As a member of an indoor plant rental Cherry Picker Hire Lincoln, we are well aware of the reaction people in offices have to indoor plants. When we install newly installed plants, the reaction of the staff is almost always positive and welcoming, and most people would like to have a plant near their desks. Plants seem to improve staff morale. On the other hand, removing plants is not popular, and management has sometimes asked us to remove plants when staff is not there, to try to limit the impact of removal on morale.
I suppose it makes sense that people have an affinity for vegetation. It is part of nature, and we have lived close to plants for millions of years, only recently have we started to lock ourselves in concrete boxes away from nature. I guess as the saying goes, houseplants bring the outside … the inside.
The other thing we’ve observed is that people love healthy, well-kept plants, but it depresses them when a plant doesn’t look its best. Sometimes we get calls from concerned customers, concerned about a plant that might have a yellow leaf (and otherwise quite healthy), but they are concerned that it might be dying, and they are concerned. Healthy and well-cared for plants improve morale, but diseased plants do not. In fact, they could depress morale.
Studies conducted to support our observations.
- Most of the men and women in the study thought that indoor plants gave an impression of warmth in the work environment.
- The effective use of indoor plants can give the impression of a well-managed organization. The title of her article was, appropriately enough, “The Use of Plants to Promote Warmth and to care in a Business Environment.” What company wouldn’t want a well-run and caring workplace? Well, it seems that taking good care of your indoor plants helps to achieve this, and the best way to do that to have a professional indoor plant rental service.
- People’s perception of an indoor space is more positive in the presence of indoor plants.
- The indoor space was perceived as more relaxed and less stressful with indoor plants.
- Men and women showed a preference for sitting near plants.
The Green Building Council of Australia awards “Green Star” points for the use of indoor plants in its assessment of the environmental friendliness of a building interior, but only if the plants are visible from all workstations. In view of previous studies, this seems like a very perceptive condition.
Another study deserves mention, and it is a study by Engelbert Kötter working on behalf of the Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry. The study was conducted in 94 offices and over a two-year period and found that:
- The environment in the plant-based offices felt cooler, made them feel less stressed, made work feel more human, and generally seemed to improve their environment.
- The floors in offices improved the perception of employees about their well-being and improved the comfort factor of the offices.
- With better conditions and perceptions, office workers will enjoy their work situation better; happy employees = more performance and happy bosses.
You can learn more about the other benefits of houseplants in an office environment by entering the following Google search words “benefits of houseplants.”
