Could a humble plant make you more productive, focused, creative, and less stressed out at work? Yes! Photo: Jeffrey Zeldman/Creative Commons
Plants have never been hotter. The humble indoor plant is suddenly a design trend. We have thousands of people calling themselves “plant parents” who collect and cherish house plants.
The trend is creeping its way into more workplaces, too. The benefits of plants in the workplace is something we’re passionate about at Good Earth Plant Company. We’d like more businesses to get passionate about it, too.
We know there is one thing ALL businesses are passionate about: making money. Let’s face it, we’re all working hard to earn a good living so we can live well and indulge our interests.
So if we told you adding plants is good for your business and will help you make more money, would we get your attention?
Good Earth Plant Company believes office plants are as essential in the workplace as technology. Photo: Stocksnap/Creative Commons
It’s a fact. Research has shown over and over having contact with nature at work improves our mental health, creativity, sharpens focus, lowers stress, and makes people more productive at whatever they do.
All this simply from an indoor plant in a decorative container!
Wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier to add plants to your workplace than some of the other things you’re doing? Sure, free gym memberships are nice. Encouraging people to take all their vacation time, this is a plus too. But people can only spend so much time on vacation or at the gym before they need to get back to work.
You need to pay more attention to your workplace environment to maintain good mental health and prevent stress-related problems or burnout at work. Here are five ways plants at work can help.
Nature Helps You Focus On Work
Working in an office with natural elements including plants helps you focus. Photo: Comfreak/Creative Commons
Many of us need to work in front of a computer screen. Whether you are sitting or standing, those long hours exposed to blue screen light is hard on your brain. The best way to refresh is to get away from that screen and interact with nature. Exposure to nature has been found to boost attention by 15 percent and memory up to 20 percent.
But this might not be possible when it’s crunch time and a client is waiting on you. The next best thing is to work where nature is visible through office plants generously placed around the workspace. Just looking at a beautiful plant for less than one minute is enough to restore your attention. Pretty amazing!
Nature At Work Helps Lower Job Stress
If this is how you feel at work, you need some Vitamin N – Nature! Add some plants to energize your office. Phjoto: Caio Triana, Creative Commons
Ever notice how more dentists are putting scenes of nature in their recessed lighting, or are playing nature videos while getting work done? This is because just looking at scenes of nature lowers your blood pressure, your heart rate, and fight or flight hormones. The same thing helps you at work. Exposure to plants increases positive endorphins and calms you down, a good thing when a customer is freaking out on the phone.
Nature At Work Helps Employees Think Clearly
When your mind is refreshed and calm, you can get it done! Photo: Stocksnap/Creative Commons
Lowering stress through exposure to nature helps workers relax and think more deeply and clearly. When your mind is calmer, you can be more effective at problem solving and finding ways to adapt to new challenges. Your creativity increases and there’s no telling how valuable just one brilliant idea might be.
Nature At Work Helps People Take a Break
Office plants can help you take a break from the work grind. Photo: Alexas Fotos/Creative Commons
Thanks to technology, many people have ended up being “always on” and struggle with the expectation we will always be available 24 hours when work comes calling. It turns out a workplace’s top performing employees are the ones most likely to suffer from “presenteeism,” the inability to disconnect. Presenteeism wears people out and can lead to complete burnout.
While it’s best for people to take time completely away from work outside business hours, it’s not always realistic. Stepping into nature even briefly helps contribute to positive mental health. Providing a place where employees can escape outside even for a little while can go a long way.
Nature At Work Makes Employees Happier
If you worked somewhere like this co-work space in Hangzhou, China, research says you’d be a happier, more productive person. Photo: Mitch Altman/Creative Commons
A study by United Technologies called the CogFX Study found that U.S. “green certified” offices enjoy a 26 percent increase in cognitive function by employees. They also enjoy a reduction in absenteeism by 33 percent – a one third improvement! How far would you be willing to go to reduce sick days by employees by one third?
When your employees work in beautiful natural surroundings, they are healthier, happier, more creative and more productive. So what are you waiting for? If Good Earth Plant Company can help you make more money by going green, contact us!
