• Home
  • Interior landscaping
  • Green walls
  • Premium scenting
  • About
Greener on the Inside
  • Home
  • Interior landscaping
  • Green walls
  • Premium scenting
  • About
Home  /  Green Design • Industry Insights  /  What Are The Benefits of Office Plants?
24 June 2013

What Are The Benefits of Office Plants?

Written by Stephen E. Doyle
Avatar
Green Design, Industry Insights interior landscaping, Noise, Office Plants, Offices, Productivity 4 Comments

Americans are a nation of hard workers and for most that entails spending the majority of working hours indoors. Members of the cubicle crowd often lack direct access to natural light and unwittingly endure pollutant-contaminated air that has become all too common in newer office buildings. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors.

Throughout the throes of the 40+ hour work week, the average person spends a lot of time breathing in mold, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, chemicals, formaldehyde, dust mites and even pesticides. Office plants counter the harmful effects of pollutants by offering a sustainable solution for improved indoor air quality while making workplace environments quieter, healthier and of course prettier places to be.

Nature’s natural filter

Plants naturally filter the air of harmful chemicals and other toxins. Plants in the workplace can also fight SBS (sick building syndrome), boost humidity levels which decrease cough-inducing dry air. Rooms filled with plants were shown to have  50 to 60 percent fewer molds and bacteria in the air than in rooms without any plants. Indoor plants also offer the stressed out employee a soothing and beautiful escape;  the mere presence of plants harkens memories of past vacations and tropical getaways for the plant-loving employees.

Toxins, molds and bacteria are absorbed in the soil and into plant leaves. Harmful toxins are typically translocated downward into the plant’s roots and consumed as plant food or destroyed through a process known as “metabolic breakdown” as has been demonstrated in scientific studies.

Tove Fjeld, a university professor in Oslo, Norway conducted a study in which plants were shown to have improved employee health in offices, hospitals and schools. Offices containing plants demonstrated a reduction of employee ailments such as sore throat, headaches, dry skin and fatigue compared to offices without plants. The office containing plants had showed a 23% reduction in employee ailments.

Plants in the workplace reduce noise levels

Plants are often employed in cities to reduce noise near highways and the same concept can be applied to the office.. Plants in the workplace, through absorbing the noise of the work environment, provide employee a calm, distraction-free setting where they can do their best work.  Indoor plants can reflect and absorb indoor office noises. A study at the South Bank University in London showed that common house and office plants could help to reduce office noise levels by as much as 5 decibels.

The Aesthetics

Beyond that, trees and plants offer numerous aesthetic advantages that often improve community well being. Who doesn’t enjoy being surrounded by beautiful things?  In the hospitality industry, well-maintained interior and exterior landscaping is imperative to attracting tourists. Likewise, hospitals and healthcare facilities often use greenery to promote a sense of wellness and uplift patients.

What to do now

Hiring a respected and knowledgeable professional, such as Ambius, will guarantee that the newly chosen plants will function and thrive at an optimal levels thus creating the ideal healthy work environment while giving the employee a meditative experience.

Are you unsure of how your business would use plants indoors? Scroll through this gallery of photos.

What do you think is the greatest benefit of office plants? Share below in the comments.

Avatar
Stephen E. Doyle

I am a Professional Writing major at Penn State University (Berks Campus). I will graduate in May 2014. I have finally decided to pursue my lifelong love of writing via a career change. I am a fulltime college student, fulltime father of two wonderful boys- 8 years and 5 months- and an avid reader of noir fiction, historical fiction and enjoy the occasional biography. I am also a freelance writer enjoying my summer internship with Rentokil in Reading, Pennsylvania as a marketing intern primarily writing for the blog sites for Rentokil and Ambius as well as content for the Rentokil and Ambius websites. I freelance for The Reading Eagle newspaper (Berks County, Pa) and I write for the Home Builders Association's award winning bi-monthly magazine, 'At Home In Berks'. A few of my hobbies are writing, watching and playing soccer with my 8 year-old son, watching my 8 year-old son play soccer, reading, watching old films (Kurosawa, Melville, Dasin, Wim Wenders, etc.), cooking and weekend jaunts to New York City.

 Previous Article The “Art” In Design: How To Choose Art For Your Office
Next Article   Britain’s Favourite Smells

Related Posts

  • Future Offices Summer 2020

    Kelly Walowski speaks at Future Offices Summer 2020 about the future of the office space

    August 28, 2020
  • woman working on new building plans

    8 home office design tips

    April 13, 2020
  • Office Evolution: How dynamic design helped shape the modern business

    March 9, 2020

4 Comments

  1. Avatar Shrubaphile Reply to Shrubaphile to Shrubaphile" aria-label=' Reply to Shrubaphile to Shrubaphile'> Reply to Shrubaphile
    June 24, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    My co-worker keeps promising to bring a plant into the office but it hasn’t happened. I feel like I have been given the fertilizer treatment instead of the plant.

    • Avatar Stephen Doyle Reply to Stephen to Stephen Doyle" aria-label=' Reply to Stephen to Stephen Doyle'> Reply to Stephen
      July 1, 2013 at 1:38 pm

      I hope that I’m not that coworker! I may have said something recently about toting some toxin-ingesting shrubbery to work! I need to get to the local nursery n crafts store to get my spider plants for my work area.

  2. Avatar Shrubaphile Reply to Shrubaphile to Shrubaphile" aria-label=' Reply to Shrubaphile to Shrubaphile'> Reply to Shrubaphile
    June 24, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    My co-worker keeps promising to bring a plant into the office but it hasn’t happened. I feel like I have been given the fertilizer treatment instead of the plant.

    • Avatar Stephen Doyle Reply to Stephen to Stephen Doyle" aria-label=' Reply to Stephen to Stephen Doyle'> Reply to Stephen
      July 1, 2013 at 1:38 pm

      I hope that I’m not that coworker! I may have said something recently about toting some toxin-ingesting shrubbery to work! I need to get to the local nursery n crafts store to get my spider plants for my work area.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Hygiene360: A full-circle solution for a hygienic space

Expertly designed to stop the spread of germs through surface, air, and hand.

Protects your business against infectious bacteria, viruses and disease.

A tailored service delivered in a safe, discreet and legally compliant manner.

Find out more

Need some advice?

Talk to one of our experts:

Give us a call

(888) 701-5189

SUBSCRIBE TO THE AMBIUS BLOG


 

Blog Categories

  • How to
  • Industry Insights
  • Trends
  • Design News
  • Pinworthy Pictures & Video
  • Tips From The Plant Doctor
  • History of a Green Thumb
  • Holiday

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL NETWORKS

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on YouTube
© 2019 Rentokil Initial plc and subject to the conditions in the legal statement, Cookie Policy and our RI Supplier Code, Privacy Policy, Do not sell my personal information, Manage Cookies