Do you feel joy when you are surrounded by flowers and plants? That’s normal! There have been plenty of studies exploring how and why flowers make us feel happy, so we’ve collated some of these studies into this article for your benefit. These findings may also be important for your workplace, especially if you work in hospitality.
10 Months of Research
A ten-month study, titled An Environmental Approach to Positive Emotion: Flowers (2005), considered participants’ behavioural and emotional responses to receiving flowers. Unsurprisingly, the results confirmed that flowers are great for moderating moods. In all age groups, participants were happy to receive the flowers, and this didn’t only occur for the initial gift-giving; the study also recorded that the participants were less depressed or anxious for three days afterwards, too.
Let’s think about the effects that this could have on the hospitality industry; keeping flowers present in lobby areas will help to reduce visitor’s stresses if the above research is to be believed. This can be useful in hospitals and hotels alike.
Hospitals
Health care sector providers that allow flowers help to bring peace and calm to their visitors, many of whom will be struggling with high levels of stress. Whilst we don’t expect that the presence of flowers can completely negate the worries that accompany an illness, flowers may make long periods in waiting rooms a little more bearable and accommodating on a subconscious level.
Flowers are considered a luxury when given as gifts, but their inherent therapeutic qualities suggest that they should be a necessity for comfort in stressful environments.
Hotels
Hotel lobbies also benefit from the natural reassurance provided by flowers. A visitor’s arrival at a hotel should be stress-free and happy, and the presence of flowers enhances both of these feelings, and also improves the perception of value and luxury.
Keeping flowers on the main desk may help with handling any difficulties the guest is experiencing by creating a calming atmosphere. As Dr Haviland-Jones lead researcher of this study, stated:
“Flowers bring about positive emotional feelings in those who enter a room. They make the space more welcoming and create a sharing atmosphere.’
At Planteria we offer posy flower arrangements and flowers for restaurants to help make your hotel, bar, or restaurant the best it can be.
Offices
Another place where managers should consider hospitality is in their offices; your staff need some care and attention too! An office decorated with natural elements (also known as biophilic design) is more likely to be a healthier and happier office. Understandably, this also correlates with higher levels of productivity which you can read about in our blog: plants in the office make you 15% more productive. If you’re interested in flowers for offices, please get in touch with us.
More Research…
Dr Hamilton-Jones’ study with Rutgers University also found that 88% of people reported that the act of giving the flowers themselves also made them feel happier. This means that flowers have positive effects for all those involved.
By this notion, flowers make the perfect gift solutions with benefits for the giver and the receiver, what’s more you can’t get the wrong size, or offend anyone by getting an inappropriate gift (wine for someone you did not know was tee-total for example). We supply gift bouquets , to make it simple and straightforward to say thank you, happy birthday, seasons greetings or for any other occasion you can think of. In the Rutgers University study, it was found that participants who received flowers were more likely to answer positively to social support questions (contacting people, talking intimately).
Flowers and Human Evolution
One of the ideas explored by Dr Hamilton-Jones is the idea that flowers have evolved to be seen as rewarding by humans to help with their own survival:
“Just as other plants have evolved to induce varying behavioural responses in a wide variety of species leading to the dispersal or propagation of the plants.”
This may be a side-effect, however. Birds and bees are animals which are both very important for the survival of many plants and flowers in the wild, and both species see in colour vision. This means that flowers with bright colours are more likely to stand out to birds and bees, thus ensuring their propagation.
Humans can also see in colour which makes flowers very attractive to us, too. This may mean that our enjoyment of flowers is a result of our shared colour-vision with birds and bees. On the other hand, it is also speculated that the bright colours of blooms signal bountiful harvests, which humans are also likely to take enjoyment from. The two factors could have become historically linked, and now trigger an evolutionary response of happiness in humans worldwide upon receiving flowers.
Give A Bouquet this Christmas
Flowers and natural bright colours can be hard to find during the winter, which is why giving the gift of flowers will be especially effective during the Christmas period. You may even want to gift some to yourself to reward your own efforts over the past year. We can supply you with beautiful gift bouquets, colleagues, family, or for your yourself, as well as regular weekly flowers for your office space.
We know that flowers have so much to offer businesses, offices, hotels and clinics, and we can help deliver their benefits to your location. Our professionally trained florists work magic with fresh flowers to ensure you are delighted. Get in touch so we can help you too.
