Benefits of having plants in office environment

Not all plants will love to live in your workplace – you need to consider restrictions such as the availability of daylight, and how often they can and will be watered. Those that will thrive in workplaces include succulents (which include aloe and cacti), rubber plants and peace lilies.

1. Get Clean air

While humans need oxygen to survive, plants absorb a gas we don’t need – carbon dioxide – and combine it with water and light to produce energy.

In the 1980s, NASA Scientists discovered that plants were adept at removing chemicals such as benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde from the air, making it cleaner for humans to breathe. Also indoor plants can help reduce carbon dioxide levels by about 10% in air-conditioned offices, and by about 25% in buildings without air conditioning.

2. They make work spaces more attractive 

Looking at a snapshot of global working environments, up to one in five people have no natural elements within their work space, and alarmingly nearly 50% of workers have no natural light. But few say that workplace design would affect their decision to join a company. There’s a big disparity here and one that hints at workplace design only recently rising to prominence as a crucial factor.

3. Help reduce sickness and absence rates

In 2015 a study which included 7,600 office workers in 16 countries, found that nearly two-thirds (58%) of workers have no live plants in their work spaces. Those whose environments incorporated natural elements reported a 15% higher well being score and a 6% higher productivity score than employees whose offices didn’t include such elements.

Some experts argue that adding plants to the work environment can help to reduce the risk of sick building syndrome although evidence to back up these claims is hard to come by. Also introduction of plants to one office was linked to a 25% decrease in symptoms of ill health, including fatigue, concentration problems, dry skin and irritation of the nose and eyes.

4. Increase productivity

Employees’ productivity jumps 15% when previously ‘lean’ work environments are filled with just a handful of houseplants. Adding just one plant per square meter improved memory retention and helped employees score higher on other basic tests. What was important was that everybody could see a plant from their desk and If you are working in an environment where there’s something to get you psychologically engaged you are happier and you work better.