How to create a healthy workplace – and boost performance in the process

Is your office a sea of grey? You’re not alone. Most of us are so busy with work and obsessed with hitting targets that we’ve quite forgotten about ensuring the workplace is a healthy place to be. It’s led to a lot of employees feeling completely unmotivated and not at all productive. But don’t despair – it’s easy to change your office with the help of plants!

How to Create a Healthy Workplace – and boost performances in the process

The wider problem

Why is it that workplaces are so often uninspiring? A big contributing factor is the lack of nature. According to the Human Spaces Global Report, a massive 58% of workers reported no live plants in their working environment. On top of that, 47% also said their workspace had no natural light.

It’s not just offices that have lost touch with nature though. Cities have increasingly become nature-free zones. That’s why the Mayor of London has launched a Greener City Fund to encourage more tree planting and improve green spaces around the capital.

Back in the office

The project in London is just one example of how we’re becoming more aware of the impact a lack of nature can have. There’s science to back it up too. In 2011, for instance, a team of Florida researchers looked at how varying levels of nature contact affected workers. They found that perceived stress levels and general health complaints had a direct negative correlation with nature contact.

In simple terms, more nature contact meant less stress and fewer health problems. Why? Office plants liven up the workplace surroundings with interesting colours and textures, as well as cleaning the air by absorbing pollutants. On a psychological level, they increase people’s connection with nature, invoking positive emotions and increasing attentional capacity.

Better health = boosted performance?

It’s not just employees who benefit from a healthier workplace either. Several studies have found increased levels of productivity when well positioned plants were introduced to office spaces. Horticulture expert, Dr Leonard Perry, for example, reports a 12 percent rise in productivity in his paper ‘Plants at Work, Indoors’.

Similarly, in the Human Spaces Global Report, respondents with “natural elements” in their work environment were found to have 6% higher productivity levels than those without. Over time, this productivity boost can provide a significant difference to a business’s output and growth.

Creating your healthy workplace

If you’re ready to embrace nature in your workplace, it’s time to speak to Valley Provincial. We provide plants and flowers for a wide range of business sectors – and we’ve done so to the highest standards since 1976. With our tailored planting schemes, you can make your office a much happier, healthier environment and reap the rewards of increased productivity. Get in touch today to discuss your project.