine being plentiful, why not take advantage of what nature has to offer by creating an outdoor break and lunch area – complete with simple landscaping and picnic tables – for your staff to enjoy just steps away from the office?

Discover How Sunshine and Fresh Air Can Benefit Your Employees, and Ultimately, Your Business

Fresh air and sunshine have plenty of positive health effects, and these effects will not only benefit your employees as they bask in the outdoor space you’ve created for them – they can have a positive impact on the quality of work your employees produce as well.

Both fresh air and sunshine produce higher levels of serotonin in the body, the hormone responsible for balancing and elevating moods. Sunshine also produces endorphins, which lead to an increased sense of well-being and lower stress levels, among other things. In addition to raising levels of mood enhancing hormones into the body, fresh air carries higher levels of oxygen than recycled air does, improving concentration and boosting energy levels.

Spending as little as 10 minutes at a time outside can help employees feel refreshed enough to come back into the office, ready to tackle their next assignment.

If You Build It, They Will Come

Some employees make it a habit to scramble out the door as soon as their lunch break begins – Spending at least half of their lunch break driving or walking to and from a local restaurant. On the other hand, some employees wouldn’t dream of spending their break time on the go, so they opt to eat their lunch in the company break room or even at their desk.

Creating a space for employees to take their lunch break outside of the office, but centrally located, is key. Any unused space outside of the office building will do. If you have nothing but a large slab of concrete that appears rather dull and depressing, dress it up with plenty of potted plants, and perhaps a simple water feature. These natural elements can transform a drab place into a serene space for relaxing. Adding commercial park benches and picnic tables for employees to take a seat, eat and rest their feet — and their minds — can be beneficial for workers who could benefit from stepping away from their work, if only for an hour.

Your employees are the driving force of your business, and happy employees produce both higher quantity and quality of work. Creating an outdoor space with picnic tables, commercial park benches and natural scenery can go a long way in helping your employees shake their mid-day mindset and get ready to go back into the office — relaxed and recharged.