By CATHY BUSSEWITZ Wellness Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The crisp crinkle of fallen leaves beneath your feet. The swish and trickle of water moving through a stream. A breath of crisp, fresh air.
Spending time in nature can be invigorating or produce feelings of peace and calm. But many professions allow little time or access to the outdoors during the workday.
After a youth spent climbing trees and playing soccer, Anna Rose Smith found it difficult when her first job as a psychotherapist in Utah required working in a windowless office.
So she spent her lunch breaks outside, walking to nearby fountains or gardens. She picked up flower petals or leaves from the ground and brought them back to her desk, where she would listen to recorded bird songs, sometimes incorporating the soothing chirps into sessions with clients.
“It helps to just have that reminder that these things are going on outside,” Smith said. “I can remember, no matter what happens in this room or with my job today, there’s still going to be birds singing.”
Getting to trees or shorelines can be challenging during work hours, especially in cold weather and urban environments. But there are ways to enjoy the outdoors and to bring the natural world into your place of work, even if it’s a windowless cubicle.
Al fresco meetings
Scheduled meetings don’t have to take place indoors. An in-person appointment can happen on a park bench. Smith sometimes suggests a “walk and talk” meeting at a nearby greenway.
Mobile devices mean virtual get-togethers also aren’t limited to conventional work spaces. You can also attend Zoom meetings while walking a woody path.
Smith will ask if she can participate in an online meeting with her smartphone and headphones, allowing her to “still be able to get sunlight on my face or see water and plants and birds,” she said.
“I do definitely feel more calm,” Smith, who grew up in South Dakota but now lives in a more moderate climate in North Carolina, said. “I think it helps with focus as well. I’m just feeling more peaceful and optimistic.”
Atlantic Packaging, a sustainable packaging manufacturer headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, encourages employees to hold meetings in the courtyards of its facilities or while taking a walk, said Becca Schusler, the company’s wellness director.
The company added fig trees and native plants to its Charlotte location. It launched a nature challenge in 2024 in which employees tracked the time they spent outdoors while dog walking, eating meals, attending meetings or watching a sunset. Participants uploaded photos into a group chat from their workstations around the U.S.
“It was just so wonderful because we got sunrises in the mornings, sunsets at night from all different areas, from the beach to the mountains in Nevada,” Schusler said.
Some employees reported they felt like they handled stress better as a result of spending more time outside, she said.
Just walk
Separate from meetings, a group of Atlantic Packaging employees get together for “Walk it out Wednesdays,” a weekly time to take strolls together. “It helps provide a quick break in the day where they can reset and refocus,” Schusler said.
The Ford Motor Company also has encouraged employees to move outdoors. When it redesigned its Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters in 2025, the automaker included native plants, walking paths and outdoor pavilions, and suggested people use the grounds for meetings. The parking lot was put further away from the main building by design so people would walk for a few minutes by tall grasses, rocky outcroppings, bridges and flowers.
“We are very careful about how we are engineering space so that our brains and our bodies react positively,” said Jennifer Kolstad, Ford’s global and brand design director. “Designing for human health is our priority, our responsibility.”
Find the light
When temperatures dip and more time is spent indoors, windows can provide a connection with nature.
The designers who laid out Ford’s new headquarters placed offices in the center of floors so exterior walls with tall windows could be enjoyed by everyone in collaborative spaces, Kolstad said.
During Smith’s windowless office days, she kept a pothos plant in the room. The greenery didn’t need much light and survived with the dose it got when Smith moved it to spend weekends in a colleague’s office that had a window.
“If it’s really ugly weather, extreme, then I think that’s where windows are truly a godsend,” she said.
To catch some sunshine and feel the wind on your face during a commute, consider biking all or part of the way. Many cities and towns have bicycle sharing programs. A warm coat and mittens can keep you from getting too cold while pedaling. Layer up with a neck gaiter, balaclava or hat under your helmet.
Erin Mantz, who works in Washington, D.C., as vice president of marketing for public relations firm Zeno Group, walks to a Pilates class before work four times a week, often before the sun rises. On the days she works from home, she takes breaks to walk her dog on the meandering paths in her neighborhood.
Mantz said that as a child living in Chicago, she often played at the park with neighborhood friends while bundled up in winter gear. She found it difficult to maintain her connection with nature when she had prior jobs that called for working in an office full-time.
“Growing up Gen X, we were always running around outside, and you have that great feeling of freedom and fresh air,” she said.
Now that she has a hybrid work schedule, she’s realized that spending time outdoors helps her feel relaxed and destressed.
“It’s so good for me,” Mantz said. “The fresh air reminds me of that youthfulness of being outside, and I think it’s physical and mental, honestly. I feel reinvigorated.”
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Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https://apnews.com/hub/be-well