Employee experience: the role indoor plants can play

If you’re an HR professional or manager at an organization, you may have tried various strategies in an attempt to make employees happier – such as employee discounts and fun events – only to see employee satisfaction scores remain the same. But have you considered what kind of employee experience you provide?

In fact, Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes.com dubbed 2018 “The Year of Employee Experience.” So how is employee experience defined, and how can you boost it? You’ll get details on all that here.

Remember Ambius is ready to supply your property with plants that will enhance your employee experience, improving productivity and wellbeing.

Defining employee experience

Author and speaker Jacob Morgan, in an article on the Society for Human Resource Management’s website, writes that employee experience is made up of three elements:

1. Culture
2. Technology
3. Physical workspace.

Culture is rather abstract but includes the workplace mood and structure of the organization. Technology encompasses employee tools such as software and mobile devices. Physical workspace is probably the most concrete – it includes things such as wall art or a gym.

Employee experience vs. engagement

Morgan also notes in his article that employee engagement is different than employee experience – although companies may have tried to increase employee engagement, things do not improve. He argues, “…instead of trying to force people to fit into outdated workplace practices, organizations must redesign their workplace practices to fit with their people.” So the real question is: How can we accomplish this?

Plants and employee experience: biophilia

Part of the answer to that question may lie in interior landscaping. Plants provide important benefits in the workspace and have the potential to improve employee experience overall due to the principle of biophilia. Biophilia is the idea that people inherently look for a connection with nature.

Plants and other enhancements based on nature may help improve people’s health plus boost productivity. Your organization has the chance to enrich the employee experience through features such as plants, fragrance, and art.

Impact of interior landscaping on the employee

Interior landscaping could play a significant role in boosting employee experience at your organization, resulting in happier workers who get more done. In fact, it has been shown that people working in offices use fewer sick days and productivity is higher when interior landscaping is part of the surroundings. Also, indoor plants can decrease levels of carbon dioxide and dust in the air and they can lessen levels of background noise indoors.

Check out some more specific facts about how plants can have a positive impact.

• People who are working indoors complete tasks 12% faster when they have plants in the line of vision, compared to people without plants in the room. They also have better concentration. (Source: Washington State University)
• With the addition of plants to the work environment, there was a reduction in health complaints (for example, coughing and tiredness) reported among hospital and office workers. (Source: Fjeld T. The effect of interior planting on health and discomfort among workers and school children. HortTechnology.)
• Blood pressure was decreased, and stress reduced, with visual exposure to plants. (Source: University of Vermont)

With all this knowledge, it’s clear interior landscaping can be a great way to bring about mental and physical wellbeing and foster positive employee experience.

Give employee experience an upgrade

Access our Wellness Assessment to evaluate how well your space is fostering wellness and check out our Greening Your Office guide by filling out this form. And, reach out to us today to start improving the experience of people in your office!

Ambius offers interior and exterior landscaping along with scenting services that can enrich employee experience at your company and transform it into a spot where people are more satisfied and may even accomplish more tasks. This could yield huge benefits down the road.