Greenify

The challenge

Mental health in the workplace has become an increasingly important topic. Studies show that 1 in 5 US adults have symptoms of any mental health disorder and 71% of adults reported at least one symptom of stress (American Psychological Association, 2017). Stress negatively influences employees’ productivity by lowering their work engagement, negatively impacting their physical capabilities and daily functioning. In addition, there is an issue of unhealthy lifestyles consisting of non-organic nutritional habits. It is evident that treating people with both physical conditions and mental health disorders incurs 2 to 3 times higher costs than for those without co-occurring illnesses.

The solution

Workplace health promotion programs are successful, particularly when they include both physical and mental health interventions (Rongen et. al, 2013). Greenify brings workplaces to life by designing and installing interior vegetable gardens that have the potential to grow organic crops. This infrastructure does not only provide organic, sustainable foods, but also serves as a place that promotes mindful presence and a more stress-free environment. Furthermore, they provide opportunities for lowering employers’ health insurance premiums by keeping healthy employees in the “low-risk” categories, while also targeting less healthy employees in the “higher risk” categories, therefore lowering overall health insurance costs.