Cultivating wellness: Corporate gardening programs have employee goodwill in bloom
When it comes to employee benefits, a refreshing trend is taking root: the company garden.
Employers like L’Oréal, Tiffany & Co., and Johnson & Johnson are discovering that planting, tending and harvesting a garden offer a unique blend of wellness, sustainability and community that traditional office perks simply can’t catch up to.
Pike Lane Gardens, founded by Adam Weiss, has emerged as a leader in the space, partnering with companies to bring organic vegetable gardening to the workplace through virtual and on-site experiences.
For remote workers, programs typically feature at-home seed kits and webinars. For example, Tiffany recently distributed 150 seed kits to its off-site employees, enabling team members to participate in activities regardless of location. Meanwhile, in-person the programs are more immersive. At J&J’s campus in Raritan, N.J., employees actively participate in planning, planting and harvesting vegetables later used in the company cafeteria. The farm-to-table concept is not only on-trend — it fosters a real connection between employees’ well-being and their day-to-day work activities.
Weiss points to parallels between gardening and the 9-to-5. “In both the workplace and the garden, no matter how much you plan, unexpected variables always arise,” as he put it. “Whether it’s unpredictable weather or stubborn roots in your way, vegetable gardening — like work — requires patience and an acceptance that some things are out of our control.”
Executive coach Mitchell Creasey, who specializes in stress management, notes that in terms of attracting talent, the company garden acts as “a lighthouse of empathy and understanding. It demonstrates that the company knows that work can be stressful … that they care enough to provide a solution, and that they know enough to provide one that goes beyond hype and gets into the biology of the human.”
He points to a Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) survey finding that three-quarters of those of us with close friends at work are more likely to stay with the company, as well as research indicating that being in nature for as little as 20 minutes a day has measurable benefits to our health.
Employees who have become involved with gardening projects report a massive upside. Nicole Duncalf, an engraver at Tiffany, said the company’s gardening initiative led her to be more relaxed both at work and in her downtime. It has also strengthened her relationships with colleagues. “Working together on more than just ‘work’ has brought us closer,” she said.
Mark Hakim, senior financial analyst at Tiffany, notes the mental health benefits. “Now that we have a rooftop garden, it allows time to step away from work and see how the garden is progressing,” he said. “The workplace garden club has brought a healthy distraction at work.”
Pike Lane Gardens isn’t alone in the field. Other players include StartOrganic, whose clients include eBay and LinkedIn and KraftyLab, which works with Amazon and Spotify. Meanwhile, the nonprofit Project Petals, which manages a number of community gardens throughout New York City, partners with the likes of Airbnb, Estée Lauder and Ashley Furniture on corporate group volunteer days.
As companies search for meaningful ways to enhance the employee experience and bolster return-to-office initiatives, corporate gardening represents a fresh approach to connecting employees to nature, to purpose and to each other, yielding a whole bumper crop of advantages.