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How plants can boost productivity
Plants offer more than a visually pleasing addition to the office. Not only are they natural air filters – they remove carbon dioxide and release oxygen – but they also filter out other nasties too.
But there’s more to plants than just that. Psychologists and other experts have found that, as well as oxygenating the air, bringing some flora into the workplace can improve employee satisfaction and increase productivity by up to 15 per cent.
Choosing Your Work-Based Plant Family
Finding the right plants for indoor environments, especially working ones, is important.
- Firstly, assess how much natural light there is in your part of the office. Next, see if the windows are west-facing (which will receive more sunlight) and consider whether you need plant varieties that cope better in the shade.
- Aesthetically, plants can fill a space by framing it or by following a space. So see what space you have to play with – this will help you decide the plant’s size and shape, and density of foliage.
- Make sure you have willing green-fingered staff members on hand. Ensure that colleagues understand the benefits of having plants in the office and recruit people to water your new ‘plant team members’.
Top 5 Office Plants
- Aspidistra elatior: Known as the ‘cast iron plant’ because it copes pretty well with very little care.
- Zamioculcas zamiifolia: This is a lovely African plant, which can tolerates shade – perfect for a dark corner of the office.
- Pachycereus: This is the easiest option by far. It’s a cactus that requires almost no watering at all.
- Dracaena fragrans: A tropical species that even filters out airborne chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde.
- Sansevieria trifasciata: This plant is almost indestructible and also helps to remove pollutants.
Edible Office Plants
You may like to extend this idea by having some herb plants in the office too – great for fresh salad dressings or as seasoning to leftover lunches.
BASIL: A popular herbs today used in food, and whether smelled or consumed, it provides refreshing effect and helps in relieving mental fatigue, increasing focus and aiding mental fortitude.
ROSEMARY: Another popular herb for cooking and also used as an aromatherapy essential oil. Simply smelling it can result in better memory retention and increased concentration and alertness. It can also serve as a tea as an alternative to your coffee.
Encouraging Nature-Inspired Walks
You may also like to remind staff to take more lunch breaks in nature. We’re incredibly lucky here at Adapt to be surrounded by 50 acres of glorious parkland. We know many of you make the most of this already, but do encourage fellow co-workers to make good use of the space around us.
It is a satisfying pursuit connecting with nature, and a good reason to get outdoors and explore local walks and green spaces. You’ll probably find yourself honing in on little pockets of beauty that you didn’t know existed. Suddenly nature becomes even more alluring when we understand the benefits of being surrounded by nature and fauna – both in and outdoors too.