Every business is looking for the ‘slight edge’ to give them a competitive advantage. But how about if I told you that you could become 15 % more productive by doing one small, low-cost thing?
What if I also told you that doing the same thing would make your employees happier and more creative too? Would you put it into action immediately?
It’s true, and it’s backed up by plenty of research and science.
Dr Craig Knight from Exeter University and his fellow psychologists, who have been studying the issue for 10 years, concluded that employees were 15% more productive when “lean” workplaces were filled with just a few houseplants, as employees who actively engage with their surroundings are better workers.
The study says that offices devoid of natural elements and distractions are “the most toxic space” you can put a human into and reports that workers perform better when household plants are added to workplaces.
Collaborating with academics from four universities in Australia, the UK and the Netherlands, Knight said he had wondered for years why the fashion for spartan offices has been so dominant in the business world, and the obvious benefits of office plants ignored. “If you put an ant into a ‘lean’ jam jar, or a gorilla in a zoo into a ‘lean’ cage – they’re miserable beasties,” he said. People in “lean” offices are no different, he added.
Essentially planting in the workplace makes you more productive because it connects you back to nature, this innate desire, which is hardwired into our DNA is called Biophilia. If you take a human out of ‘nature’ and put them in a clinical, space devoid of natural elements and colour and you will increase stress and anxiety levels.
Researchers extensively studied workplaces over an 18 month period, including a call centre in the Netherlands and a large City auditor in London to see how even a small number of plants could rapidly improve performance.
The City auditors, which Knight declined to name, had spent “a lot of money” on their office, he said. “They had very expensive desks … banners that were just to do with the company … it was a beautifully sparse environment.”
Yet when plants were brought into the offices (one plant per square metre), employee performance on memory retention and other basic tests improved substantially.
“What was important was that everybody could see a plant from their desk. If you are working in an environment where there’s something to get you psychologically engaged you are happier and you work better,” Knight said.
He hopes the project, the first of its kind carried out in functioning offices, will bury the lean office practice for which he said there was no scientific support.
Prof Alex Haslam, from the University of Queensland’s School of Psychology, who co-authored the study, added: “The ‘lean’ philosophy has been influential across a wide range of organisational domains. Our research questions this widespread conviction that less is more. Sometimes less is just less.
How do you measure the happiness and wellbeing of your employees? Do you know how your staff are really feeling when they’re in the office and how they feel after leaving work?
In today’s fast-paced, technology-fuelled, budget-conscious offices it’s no wonder that employees are feeling the stresses and pressures of our modern workplace more than ever before. That’s why as a business you value your employees as your most important assets and treat them accordingly. After all, a happy workplace is a productive and successful workplace and your investment in your employee’s wellbeing will reap rewards for everyone.
Boosting happiness, morale and productivity in the workplace can be easy, fun, and you don’t need to spend a huge amount of money to make some simple changes with a big impact. We’ve chosen 10 of our favourite suggestions below to help you create a modern workplace with perks that staff will enjoy.
10 Tips to Improve Workplace Wellness & Employee Wellbeing:
Provide healthy snacks and drinks in the office and encourage employees to eat their lunch in a communal area or outdoors rather than sitting at their desk. Healthy snacks are far better than sugar-fuelled nibbles which can often lead to employees feeling sluggish and less productive in the afternoon, so be sure to have a few healthy snacks on hand, such as fruit. Similarly, lunch breaks are important and even 20 minutes away from the computer screen will refresh tired eyes and increase productivity for the rest of the day.
Encourage employees to be active during the work-week. You might consider offering a weekly lunchtime yoga class or free gym memberships, giving employee incentives to focus on physical fitness and the impact this has to overall health and wellbeing. Other ideas include promoting the cycle-to-work scheme and offering assistance with public transport or parking costs if your business is located in a larger city, to offset any costs your staff may wish to spend on fitness.
Make your office interior greener with plants & flowers. Biophilia is gaining popularity in the workplace because we as humans have a strong need to align ourselves with nature (learn more about biophilia in our blog post ‘Biophilia – What is it and Why is it Important?‘). Studies have shown that plants in the workplace increase productivity, reduce stress and provide cleaner air, among other things. From as little as £2.50 per week for a floor-standing potted plant, Planteria Group can offer planting & flower arrangements services for your business which includes regular maintenance. For examples of our recent work see our projects and also our case studies.
De-clutter your workspace and brighten your interior with a fresh coat of paint and some clever organisation. A bright and airy office will improve productivity and general well-being. We know too well that flat surfaces often get covered with paperwork, office supplies and other random items, so consider using planters on top of shelving to give a tidier appearance. We love storage solutions which also double as interior planters (as seen in this example), and did you know we also offer attractive storage solutions for fire extinguishers which double as planting containers?
Provide in-office health checks and regular health screenings with a mobile doctor to promote healthy living. Consider offering this once a year.
Offer flexible working practices if possible, which include working from home to promote a healthy work/life balance. Promote a positive focus on family and friends and encourage your employees to use their holiday entitlement to avoid a culture of ‘presenteeism’. Try to limit your work-related communication to office hours and to help reduce the likelihood of anxiety associated with being tied to technology 24/7.
