The Evidence for Art as a Workplace Wellness Strategy: What the Research Really Shows
The Evidence for Art as a Wellness Strategy
When most of us hear “wellbeing,” we picture a spa day or a treat that makes us feel nice for an afternoon.
But a growing body of research suggests something more interesting: making something with your hands, even for 45 minutes, can create measurable, biological changes in how stressed we feel. Not just “nice to have a break” stress relief, but a genuine physiological shift.
Here’s what the evidence actually shows.
The headline finding: thousands of studies, one direction
In 2019, the World Health Organization’s European office published one of the largest reviews of its kind: nearly two decades of research, over 900 publications, more than 200 existing reviews, and upwards of 3,000 individual studies.
Their conclusion was clear. Art genuinely supports mental and physical health. Not as a replacement for other interventions, but as a meaningful tool both for prevention (keeping people well before problems take hold) and for treatment and recovery (helping people manage conditions they already have).
That’s not a small pilot study. That’s the WHO sifting through an entire field of evidence and finding the same conclusions.
The 45-minute study
At Drexel University, researchers gave 39 adults 45 minutes to make something with clay, collage, marker pens, whatever they chose. Saliva cortisol (the stress hormone) was measured before and after.
Cortisol dropped in three out of four participants. And artistic skill made no difference. People who hadn’t drawn since school benefited just as much as hobbyist painters. The benefit came from the act of creating, whether they were good at it or not.
Participants described the session as relaxing and absorbing. Several said they’d lost track of their to-do list entirely. Famous psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, called it “flow” – where an activity holds your attention so fully that anxiety struggles to get a word in.
The workplace study
A 2010 Latvian study followed employees through a nine-week programme of art-based sessions, tracking cortisol and self-reported anxiety throughout. Both dropped significantly over the course of the programme.
It’s a smaller, older study than the WHO review – but it matters because it tests the idea exactly where many organisations need it: with ordinary working adults, over a realistic stretch of time, as opposed to in a science lab.
Why Art Works
It occupies a different mental channel. Worrying is wordy, looping thinking. Making something visual, ie choosing colours, judging shapes etc, uses a different part of the brain, leaving less room for anxious chatter.
It connects people without forcing conversation. Sitting quietly absorbed in the same activity, side by side, builds a gentler kind of team bonding than a meeting room ever will.
It restores a sense of control. Much of workplace stress comes from things we can’t control. A blank page is the opposite – every mark is entirely yours to make.
It doesn’t need words. Not every feeling is easy to explain out loud at work. Creative activity gives people a way to process without having to articulate anything.
It signals that employers care. For organisations, investing time and space in staff wellbeing tends to build genuine connection and loyalty in return.
Why this matters right now
Work-related stress, anxiety and depression are a serious and growing issue for UK employers. According to the Health and Safety Executive, 22.1 million working days were lost in 2024/25 to work-related stress, depression or anxiety. Close to a million workers were affected, at an average of almost 23 lost days each.
Stress-related conditions now account for more than half of all work-related ill health in Britain, more than double the rate since records began in the early 2000s.
The bottom line
We would be the last to claim that a single workshop fixes workplace stress on its own. But the research is consistent: sitting down, focusing on something tactile and visual, and letting the mind quieten for a while has a measurable positive effect on many mental health issues.
That’s the exact idea behind our stART Therapeutic Art Workshops. If you’re exploring ways to genuinely support your team’s wellbeing, not just ‘tick a box’, get in touch to find a session that fits.
We have a solution
At Art for Wellness CIC, we believe wellbeing shouldn’t just be something we talk about – it should be something we actively create.
Our stART Therapeutic Art Workshops bring the evidence into practice, giving people the time, space and creative freedom to step away from everyday pressures, connect with others and experience the wellbeing benefits of making art.
Whether you’re looking to support your employees, community group or organisation, our workshops are designed to make creativity accessible, inclusive and genuinely meaningful – no previous artistic experience needed.
Want to explore how therapeutic art could support your team?
Find out more about our stART Therapeutic Art Workshops and see how we can create a session that works for your organisation.
👉 Find out more about our Therapeutic Art Workshops:
THERAPEUTIC ART WORKSHOPS
Art for Wellness CIC – Create • Connect • Inspire Wellbeing
Sources
Csikszentmihalyi, M., Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (New York: Harper & Row, 1990).
Fancourt, D. and Finn, S., What Is the Evidence on the Role of the Arts in Improving Health and Well-Being? A Scoping Review, Health Evidence Network Synthesis Report 67 (Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2019).
Health and Safety Executive, Work-Related Stress, Depression or Anxiety Statistics in Great Britain, 2025 (London: HSE, 2025) https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/ accessed 29 July 2026.
Kaimal, G., Ray, K., and Muñiz, J., ‘Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants’ Responses Following Art Making’, Art Therapy, 33.2 (2016), 74–80.
Visnola, D., Sprūdža, D., Bāķe, M. A., and Piķe, A., ‘Effects of Art Therapy on Stress and Anxiety of Employees’, Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Section B, 64.1–2 (2010), 85–91.