THE ONE SIMPLE INTERIOR TRICK TO INCREASE STAFF WELLBEING, REDUCE STRESS, AND IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY: BIOPHILIC DESIGN

• Biophilic design, or bringing the outdoors indoors, is a super-effective way to increase employees performance and happiness
• As people plan their return to the office, there has been a huge 2600% increase in Google Searches for “easy to care for plants”
• Office Furniture Online offers their top tips on indoor plants that are easy to care for and only need attention once or twice a week at most
• You can find all the high-res images here

All good business leaders want their staff to enjoy coming into the workplace, an environment where they should feel happy, calm and productive. Well, there’s one simple interior trick that can have a huge impact on staff wellbeing: investing in plants!

Incorporating biophilic design into your office is one of the best ways to help encourage wellbeing and stress reduction amongst your staff. Indoor plants essentially do the opposite of what we do when we breathe: release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. This freshens up the air and eliminates harmful toxins throughout your office space.

Why should you incorporate plants into your office?

In fact, research by NASA¹ has found that indoor plants can remove 87% of air toxins in just 24 hours. Other studies show how plants are known to help psychological and physiological stress², and employees who work in environments with natural elements report a 15% higher level of well-being, are 6% more productive and 15% more creative overall.³

Adding plants to your new, re-configured hybrid office is a great way to make your staff feel welcome and calm in your office space. Getting your staff members involved in choosing and taking care of their plants is a way to take this even further, as they will feel more engaged, productive, and valued in their role.

What plants should you choose?

However, the future of working has changed dramatically over the past year, and now many businesses will be employing a “hybrid” work model, meaning that staff will be in less often. To help solve this problem, Office Furniture Online has analysed the best types of plants for the new style of working, and how to look after them.

English Ivy is a beautiful plant that can help create a real biophilic feel, thanks to its great ability to climb. All you need to do is plant it in a shady area with organically rich soil.

Then, water them twice a week, making sure the top inch of the soil is dry before watering.

Dracaena is one of the easiest to grow indoor plants thanks to its striking appearance and ease of care. These plants don’t do well in direct sunlight so you can keep them in filtered indoor light, like you often get in an office. They also need a lot less water than most indoor plants – simply mist the soil every two weeks and always allow the top soil to dry out before watering.

Cacti are another great choice, as their colour and shape variations help them fit many different tastes and styles. Cacti can survive in both sun and artificial light, and water between every one and two weeks, but when the soil is very dry.

Peace Lilies are beautiful plants that are really popular in offices because they are excellent at cleaning the air of the room they are in. Peace lilies enjoy medium to low light and need to be watered once a week.

Snake plants are another easy care yet striking looking plant, making it the perfect office decoration. During colder months, you only need to water it once a month or once dried out, and a little bit more often during summer. It can also thrive in all different kinds of light – even low light areas.

ZZ plants can survive well in fluorescent light, making it perfect for office environments. It can also thrive even after missing a few watering, so makes the perfect indoor plant for busy people and those new to plant care.

Mark Taylor, Managing Director of Office Furniture Online, comments on the benefits of biophilic design:

“Office plants are great for decorating your space and making employees feel more relaxed and at ease. They also help with productivity, so are a worthwhile investment.

“Be sure to choose the right kind of plants for your office space, as well. Do you have lots of natural light, or do you need to consider plants that work well in fluorescent light? Do you have enough space for plants that grow quickly? Do you have an office dog that the plants may be toxic to? These are all things to consider when choosing your perfect office plant.”

You can find more information here: https://www.officefurnitureonline.co.uk/blog/biophilic-design-what-are-the-best-plants-for-the-office/