Offer training programmes or workshops for employees to learn new skills or brush up on advances in technology related to their job. This maintains employee expertise and can improve productivity. This gesture also shows your employees that you value them as individuals and are committed to excellence.
Promote charity fundraising and volunteer work in the community. For example, Planteria Group invite employees to vote on a chosen charity each quarter and work together as a team to raise money through bake sales, sports tournaments, raffles and more. You could also consider a team-building day out of the office where you all volunteer your working hours to support a chosen charity.
Create a chill-out zone free from technology. This space should be comfortable, clutter free and inviting. Encourage employees to take a 15 minute break and relax with music, a book or magazine or even a quick snooze.
Offer monthly massage treatments for staff by bringing in a mobile therapist. Depending on budget you could either cover the whole cost or arrange for staff to book and pay a small fee. Find companies offering this service near you with a search on Google for “office massage London” or “local massage therapists”. Set aside some space in an unused meeting room for the therapist to set up a private mini-treatment room for the day. A focus on neck, shoulders and back will reduce stress and leave employees feeling refreshed and well looked after.
Above are just some of the many ways you can help improve employee wellbeing at work. Your employees will agree that these types of perks are very much appreciated and you may even consider asking for their input on other ideas that are meaningful for them.
Promoting wellness in the workplace is crucial in today’s world more than ever before. Our hope is that we’ve given you some unique suggestions for building a strong and supported working environment, benefitting employees and businesses alike.
If you’d like further suggestions, ideas or a free quote on how Planteria Group can help support wellbeing with plants and flowers for your business please contact us.
NHS Health At Work Recommendations:
According to a recent 20 page report published by NHS Health at Work on healthy workplaces, health and wellbeing are defined as follows:
Health relates to a person’s physical and mental condition. Wellbeing is the subjective state of being healthy, happy, contented, comfortable and satisfied with one’s quality of life. Mental wellbeing relates to a person’s emotional and psychological wellbeing. This includes self-esteem and the ability to socialise and cope in the face of adversity. It also includes being able to develop potential, work productively and creatively, build strong and positive relationships with others and contribute to the community.
Other more traditional suggestions made in the NHS report (NICE’s guideline on workplace health) for supporting employee health and wellbeing include:
Offering employees help and encouragement to build supportive relationships
Being open and approachable to ensure employees feel free to share ideas
Consulting regularly on daily procedures and problems
Recognising and praising good performance
Identifying and addressing issues and concerns and taking any action needed as soon as possible to prevent problems escalating
Identifying sources of internal and external support
Agreeing relevant and realistic job targets
Carrying out stress risk assessments and developing workplace solutions to reduce this.
Sources:
Health at Work NICE’s guideline on workplace health: management practices, recommendations 1.8.1, 1.8.2 and 1.9.1
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We hear about it all the time; it could be you or it could be a colleague, but someone that you know, somewhere right this second, is currently complaining about their line of work. What we are asking ourselves in this blog, is how much of this unhappiness is self-imposed, and what can we possibly do to help ourselves learn to love life (including work) a little more?
Happiness is a State of Mind
Happiness comes easier to some people than it does to others – it’s a simple fact. It’s a bit like losing weight; not everyone finds achieving the perfect figure a breeze, and for some of us, trying to feel happy and upbeat can leave us feeling more tired than a full workout.
Just like reading blogs about work-out tips and tricks to take to the gym, you can’t simply read advice about how to improve your level of happiness and expect to see the benefits without putting the work in. This blog will provide you with a happiness training regime for your mind, however, it’s up to you to act on it and find what works.
How to Wake-up Happy
We all have those days where we ‘get out of the wrong side of the bed’ – when the bed is just too warm, it’s cold outside, and you know you have a difficult day ahead of you how can you reduce the chance that you might start your day off on the wrong foot?
Get More Sleep
The first question to ask yourself is how you have been sleeping? Good sleep is crucial to having a positive attitude, so you should begin your path to happiness by working out how many hours of sleep you get and how it makes you feel in the morning. Everybody functions differently on different levels of sleep, so don’t let anyone else tell you what the norm is, because it is something best figured out for yourself.
On average, women need more sleep than men, and younger people need more sleep than older people. Your personal requirement for optimal function will also be affected by the amount of physical and mental stresses of your week. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep every night.
In today’s society, it can be difficult to recognise sleep as productive, but it is important to challenge this misconception. Achieving the right amount of sleep for you will improve your productivity, confidence and general health – what could be more productive than that?
Assess Your Sleep
Sleep isn’t merely a matter of hours spent in bed, unfortunately. The quality of your sleep is important too. If you wake up in the middle of the night, then your quality of sleep is arguably less than that of someone who successfully sleeps the whole night. If this is you, then try to establish a better bedtime routine. Winding down physically and mentally, and switching off electronics the hour before you plan to turn in, also avoiding caffeine in the evenings are helpful moves.
Warm baths before bed, good ventilation in the bedroom and also having houseplants like English Ivy or a Peace Lily for their air-purifying abilities can help some people.
Get Up Earlier
Getting up earlier can also work wonders to make you feel more positive and set the tone for the rest of your day, putting you in control of your morning. Perhaps your usual morning starts off in a bit of a rush to get out of bed, get dressed, finding last minute items that you need for your day, taking children to school, skip breakfast, grab coat, lock door and rush to work. It sounds a bit stressful, doesn’t it?
