Why Green offices are more productive
8th November 2016
Towns & Cities are becoming more crowded & with the pressure to build more & more homes, our cities are becoming dull, unnatural grey environments, far removed from nature.
A new study shows that bringing nature into the workplace can improve productivity. It suggests that having a bit of greenery in the office can improve worker productivity by an impressive 15%, compared to Spartan modern offices with no plants.
The researchers used a large sample of workers from offices in the UK & the Netherlands. They were asked what impact they thought the new Plant Displays made to their offices, on things such as air quality, employee engagement, concentration levels and even productivity.
How important Plants are to the Workplace.
The research team from Cardiff University, explained the findings of their study: "Our research suggests that by investing in landscaping the office with plants will pay off through an increase in office workers’ quality of life and productivity."
"Although previous laboratory research pointed in this direction, our research is, to our knowledge, the first to examine this in real offices, showing benefits over the long term. It directly challenges the widely accepted business philosophy that a lean office with clean desks is more productive."
The results of the study showed improvements in employee engagement, concentration levels and perceived air quality all rising after the introduction of plants into the office.
The researchers suggest that a greener office benefits engagement and concentration because it makes employees more physically, emotionally and cognitively involved in the work they’re doing.
Less is Less
The research team point out that the current trend for lean business environments has led to overly spartan environments."The `lean’ philosophy has been influential across a wide range of organisational domains. Our research questions this widespread conviction that less is more. Sometimes less is just less,"
Cost effective Improvements
Adding some plant displays however, is an extremely cost effective way of obtaining some quite sizeable improvements. "Simply enriching a previously Spartan space with plants served to increase productivity by 15% - a figure that aligns closely with findings in previously conducted laboratory studies. This conclusion is at odds with the present economic and political zeitgeist, as well as with modern ’lean’ management techniques, yet it, nevertheless, identifies a pathway to a more enjoyable, more comfortable and a more profitable form of office-based working."
Is your office too Spartan? Could you persuade your Boss to add some office greenery?
Contact Office Landscapes for a free quotation & to find out more