Why the Addition of Office Plants can Change the Working Environment for the Better

For many people, bringing plants into a room is simply about bringing a little bit of the outdoors inside. When it comes to an office, where the atmosphere can often be sterile and dull, office plants can do more than just provide some visual relief, but can revive enthusiasm and improve performance levels amongst workers. In fact, there are many advantages to bringing plants indoors, and into the working environment. In recent decades, surveys have consistently shown that the reaction from office workers, and indeed consumers in shopping malls and stores, is such that by using plants, expertly chosen and positioned by professional interior landscaping services, a completely different working environment is created. Amongst the benefits of such services are improved health amongst staff and a reduction in absenteeism, with a general improvement in air quality and odour control also achieved. Keeping productivity levels up can be quite difficult for office staff, and the reason is often due to the quality of air that staff members share. The air can be affected by many different factors, but if the quality is low it usually manifests itself in an unusually high degree of absences due to illness. Even with open windows, the large number of people breathing the same air in an enclosed area generally ensures that refreshing oxygen is at a premium, while carbon dioxide is more abundant than is advisable. The result is that mental sharpness is at a low and staff members generally find that they become drowse and less focused very early in the day. Other toxins are also commonly found in the air in a typical office, such as benzene and formaldehyde, with dust levels often quite high too. These can cause respiratory problems, making worse such conditions as asthma, and thereby increasing the level of discomfort that many office staff feel in their own place of work. Where plants play a key role is in removing many of these air borne toxins and gases, with their natural ability to take in carbon dioxide and replace it with oxygen playing no small part in creating a fresher, airier and altogether more comfortable working environment. And, with increased oxygen levels, energy levels and productivity are known to increase, while the number of man hours lost to illness falls dramatically. Of course, absenteeism is not always down to illness, though staff members will often claim it. Anyone who has worked in an office can testify to the fact that it can be difficult to motivate oneself to go to work sometimes, and so many people will ring in sick. This is down primarily to low morale and poor job satisfaction, with the resulting meagre levels of enthusiasm challenging even the most honest workers. However, with an improved working environment, enthusiasm is greater and mental alertness contributes to a flow of corporate and product ideas, office staff have been found to be more patient with each and more focused on achieving targets through team work. This atmosphere of cooperation and support results in a greater desire to go to work and, therefore, a sharp decrease in absenteeism. While the impact of plants is hugely beneficial, there is more to it that simply putting a few plants on the office window sills or on the boardroom table. Thanks to the expertise of interior landscaping service providers, the position of different types of plants can be done quite artistically, lending an aesthetic, symmetrical quality that can encourage diligence and team work. The roles that plants play in improving the work place is significant. However, the effect can be enhanced further by the use of odour control techniques that neutralise the odours that are common place in an office. These office smells can include the printer inks, body odour from staff and the multitude of smells that office furniture fabrics and carpeting can trap. Modern technology now allows an array of fragrances to be released at designated intervals throughout the working day, thereby keeping the environment light and fresh. Clearly, the use of office plants does more than simply bring the outdoors inside. There are visual and sensory benefits that improve the office environment, while the chemical impact means improved air quality and health levels, as well as reduced absenteeism.