Getting up even half an hour earlier will allow you to get out of bed in a more relaxed manner. You will be less likely to forget important things while you are getting prepared for the day ahead. Most importantly you will have time to enjoy your breakfast, rather than just trying to eat it as quickly as possible or worse still, skip it. Breakfasting on healthy things like whole grains and fruit and including some protein, eggs for example or a protein smoothie, will set you up for the day and help to support a positive mindset. A quick carb and sugar breakfast of cereal or white toast and jam sends your blood sugar on a roller coaster of a quick high and then crash and burn
Just by finding the right amount of sleep to get and re-setting your morning routine, you can improve your mood and well-being at the start of your day. The next challenge is how you take that state of mind to work and keep it there.
Getting to Work Happy
Getting to work happy can be a challenge, especially when the traffic is bad. One way to offset this is by driving with the window open. Recent studies have found that stuffy environments with high CO2 levels can make people feel tired, which we want to avoid. By walking, cycling, or driving with the window open, you are increasing your exposure to fresh air in the morning, which is more healthy for your body and mind. You can read more about the importance of good air in our blog:Indoor Air Quality: Facts & How To Improve.
If you can walk or cycle to work this is great news because regular exercise is excellent for your body and mind too. Exercise brings transformative change to your brain, promotes a feeling of well-being and calm and releases endorphins – chemicals which make you feel really good and lifts your spirits.
If you are in the car, singing or listening to music is also recommended. A 2013 study in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that people who listened to upbeat music could improve their mood and boost their happiness significantly in a matter of just two weeks.
How to Stay Happy at Work
Arriving at work presents the most challenging barrier between you and your happiness, because there will be factors that you can’t always prepare for, like a sudden crisis requiring you to work overtime or a difficult situation with something that saps your energy and patience. Finding happiness at work can be a test of resilience, but there is plenty you can do to improve it.
Keep Your Energy Up
At work, you will appreciate those extra hours of sleep and your pleasant morning routine all the more, because you will have more energy to deal with problems once they arise. This means that instead of buckling under pressure, you will be more likely to be productive and successful in the morning.
Many people find happiness from being productive and successful, so utilising tips to make the most of your day can help you to achieve more. Getting yourself organised can help a lot, but so can regulated and healthy snack breaks to rest your mind.
As well as perfecting your daily habits to promote productivity, you should also consider the environment that you work in, and maybe even consider changing seats in your office. Sitting next to people who can motivate you and with whom you can get along is another crucial factor to enjoying your day at work. You need to be with people who can pick you up when things go wrong or in the afternoon when your energy is lagging a little.
Workplace Environment
For some people, an untidy desk can be distracting; Junk food wrappers, stationary and random bits of tat can distract workers. This doesn’t mean that empty desks are the answer, however; improving your happiness by adding some beautiful office plants will bring many benefits to your workplace.
Office plants provide not only aesthetic improvements that are known to boost creativity in offices. The ‘Biophilia Hypothesis’ is the much-studied theory that human beings have an innate connection with nature, and that our connection to plants, flowers and other natural features in our environment contributes to our health and wellbeing. Having a view of plants in the workplace makes people more relaxed, less stressed, up to 15% more productive, and more creative than being in a workplace devoid of them.
Plants can also reduce levels of CO2, which, as previously mentioned, can have a negative impact on workers’ energy, productivity and health. A green office is a healthy office, and a healthy office is a happy office. We recommend the peace lily, snake plant or areca palm to craft the ultimate office atmosphere. You can read more about The Top 5 Plants for Your Office on our blog, or contact us for a free quote if you are interested in getting a bespoke design service for your office with us.
Add more fresh air to your day by going outside for a walk in nature, by taking a lunch break, breathing deeply and getting more exercise. You might be tempted to work through lunch, eating a sandwich at your desk, but you’ll be more productive and energised by taking a break and getting active.
Finding happiness is all about how you treat yourself and finding the willpower to keep good habits going. It might not be easy for you to put all of these methods into practice – we understand how hard it can be to put your phone down and go to sleep – but a bit of sleep, a better diet, some more exercise and a few plants can make a world of difference.
The pandemic has heightened environmental awareness. As COVID-19 swept through all our lives and made huge changes to the way we have had to live, this has given us time for introspection and reflection on the fragility of our planet and our core values. What is important to us? That is the question that we…
Having just a solitary plant by the window is no longer the norm – offices across the nation are creating their own little patches of green and incorporating plants into their interior décor. The benefits of a green office space are many, from mental wellbeing to lower levels of stress. Green Plants for Green Buildings…
If you’ve been reading about the buzzword Biophilia but have yet to understand what the buzz is about, then we’ve made a helpful infographic for you, designed to show you the amazing relationships that can occur between workers and plants in the modern office. Plants truly are amazing. If you’re looking to improve your office…
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Start-up businesses have a problem: today’s rent is too high to work from a traditional office set-up. But perhaps you have the solution – would you consider opening up your property as a shared workspace?
Between 2011 and 2018, the amount of flexible office space per square foot increased by 22%. And there is a big increase in demand for shared offices on today’s property market.
