To highlight Stress Awareness Month, Center Parcs Conferences & Events has revealed that work events held outdoors are better for employee wellbeing, productivity, and overall business performance, when compared to indoor events.
Center Parcs worked with a third-party research company to survey HR decision makers in the UK and gather expert insight into the ways company away days, sales conferences, and training days impact employees and businesses alike.
The results from the survey show that while nearly all (94%) companies agree that work events have positive effects on employees, the biggest benefits come from events held in natural settings.
While over half (53%) of companies reported employees feeling more positive about work following corporate events, this figure shot up to 63% when considering work events held outside.
In a similar way, the study found that although an already significant number of companies (80%) agree that work events improve employee satisfaction, a higher proportion (86%) believe that work events held outdoors bolster employee satisfaction.
Events in natural settings also fared better at driving productivity, with three quarters of companies agreeing that events improve worker productivity, rising to 84% for events held in natural settings.
The data also showed that three quarters of companies agree that work events prevent workplace disputes, but a higher number of companies (85%) see the benefit on employee relations following outdoor events.
In addition, natural settings were shown to facilitate relaxation and an increased willingness to share ideas with colleagues. For example, 56% of companies reported that employees felt more relaxed, and 54% reported that employees were more able to bring fresh ideas to their work following a corporate event held outdoors.
As well as improving positivity, satisfaction, productivity, and relations amongst employees, the research also indicated that corporate events help companies directly generate additional revenue, and that outdoors events are especially effective at this.
Results showed that while 69% of companies agree that corporate events contribute directly to their revenue generation strategies, a larger proportion of companies (81%) believed that events held in natural settings directly drive revenue.
Julia Green, Head of Corporate Events at Center Parcs, said: “That events held outdoors are especially effective at boosting morale, helping colleagues connect, and driving business is certainly not a surprise to us, but it’s encouraging to see this backed up by hard data.
“Center Parcs has always championed the power of nature, and we’ve continued to leverage the rich forest surroundings of our venues in Sherwood and Woburn to create relaxing and revitalising corporate experiences that help employees refocus and stay motivated, adding tree-top saunas and forest gong baths to our already diverse offering.
“Stress Awareness Month serves as an important reminder to reflect on the stressors within our lives, which left unchecked can easily build up and lead to burnout, particularly for workers in intense corporate environments.
“What’s more, as businesses grapple with a slew of additional pressures, ranging from a sluggish labour market and welfare reforms, workers will inevitably be feeling some stress, and so bringing employees together has never been more important.”
The survey also revealed that over half (52%) of companies had already held at least one corporate event outdoors with an additional 8% actively planning to hold an outdoor event in 2025.
The study comes following a record year for corporate bookings in 2024 for Center Parcs Conferences & Events, and the release of its inaugural white paper, The Value of Corporate Events, which offers a detailed data-led analysis of the motivations and rewards for hosting work functions.
The full report titled The Value of Corporate Events in an Ever-changing World of Work is available for download here.
