Indoor Plants in the Office: The Advantage

“Deep down, we know that the connection to nature is important”

Terrapin Bright Green, 2014

Plants within an office space are becoming more and more prevalent, but why is this? The Biophilia hypothesis suggests that humans tend to seek a connection with nature and other living life forms.  An article by Terrapin Bright Green theorised this is why people typically have a drive to vacation in outdoors & natural type locations, because we as humans feel a connection to nature. But with a majority of the population living and working in the city we are finding it inherently more difficult to connect with nature.

There is now a shift to incorporate nature into the office environment, bringing that connection back to our day to day lives. Here we have outlined just a few of the benefits to incorporating plants into an office design.

Reduce stress and improve moods

Due to the long hours spent in an office, traditional office designs can feel quite disconnected to nature. Which can lead to negative emotions including frustration, anxiety, stress and depression. Green is known to have a calming effect on humans, linking back to nature. Also a number of studies have found that introducing plants into the workplace can, make workers less frustrated, more patient and physically healthier, reducing the overall stress for each individual.

Boost productivity

Office spaces have long featured neutral tones that provide little inspiration for creativity and collaboration. A study conducted by Havard T.H. Chan found that the cognitive responses of people who worked in a green environment were 61% more than those who work in a conventional environment. Reduced Carbon Dioxide (CO²) levels boosts employee’s productivity, for such a small cost, adding a few plants could significantly increase the businesses output.

Increase creativity

Creative block can largely be linked to stress, the more stressed an individual is the less creative they typically are. Office greenery makes a space more inviting and provides a sense of calm, which enables individuals to be more creative.   A 2015 Report by Human Spaces identified employees who work in environments with natural elements were overall 15% more creative.  It is amazing to think that workplaces or departments that require creativity can simply add a few plants to the office to improve the employee’s ability to perform creative tasks.

Freshen the air

Closed offices have higher rates of toxins in the air due to the synthetic furnishings within an office and the lack of fresh air circulation.  A variety of toxins can build up within an office including formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia from cleaning products, and indoor plants have been found to filter out all the pollutants. In a way plants are a natural air filter, emitting pure oxygen.

During the day plants absorb carbon dioxide for the photosynthesis process.  Carbon dioxide has been found to cause headaches, drowsiness and make it difficult to concentrate. An  article by ABC stated CO² levels reduced by about 10% in an air-conditioned building and 25% in a building without air-conditioning.

Reduce sick leave

Due to office buildings using air-conditioning and turning away from natural ventilation a significant amount of pollutants are trapped in the air. This has led to an emergence of Sick Building Syndrome, giving people a variety of symptoms similar to that of colds and flus including sinus pain, runny or blocked nose, headaches, lethargy and more.  The introduction of plants within office spaces can greatly reduce the level of pollutants in the air and intern reduce the illnesses causing sick leave.

Improve acoustics

The prevalence of open-plan offices has led to offices needing to find a solution to reduce noise within an office space. Plants boast sound absorbing properties and are therefore the perfect choice for any noisy office space.

Plants within an office obviously provide numerous benefits to individual’s health and wellbeing. Another benefit of plants is the ability to liven up an office design, we have all seen how plants can provide a stunning feature in an office.

There are various ways plants can be introduced into the office space. Plant walls are a popular design element for offices, preventing the sound bouncing around the room similar to that of purpose built sound proofing plus they are a stylish addition to the office. Planter boxes are another simple way of seamlessly adding plants to an office, these planter boxes fit neatly on top of our storage range to tie the plants into the overall design, storage units can also be positioned anywhere in the office.

Resources
https://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/reports/14-patterns/#final-thoughts
https://www.ciphr.com/advice/plants-in-the-office/
https://www.greenlifeindustry.com.au/Attachment?Action=Download&Attachment_id=1430
https://www.ambius.com/indoor-plants/office-plants/benefits/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274476416_The_effect_of_indoor_plants_on_human_comfort
https://www.safework.sa.gov.au/health-safety/hazards-risks/air-quality/sick-building-syndrome
https://www.goget.com.au/blog/plants-in-the-office/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140901090735.htm
https://this.deakin.edu.au/career/how-desk-plants-can-improve-your-productivity-at-work
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/green-office-environments-linked-with-higher-cognitive-function-scores/#targetText=They%20found%20that%20cognitive%20performance,green%20environments%20were%2061%25%20higher.

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