In this article, we will walk you through the expectations that businesses have for shared workspaces and offer ideas on how you can create a shared workspace aesthetic that will outstrip your competitors.
What Businesses Want
In order to create and sell a co-working space to prospective tenants, you need to understand their point of view. Businesses in shared workspaces can benefit from skills and knowledge sharing, as well as increasing their client portfolios through recommendations.
Companies such as digital marketing agencies and web developers, and other Tech industry firms are most likely to go into a shared workspace environment. Knowing this, you should tap into their wants and needs by providing fibre speed broadband, as many plug sockets as possible and some creative but comfy furniture. Think of the businesses that you are marketing your space to and tailor the environment to match their needs.
There are some general truths that apply to any shared workspace that you need to know about. These include the fact that businesses who share workspaces and costs are more likely to prize high-end facilities where they can make the most of networking and learning from one another. The kinds of facilities that companies want the most are high spec kitchens and communal social areas. If you want to attract really high-end businesses, you should consider adding private gym facilities, showers and even an on-site café (think avocado toast, homemade burgers and quinoa salad rather than a greasy spoon).
As variety is an important part of the creative process for many companies, you must consider this during the planning phase; creative businesses will benefit from flexible open plan rooms that encourage uniqueness and interaction. You can express this through dynamic and trendy interiors that speak to the audience you are trying to attract.
Making It Work
One aspect of shared workspaces that can cause friction between the occupants working in them is the lack of privacy. Distractions are far more likely to arise in a shared workspace. Creatives can find this beneficial in terms of generating ideas, but there are some times when people need to able to concentrate. Get onboard the latest, growing office design trend of Activity Based Workplace Design (ABW) which is a mix of open, semi-private and private spaces in one office, add funky soundproofed pods, where confidential conversations can take place face to face, or critical thinking and detailed work can happen. Phone booths are also becoming very popular for those important business phone conversations, without sounding like you are in a call centre.
The Aesthetic
Companies looking for a shared workspace want something fresh, different and exciting. The aesthetic is therefore highly important. Décor needs to be instantly attractive with furnishings that are functional and comfortable. The blending of work and home continues, so do include soft furnishing, lamps and large office plants, which have the added benefit of also aiding productivity and creativity. Office plants will also make your workspace stand out from other workspaces, which will seem boring and old fashioned in comparison to your thoughtfully designed office.
Short Term and Flexibility
One aspect of Co-working spaces that landlords should be aware of is that most businesses are reluctant to sign long-term leases for shared offices. Agility is a top priority for both modern businesses and workers, so shorter contracts which can offer more freedom are more attractive.
Property owners may find this an intimidating prospect, but if you are confident that the space you have created is a positive one, then you should also feel confident in supplying short-term contracts that other businesses will continue to sign.
Including all of the above suggestions – attractive designs, trending colour schemes, incorporating biophilia – you should aim to make the experience as stress-free for your tenants as possible. Having a great ‘Community Manager’ or Building Manager on hand for those unforeseen problems is a great idea. The ability to handle even the most minor issues with efficiency will definitely endear a business to your property and could turn a short term lease into a very profitable relationship.
Shared workspaces are the future, and could well be a secret weapon in our success as a country post-Brexit, as we nurture and encourage entrepreneurial start-ups and tech businesses, especially in big cities like London and Manchester. If you’re looking to create the perfect office space, contact us to find out how our talented florists and plant technicians can augment your property.
The pandemic has heightened environmental awareness. As COVID-19 swept through all our lives and made huge changes to the way we have had to live, this has given us time for introspection and reflection on the fragility of our planet and our core values. What is important to us? That is the question that we…
Having just a solitary plant by the window is no longer the norm – offices across the nation are creating their own little patches of green and incorporating plants into their interior décor. The benefits of a green office space are many, from mental wellbeing to lower levels of stress. Green Plants for Green Buildings…
If you’ve been reading about the buzzword Biophilia but have yet to understand what the buzz is about, then we’ve made a helpful infographic for you, designed to show you the amazing relationships that can occur between workers and plants in the modern office. Plants truly are amazing. If you’re looking to improve your office…
As the design of the workplace evolves through various trends, from cellular office environments to open plan spaces and then the rise of agile working spaces, the rising trend of biophilic design has been hard to ignore. What is Biophilic Design? Biophilic design is essentially a design framework that intertwines the patterns of nature…
Terrariums are making a stylish statement in luxury hotels, restaurants and in the receptions and board rooms of blue-chip companies thanks to our help. These exceptional planters offer a wonderfully unique and interesting way to display a variety of plants such as succulents, air plants, moss & more. Terrariums enjoyed popularity in the 1970’s and…
Everyone has those days, you know the ones – those days when you knock your coffee over at work, get bumped into in the street and forget to send a time-sensitive email. For that week when things are not going well and you’ve missed the bus home, you need to consider a forest bath.
Forest bathing is a rising trend, and with good reason – it could be an eco-friendly solution to the bottled-up stresses experienced by workers across the country, and it’s incredibly easy to do. In this article, we discuss the joys of forest bathing and where it comes from.
