Kagome conducted a gardening program with Chiba University in which participants grew tomato seedlings at home. The 1,110 participants completed self-assessments before and after the program, reporting improvements in indicators including stress, social and physical and mental health, and willingness to work.
Kagome, in collaboration with Chiba University, conducted a gardening program for 1,110 men and women aged 18 or older working at 7 companies and 1 organization, including those in manufacturing, information and communications, and health insurance associations. Participants grew tomato seedlings at home from the end of May until the end of August, when the tomatoes were harvested. They also used an online bulletin board for discussions about tomato cultivation and completed self-assessments before and after the program covering stress, social health, physical and mental health, and psychological resources such as self-esteem and self-efficacy.
After the program, 5 categories of negative emotions—anger and hostility, confusion and bewilderment, depression and dejection, fatigue and apathy, and tension and anxiety—declined statistically, while 2 categories of positive emotions, vigor and vitality, and friendliness, increased substantially. Social health, physical and mental health, psychological resources and willingness to work also improved to statistically significant levels.
Kagome stated that the results indicate that companies using gardening programs as measures to promote the health management of shareholders and employees and improve engagement can expect them to be effective. These results were based on self-assessments and cannot substitute for objective indicators, but gardening programs are considered potentially beneficial to physical and mental health and to more active interaction in the workplace.