Indoor Plant Benefits
Indoor plants help reduce sick building syndrome
NASA carried out an investigation on the existence of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in offices, which come from things like carpets, upholstery, copier machines, and cleaning products. The research found that having indoor plants in the office would significantly decrease the level of VOCs that employees come into contact with on a daily basis.
The direct benefits of indoor plants to the air we breath are twofold:
- Pollutants are filtered from indoor air
- Oxygen is released and humidity levels are reduced.
Office plants and productivity
Putting plants, and or art, in any office will improve productivity by 16%, according to Dr Craig Knight, a psychologist, who has completed studies with more than 2200 office workers since beginning his PhD in 2006 at the University of Exeter.
Knight started out evaluating whether productivity improves with “lean” office design – the trend towards clean desks, free from personal effects, papers, plants and family photos. But he found the opposite was true.
Comparing people who worked in a “lean office” against those in a space enriched by plants and art, the productivity difference was stark – the “enriched” space increased productivity 16%. Intriguingly, productivity doubled again to 32% when staff were given the autonomy to place the office plants and art where they liked (in consultation with each other).
Knight also noted a fall in “sick office syndrome” – as measured by complaints about being too hot, cold, lights too bright or dark, or getting headaches. Knight says he has not uncovered the reason that people work better in “enriched spaces”, but believes it is quite consistent the entire animal kingdom – nests, burrows and bowers are also personalised.