Where Did Forest Bathing Originate
As a country that prizes self-improvement practices and simplicity, Japan has a lot to teach the West about the pursuit of health and happiness and one of the best places for the uninitiated to start is with ‘shinrin-yoku’ – forest bathing. Shinrin-yoku literally translates to ‘forest bathing’, is a fun but very accurate description of this relaxing activity.
The practice of forest bathing under the label of shinrin-yoku began in Japan in 1982 as part of a public health programme, but, truthfully, humans have been practising variants of the activity unprompted for hundreds of years. The poetry from the era of British Romanticism the 19th century can attest to the benefits that nature had on the soul, but never before has this activity been undertaken by thousands as part of a knowing trend.
Some have linked the current popularity of forest bathing to recent surges in mindfulness. Shinrin-yoku is about learning to put your mental-wellbeing first and foremost, and it just so happens that nature is a free and accessible resource which can help us to achieve this.
How to Forest Bathe
Forest bathing is a simple process requiring you to take a few hours out of your day, occasionally, to go and wander in nature. It really is as easy as that. Some schools of thought will put an emphasis on leaving all your electronics at home, but it is understandable that not everyone would feel safe doing this and if you don’t feel safe you will struggle to relax. Instead, it is important to remember that you only get out what you put in, so, by all means, bring your mobile phone, but try to resist the temptation to start texting during your session.
To begin, head out towards a forest or wood and the rest is up to you. You could spend the time walking, resting or investigating plant life – acting on these desires can help to improve your self-confidence, especially after a long week of holding back frustration at work. Try to act on all of your senses, sight, smell, touch and hearing, enjoying a fully immersive experience of the forest.
Why Forest Bathing is Good for Your Health
Shinrin-yoku is very relaxing, which also means that it will reduce heart rate and blood pressure in those practising it. This can be very important for people who struggle with heart problems as the ability to unwind can be more than mentally beneficial, it could have lasting effects on predicted lifespan.
An added effect of forest bathing is that it encourages people to get out and enjoy taking physical exercise in nature. Instead of appreciating it from watching it on television. Forest bathing gets people off the sofa and out walking in the fresh air which is so important. However well ventilated your home or workplace may be, nothing can rival the positive effects of clean air on the body. This means that you should try to make wellness trips to clean air spaces like forests every now and then.
In any fitness regime, or diet, the majority of people see their best results near the beginning when they have the most weight to lose, and you can view your mental wellbeing as a similar muscle; while you may see the best effects from forest bathing if you engage only on your most stressful days, you could succeed in making long-lasting changes to your outlook if you practice shinrin-yoku regularly.
Problems in the UK
It is estimated by nhsforest.org that if Central Bedfordshire encouraged 10% of its population to exercise, by providing better access to good quality green spaces, it would save around £2.9m in healthcare costs. Currently, a lack of green space is preventing more people from enjoying the benefits of shinrin-yoku.
The NHS also reports that green spaces have huge benefits to physical, mental and social health, meaning that the public should aim to protect and improve its health by protecting its plants, woods and forests. If this isn’t convincing enough, then perhaps the statistic reported by Natural England regarding our children can convince you that we need to be putting plants in our cities;
‘more than 10% of children have not set foot in a park, forest, or other natural environment over the previous 12 months’ (2016)
This is termed by many as ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’, and it is something that we need to fix. If not by making the effort to travel to green spaces, then by incorporating more greenery into our cities, offices and homes.
We can do this by improving our collective respect for plant life, and our connection of nature, by adding planting to both indoor and outdoor spaces where we can. From window boxes and trough planters to desktops and cabinet tops. This begins with individuals, especially those in prominent positions. Perhaps you have the opportunity to raise the health, output and mood of your workforce by introducing some indoor office plants to your workplace?
Further Reading:
1) Forest Bathing, by Dr Qing Li (book, 2018)
2) Prescribing Green Space, by nhsforest.org (pamphlet PDF)
3) Nature Makes You Better,by National Geographic(article, Feb 2019)
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Whether your ideas are big or small, this article will teach you about how stress became the enemy of public wellbeing and how nature can be used to fight against its unwanted effects on the mind and body.
Stressed About Stress?
The World Health Organisation [WHO] cites poor mental health and cardiovascular disease to be two prime factors of worldwide illness by 2020 and at the heart of both issues is stress. Work is a large part of most people’s lives and many workers will attest that their work environment puts an emphasis on physical well-being, also recognised as the physical ability to get into the office and do the work.
This mentality, however, is proving to be quite old fashioned in the modern office; since 1986, WHO have been stating that health ‘is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity but a positive state of complete physical, mental and social well-being’. This means that a healthy working environment is one that does not only judge its employees on their physical well-being alone but also cares for their mental well-being.
This means listening to your employees when they are struggling with anxiety or heavy workloads and considering what you can do to make your workplace a happier environment. You might just find a rise in overall productivity when you make employee well-being one of your aims.
It should be understood by managers that the aim is not to remove all the pressures faced by the individual. After all, it is expected that employees will need to battle with emergencies and business-wide problems from time to time. If you feel that your company could improve its mental health awareness, you could start by considering ways to dilute the excessive stresses frequently felt by individuals. Offering more options to improve work life balance such as flexible working or allowing staff to organise their own working schedule can also be very useful. Encouraging people to talk about what is going on and offering moral support is also appreciated by your workforce.
