Plants are one of the fastest, most cost-effective improvements known to British Business

Whether you need to impress customers, nurture your valuable staff or both, introducing office plants into your environment is one of the fastest, most beneficial and cost-effective things you can do. This is one aspect of a current trend called Biophilic Design.

Here is a summary of some of the benefits:

• Health benefits lead to improved productivity

Plants take in carbon dioxide from the air, and emit oxygen through their natural growing process. Humans do the opposite. So when you have an office full of humans emitting carbon dioxide, they are going to need more oxygen in order to stay productive. Research suggests that those sitting at computer monitors will be 12% more productive when there are plants nearby. You simply can’t introduce a better method of making people more alert.

• Health benefits of plants lead to reduced sickness and absenteeism

Not only do plants take in carbon dioxide, they also absorb toxins in the air. Complaints of minor ailments often associated with Sick Building Syndrome, such as coughing, blocked sinuses, headaches, skin irritations and dry throats, decrease by an average of 25% when there are plants indoors, according to research.

Studies have also shown that the physical symptoms of stress are reduced in areas with plants – such as blood pressure and pulse rates.

• Office plants propose noise reduction and improved humidity

Studies have shown that the leaf surfaces of plants absorb noise waves, so plant-filled offices are quieter, calmer places.

When plants are watered, (which we do regularly through our service and maintenance packages), they return over 90% of that water into the atmosphere, so they combat the dryness caused by temperature control equipment such as air conditioning, computer operations and other electrical devices. And during the summer months, you can turn down the air conditioning because your plants will absorb some of the heat

• Instant Well-Being

Plants create instant wellbeing, so if you are looking to make people feel nurtured, then we recommend that you introduce plants before you consider something that takes much longer, such as an office refurbishment. With virtually immediate effect, you can quickly make a major difference.

• An inexpensive enhancement

When you consider budgeting for different methods of improving wellbeing, such as an office refurbishment or workplace incentives such as free lunches or bonuses, a superb plant display is a much more cost-effective thing to get in place. A relatively small investment creates a massive impact.

• Minimal disruption

Whatever you do to improve your organisation, you need operations to continue as normally as possible. When you introduce plant displays, there is little if any disruption to day-to-day work.

Get in touch to discuss your next office project today.