Green office design – how does biophilic design improve employee productivity?
Note that plants in the office are not just the latest fashion or a passing fad; it is about investing the good health and performance of employees. If you want to provide good working conditions that foster well-being, it makes a lot of the sense to consider plants and organic materials in workspaces, with colours and textures reminding people of forests and meadows, with enough daylight and acoustic comfort. The hushPhone pod with a greenWall partition provides a quiet, comfortable location for calls. Note that its footprint is less than one square metre and it can fit in small office rooms, too.
Plants in the office improve air quality
Plants can remove harmful airborne substances generated by printing toners and inks (including trichloroethylene and xylene) and cleaning chemicals (like acetone). Poor indoor air quality causes headaches, makes focusing difficult and results in poor well-being, and all this reduces productivity. It is no secret that plants absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, which contributes to better air quality. Sufficient oxygen levels benefit health, making staff more resilient and take sick leave less frequently.
Greenery and organic materials improve acoustics
Plants are not just great decorative pieces in the office; vegetation reflects, dissipates and absorbs sound, which improves acoustic comfort in the office spaces, especially if the plants are on large, pleasant partitions of organic materials. Noise reduction helps to maintain focus, which is extremely important for a healthy and productive working environment.
Biophilic design calms and reduces stress
Plants in workspaces are beneficial to mental and physical health. Plants add a natural touch to office rooms, relieving stress and strain. Employees feel more relaxed and this translates into fewer conflicts and better productivity. Flowers are decorations, too, and associated with places that are friendly, harmonious and sustainable.
Nature improves focus and creativity
Adding plants to office areas provides the employees with an ambiance which contributes to more creativity and better performance. People in corporate areas decorated with vegetation and filled with clean air are prone to make fewer errors.
Improving the company’s image
Plants in the office are a facet of organisational efforts towards the good health and well-being of staff. On the other hand, biophilic design can improve the way a company is perceived by customers and business partners, who pay attention to what values the company represents.
Where is the best place to put plants in the office to support employee productivity?
The right location for plants can be beneficial to the health and well-being of office workers and the look and feel of the entire office premises. It is a good idea to place plants both at the front desk, which makes the first impression of the business, as well as in staff and recreation rooms. You can even put small potted flowers on each desk in the office. This way, office workers have something else to focus their eyes on when strained by long hours of working at a computer screen.
An all-natural lounge area
A chill-out room filled with live greenery has been an increasingly popular solution in many corporations because of the many benefits that contact with living plants provide. Being surrounded by natural life is good for well-being, lifts the mood and reduces stress. Flowers are a natural element when indoors and relieve strain, allowing people to relax better. Plants in rooms intended for rest and conversation provide an experience of communing in nature right in the middle of the cityscape. Biophilic design affects all the senses, allowing you to feel safe.
Greenery in open space – how is it done?
Plants in open spaces not only improve interior design aesthetics, but also improve the well-being of office workers. First, choose plant species that fare well in the prevailing light and temperature conditions of the office. They are most often installed in green walls for open spaces as these partitions are a great solution to the issue of echoes. Interior designers follow the trend for live natural elements indoors and create innovative solutions for a liberal layout of plants in offices. You can find moss wall cladding panels or greenWalls, partitions with live plants, that complement the acoustic pods. Integrated plant pots with an electronically managed watering system, intended for the Hushoffice pods, are the way to achieve an aesthetically pleasing touch of nature, with easy maintenance and care to boot.