Taking a look at the bigger picture, how can you make changes company-wide? This could be by updating your office look with some indoor office plants for a morale boost, or it could be that you introduce some new health-orientated perks for your workers.
How Can Nature Help?
The fight against stress is real; the British Heart Foundation speculates that high stress at the very least contributes to your risk for developing heart and circulatory diseases. One of the biggest dangers is that individuals will seek to assuage their feelings of stress with bad behaviours like alcoholism or overeating. If you want to keep a healthy business, it is equally important to spread the word about how individuals can adopt healthy ways to release their stress, as well as tackling their work-related pressures head-on.
You can do this by getting your business or team to spend more time in nature. It has been proven by a Dutch study that surrounding yourself with natural elements can lower stress hormones, so in turn, nature can be considered as a holistic measure against developing heart disease.
Indeed, some doctors in Shetland are already prescribing nature to tackle high blood pressure and anxiety. It should be remembered that these measures should not replace an individual’s pre-existing medications, but that many health experts are seeing benefits by adding a dose of nature to their patient’s prescribed treatment. The nature prescription has now been rolled out to all ten GPs across the Shetland, including the distribution of leaflets to help locals to understand the importance of outdoor therapy.
You can encourage your workers to spend more time in nature and increase their exercising by organising softball games in your local park, or by arranging an office hike. It can be hard to encourage all your workers to take walks in their own time if they are not already sold on nature’s beauty.
There is another way to connect them to the benefits of nature, you can introduce natural elements to their lives within your own office through our office moss walls and office flowers. Improve both their mental- and physical health with plants that fight dust levels and improve air quality. There are plenty reasons to have plants in the workplace which you can learn about through our infographic, and with our expertly trained plant technicians to take care of your office’s new plants throughout your contract, you won’t have to worry about finding time to manage their upkeep.
Office Moss Wall by Planteria
Let’s make World Health Day greener by spreading the word about the success of modern holistic practices together. We’re calling for more hikes and picnics at an individual level and a greater awareness of the benefits of biophilic design in the workplace business-wide. Please contact us for more information about how we can help you with an office refit that will not only boost employee morale, but health, too.
Further Reading:
1) Stress at the Workplace (Online Article, by the World Health Organisation)
2) Stress (Online Webpage, by the British Heart Foundation)
3) ‘Nature’ Being Pre-scribed by GPs in Shetland (Article by BBC News, 2018)
4) Gardening Promotes Neuroendocrine and Affective Restoration from Stress (Study by Van Den Berg and Custers, 2010)
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Why You Should Be Socialising
There are a few ways to reduce stress in the office, such as filling your space with beautiful office plants, but you should know that holding the occasional social event can also go a long way towards reducing tensions in your office environment. The Guardian even suggests that social events in the workplace could be vital to finding happiness at work, they include the following quote by Geoff Pearce as the parting message of their article:
“HR teams can have a huge impact on company culture and employee satisfaction. Team-building days, social events and ensuring a pleasant office environment – all are vital to happiness at work and creating a community spirit among colleagues.”
We can help you to create a pleasant office environment through our plant design service and also with office flowers, but the rest largely depends on you and your HR team. Our blog is here to help you with hints and tips on how to secure a strong community to promote higher staff retention and engagement.
We’ve already written blogs on world health and what workers really want, but this blog is dedicated to helping you host some amazing social events that have positive effects for both physical and mental health.
BBQ
We aren’t strangers to hosting fabulous social events and BBQ season is a shared favourite amongst our employees. A good BBQ is one that can cater to all your staff’s dietary needs, which means including Quorn burgers as well as regular beef. Making each and every one of your staff feel cared for is extremely important when hosting a social event, otherwise, you may end up highlighting the differences between your staff rather than successfully bringing them together.
BBQ’s are best when the weather is fine and everyone can relax outdoors, being weather dependent, it’s a good idea to name a week in which you are planning to host the BBQ and take the first good day that you come across. Hosting the BBQ during an extended lunch in working hours is a great idea for ensuring a good turn-out.
Here are some of our staff enjoying our delicious BBQ event:
Forest Bathing
The less intimidating version of an office hike, forest bathing is a promising new trend that seeks to reduce stress and tension in individuals by bringing them closer to nature. It is a relaxing activity that can reduce heart rate and blood pressure, as well as allowing people time to breathe healthy fresh air.
This activity is simple enough, just take your office to a nearby green area and encourage everyone to wander off in whichever route strikes their fancy. The aim is to enjoy exploring nature, as well as taking some time to reflect on your emotional well-being. Give your employees a time to be back by and regroup at the end of the day to discuss how forest bathing helped them to focus and improve their energy levels.
Lunch and Learns
Looking for a joint experience with added benefits? Then you may consider hosting a lunch and learn event. These socials are made to enhance your employee’s wider knowledge of your company or industry through presentations given by staff or industry experts. They can be a good opportunity to network too if you plan in time for a buffet lunch and some informal conversations after the event. If you want to learn more about how to set up an effective Lunch and Learn, you can read more about it on our blog.
