This paper demonstrates for the first time that prisons with a higher proportion of natural vegetation within their perimeter have lower levels of staff sickness absence. It makes three significant contributions. First, it extends studies of workplace nature contact into the un-researched carceral context. Second, whereas previous workplace nature contact studies have largely utilized single-site surveys, it presents national-level, statistically robust analysis. Third, it brings a novel new perspective to studies of sickness absence within correctional workforces, by considering the effect of the physical environment. Econometric estimations presented in the paper confirm lower levels of staff sick-leave in prisons with more greenspace. This relationship persists when we control for prison size, security level, age, level of crowding, levels of self-harm and violence among prisoners, and assaults against staff. The findings are significant in demonstrating the benefits of nature contact in workplaces in general, and carceral environments in particular. Importantly, this has the potential to influence future prison design.

本文首次证明，在其周边自然植被比例较高的监狱，缺勤率较低。它做出了三项重大贡献。首先，它将工作场所自然接触的研究扩展到未经研究的癌病环境中。其次，虽然以前的工作场所性质接触研究在很大程度上使用了单点调查，但它提出了国家一级的统计上有力的分析。第三，它通过考虑物理环境的影响，为研究矫正劳动力中的疾病缺乏提供了新的视角。本文中提出的计量经济学估计证实，在拥有更多绿色空间的监狱中，工作人员的病假水平较低。当我们控制监狱的大小，安全级别，年龄，拥挤程度，囚犯的自残和暴力程度，以及对工作人员的袭击。该发现对于证明一般工作场所尤其是在患癌环境中自然接触的益处具有重要意义。重要的是，这有可能影响未来监狱的设计。