Extra Ideas
Generally, getting your staff outside is one of the best things you can do, especially if the weather is warm. Why not go for a double whammy with some charity fund-raising? A sponsored run or a softball game? Some other activities that can help your staff to connect with one another in the fresh air include setting up an office picnic, or how about a round of crazy golf or croquet? If an adventure sounds good to you or you think it would appeal to the colleagues of your business, then some other outdoor activities that may interest you are kayaking and zorbing. If the weather is bad, then you can use Escape Rooms as an alternative to your outdoor plans – Escape Rooms are a great way to test your co-workers’ deduction skills and keep them on their toes!
Last year, Forbes created an article about office environments which stated that ‘strong social connections make people happier and physically healthier, which can translate into work performance’. Combine a few effective socials with a beautiful office refurbishment and you might find that your investments in your team sees a return in future output. If you have any questions regarding improving your office environments with plants, please contact us. For any other hints and tips regarding office life, check back here for future blogs and articles.
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Understanding those struggling with mental health issues is integral to building a business that can promote equal opportunities. In this article, we consider this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme, and how to avoid stress and friction in the workplace. We also talk about how you can help those who are suffering from mental health issues to create a comfortable workplace that promotes balance and wellbeing.
The average British employee will work for 34 hours and 26 minutes a week, making it extremely important to create a working environment which promotes health and wellbeing. World WellBeing Week starts on June 24th this year, so let’s endeavour to change for the better together.
This Year’s Theme – Body Image
Mental Health Awareness Week has been running since 2001 and every year brings a different aspect of mental health issues to the centre of the public’s attention. Most people go through a phase of struggling with body image at some point in their lives, especially teenagers, but body image problems aren’t felt by teenagers alone.
In both the UK and Australia, in 2016, only 20 per cent of women between the ages of 10 and 60 admitted to having high self-esteem about how they looked. If you think that body image isn’t important to the workforce, then we’re asking you to think again; some of those in the 80% with low self-esteem even confessed to skipping job interviews because they felt they had a poor body image.
Managing Stress in the Workplace
While Mental Health Awareness Week this year was focused on improving conceptions about body image, the underlying thread of every campaign is that stress can be deadly and often leads to other mental health issues, including body image problems which in turn can lead to eating disorders and poor physical health.
It is important to create a working environment where your staff can thrive and you can do this by targeting those stresses which are distracting them from both feeling well and performing at their best. If you agree that working whilst suffering from physical pain leads to an impaired performance, then you should agree that forcing body image standards that are mentally unhealthy need to be overturned. This may include catering for disabled staff and clients in your establishment by reconsidering the facilities that you have available to encourage the notion that all bodies are welcomed.
Along with World Wellbeing Day on June 22nd, World WellBeing Week calls for businesses and individuals to take a more critical stance regarding their social, physical, emotional, financial and environmental wellbeing. You can show that you value your employees by pursuing these goals, and – if you succeed – you may even find yourself taking part in the annual WellBeing Festival in the future as an award holder of the ‘Leaders in Wellbeing’ ceremony.
Other Ideas for Managing Mental Health
If you are questioning what you can do to help those struggling with mental health issues, then you should first know that even those who are diagnosed with the same problem could have very different experiences and symptoms. This means that it is most important to stay open to new ideas when trying to provide support; what works for one may not work for another.
Our focus on improving office environments and reducing stress in the workplace means that we have a fair few general ideas that could help to create at least the best physical environment to nurture workers and improve wellbeing. Bear in mind that not all the following ideas will suit everyone, but perhaps everyone will find one idea that appeals to them:
Biophilic Design
It is a well-known fact that staying in contact with the natural world can help to improve emotional stability. Modern humans suffer from a lack of connection with nature, but you can put that right by bringing nature into your place of work.
The concept of biophilic design is about mindfully connecting humans to nature in the build environment, by including natural daylighting, by adding plants to your place of work, and including biomorphic design and furnishings which mimic nature. Many studies have proved that this design practice has the added benefits of improving creativity and productivity.
We recently wrote a blog about how Forest Bathing can really help individuals to escape from their daily stresses. You could encourage your employees to engage in this technique to decrease building stress, increase balance and improve focus at work.
If your office is located near a green space, like a park, you could encourage staff to go for a walk there during breaks to cool off and take in the beautiful nature surrounding them.
Healthy Benefits
Many modern businesses offer their staff perks for staying with the company, and you can show that you care about your staff by providing them with useful perks that encourage good health. Mental and physical health are more closely linked than people think; for example, those struggling with depression often find it difficult to get out and exercise, which can eventually lead to poor self-care routines, which can further feed feelings of depression and isolation.
By supplying your staff with healthy perks like gym memberships and healthy office snacks, you are encouraging your staff to take care of themselves, and this could improve their confidence in both their general health as well as their body image.
How We Can Improve Your Office Space with Plants and Flowers
Planteria aim to make it as easy as possible to include plants and flowers into workspace. We can help you with design ideas, carry out the installation and then take care of your plants, to create an office that is formal yet comfortable, stylish as well as productive. Office flowers make a beautiful first impression for your reception area and set the tone that this is an organisation that cares about its people and their wellbeing. We can consider the layout of your office to help you to find the perfect plants for your office environment, whether that’s spacious or small, lacking in natural light or bright and sunny. We have also written about other ways to Reduce Work-Related Stress which you can read about on our blog.
Impress both your employees and your clients by working with us to create somewhere stunning, healthier and more productive, and keep coming back to our blog to read the latest news and tips about how to craft the best office environments – physically, mentally and socially. Working with us is a stress-free journey towards improving your business.
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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.’
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.
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CO2 Levels in Offices Are ‘Damaging UK Productivity’
Competitiveness and productivity in the workplace are of paramount importance, with more emphasis on this than ever as the outcome of Brexit looms on the horizon. Research shows that the UK is lagging behind in the productivity tables, currently 26.2% lower than Germany and 22.8% lower than France based on GDP per hour worked. Whilst solving the productivity puzzle is an ongoing issue, a recent study into UK indoor office environments has considered environmental factors for the first time.
This headline-grabbing study found that employee performance declines when CO2 levels are high and also creates the impression of a stuffy office environment among many workers. With businesses wanting to boost their productivity, understanding how carbon dioxide impacts your employees’ work life is crucial.
As we look for solutions to this problem, one simple thing to consider is the inclusion of beautiful, lush plants. These are not just something that is nice to look at – though biophilia tells us we love the sight of living things and crave to be in contact with the natural world – they’re also effective for purifying and oxygenating the air.
The Study
The research commissioned by Emcor, was carried out over a two-year initiative led by academics at Oxford Brookes University and LCMB Building Performance, and supported by Innovate UK, a government agency which aims to boost economic innovation. Several workplaces were tested over a period of two years, with sensors monitoring fluctuating CO2 levels during this time. Employees were sent numeral, proofreading and Stroop tests three times a day to complete. Read the full study here.
The results of the study corroborate the idea that the more carbon dioxide there is in the air, the lower the productivity. Employees worked 60% faster with lower levels of carbon dioxide and their test scores improved by up to 12%.
The Importance of Oxygen in the Office
Poorly ventilated offices can have an average carbon dioxide level of 1000 ppm (or parts per million). In some meeting rooms, this can go up to 3000 ppm, as many people use them, and they’re often sealed, smaller environments. To put these figures into perspective, keep in mind that our outdoor environment tends to have a CO2 concentration of 405 ppm.
But how exactly can high levels of carbon dioxide impact your office? An increased intake of CO2 can actually lead to poor decision-making, and thinking processes this means that people’s mental capacity decreases. Reaction times are also slower, so employees may find it challenging to react properly and swiftly to things such as a fire evacuation or even simple, everyday tasks. CO2 tends to increase tiredness as well, meaning your employees will not be at their best and find it harder to cope with workloads and stresses. All of this contributes to a low-productivity environment.
Oxygen is fundamental for the optimal functioning of our bodies. Our cells use both glucose and oxygen, and brain function quickly declines when we don’t take in enough oxygen. It is commonplace that office windows are sealed, and not able to be opened, this is often for safety and security reasons as much as to prevent impairment of AC efficiency. And, as air pollution increases, it doesn’t come as a surprise that many offices across the nation suffer from lower percentages of oxygen and higher CO2 in the air.
To compound this problem further, UK office workers only spend an average of fifteen minutes outside in addition to their daily commute, so they are not exposed to much time in ‘fresh’ air, getting much-needed oxygen, on a daily basis.
Best Oxygen-Producing Plants for the Office
How can you get more oxygen into your office? One simple solution is to add oxygen-producing and air-cleaning plants into the workspace. Plants are ideal for increasing air quality and nurturing the health and well-being of your employees. The following are just a few of the best indoor plants for boosting productivity in your office:
Areca Palm
This beautiful plant stands out for its ability to remove dangerous chemicals such as formaldehyde, xylene and toluene from the air, resulting in a purer office environment. Studies show that if you were to add four shoulder-height Areca palms per person to your office, and assuming the space was completely sealed off from the outside, everyone would still have enough oxygen to survive on during the day.
Snake Plant
Also called Mother-In-Law’s Tongue, this plant is highly efficient in transforming CO2 into oxygen at night. It also has the fantastic ability to purify the air by removing substances like benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, toluene and trichloroethylene. So, not only would your employees benefit from more oxygen, but the air would also be cleaner.
Peace Lily
Another plant that is perfect for cleaning the air is the Peace Lily. This species flourishes best in the shade, making it ideal for indoor environments, including your office. They’re also low maintenance, needing to be watered only once per week. You should never let the soil dry out and must use only chlorine-free water but, apart from that, this is an incredibly easy plant to take care of – perfect for a busy office. Peace lilies also remove acetone, ammonia, benzene and other harmful substances from the air.
The benefits of having several of these plants in the office are better air quality and beautiful flowers, as the peace lily blooms periodically.
There are many other office plants that will perfectly complement your workspace and elevate your current décor. If you’re looking to grow your productivity, make sure your employees can work in an environment with clean air. Our plants don’t just look great, they will also improve the air quality of your office, boosting your employees’ productivity. Have a look at how our beautiful plants can transform an office space by browsing through our case studies.
Contact us today to get a free plant design and quotation.
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Office Moss Wall by Planteria
