What Workers Really Want

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More than simply working to survive, modern workers in developed nations desire to be able to take pride in their work, make a meaningful contribution, and gain respect from their peers. The journey towards achieving respect in the workplace is a very personal one, but you can help your workers to achieve their career goals by providing them with an office that promotes their mental well-being.

Luckily for business owners looking to raise company morale, small easy-to-do things can make a big impact. This means that improving the mood of your workers can be as simple as offering free coffee, vouchers, office plants, or thoughtful useful gift items. This article will address some ideas which you can use in your company to help keep your workers happy, healthy and support them to achieve to the best of their ability.

 

Perks at Work

Place yourself in the shoes of your employees and ask yourself what kind of working environment you are promoting. What does their average day look like and how could you improve that? These are the kinds of questions that top companies are asking themselves when they’re looking to fix their offices. Google, for example, doesn’t hold back when it comes to ensuring its workforce are well-fed, hydrated and healthy; they provide free breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as free coffee to keep the caffeine flowing. Alongside these very ingestible perks, Google recognises the negative effects that stress can have on work-output, so they also offer on-site massages.

Your company might not have the resources to feed all its workers every day of the week, but you can apply a similar mentality when it comes to choosing which perks you should prioritise.

 

Office Pets

Office pets don’t necessarily mean buying an animal for the express purpose of having it inhabit the office. Chances are, plenty of your staff have pets of their own; asking them to bring their pets to work occasionally will come completely free of charge for your business.

small dog on top of toilet

There are plenty of benefits to bringing staff pets to work. Dogs and cats are well known for reducing stress, so this could be a cheaper alternative to Google’s on-site masseurs. On the other hand, there’s no telling how well-trained the pet is until they’re already in your office; no-one wants dog dirt on the office carpet!

 

Office Plants

A perk that shares qualities with office pets but won’t leave poo on your floor is the office plant. As well as adding a splash of colour to what might be a monotonous black and white office environment, office plants are also known for reducing stress and boosting health by improving air quality, and helping to connect your people to nature (known as biophilia).

You can use plants to decorate your office; to fill space softening the corporate image and blank white walls, to provide privacy or break up large open plan spaces, and to improve the acoustics, which works in a similar way to using soft furnishings. Plants are living organisms, so it’s important to choose a plant that suits your office. Perhaps start with easy, low-maintenance plants to see what your office can handle taking care of in the beginning.

plants in hanging baskets in office

If you choose to have plants placed around the office at intervals, you can connect your workers by establishing a watering rota so that each of your employees is sure to appreciate the greenery and reap the benefits of interacting with nature during office time. Alternatively, you can gift each desk with an individual plant of its own to promote feelings of individuality and creativity. Planteria offer a variety of plant displays for your office needs, and offer a free design and quote service, plus aftercare so that all the watering and pruning is taken care of by the experts.

 

Fitness

Another way to reduce absenteeism in the workplace is to encourage fitness training among your employees. Fitter employees will likely be healthier employees with stronger immune systems. You can encourage this by offering your workers vouchers for the local gym, or you can go an extra step and encourage in-office yoga meetings which will have the added effect of bringing your workforce closer together by exercising as a group.

two ladies doing yoga on blue mats

Yoga  is a particularly useful exercise as it encourages participants to relax and clear their minds, allowing your workforce to be able to concentrate clearly on whatever tasks follow their yoga practice, eliminating any worries and stresses experienced during the morning routines.

 

Office Bar Friday

Show your workforce that you also get that Friday feeling, and perhaps treat them (and yourself) to something special when Friday rolls around. The appearance of an office bar during Friday’s final working hours will encourage your workforce to socialise, which will subsequently cultivate a stronger bond between your workers, which will increase productivity. Far from being just another cog in the corporate machine, you’re showing your workers that being a team is important, and by providing the drinks, you’re showing them praise for the week’s efforts.

man and woman smelling wine

There are lots of ways to increase productivity and mental-wellbeing in your office, not to mention that providing office perks means that your employees are more likely to stay with your company, rather than job hopping. Indeed, the average Brit will change employer every five years on average, according to the BBC. If you want to cultivate a strong workforce that’s going to stick around, it’s vital that you think about more than your workers’ needs; you should also address what makes them happy and content. Think office food, office pets, office fitness, office parties and of course plants!

tall three tiered plants in planter

What is Your ‘Green Leadership Style’?

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Are you an Eco Warrior, a Sustainability Superstar or a Green Hero?

We take a light-hearted look at this serious topic. Do you recognise your ‘Green Leadership Style’ and some of your challenges?

We also offer some practical suggestions to help you get your team on-board and make some green improvements around the office.

A recent, international study conducted by Unilever, revealed a third of consumers (33%) are now buying from brands based on their social and environmental impact. And an estimated €966 billion opportunity exists for brands that make their sustainability credentials clear.

The study asked 20,000 adults from five countries how their sustainability concerns impact their choices in-store and at home. Crucially, it then mapped their claims against real purchase decisions, giving a more accurate picture than ever of what people are actually buying – and why.

Strong emotions and opinions on the subject should be hardly surprising when you consider the vast amount of media attention that the problem of plastics in our oceans, and rubbish going to landfill, along with climate change accelerations. Are we all looking to someone else for the answers or are we creating the solution?

You’re likely to be the person in your workplace who is tasked with responsibility for steering your business into more environmentally friendly waters.

Which is Your ‘Green Leadership Style’?

“The Eco Warrior “

The Eco Warrior is most likely to be found working for a Tech-firm, in the Not for Profit sector, or in a company that is already integrated with a Green lifestyle. You are fully supported by your company who have embraced the plants you have added to all the indoor areas. Leading by example you will cycle, walk, or use public transport on your commute to the office. A true Eco Warrior will be on a personal zero to waste journey, having ditched shampoo in a bottle in favour of a bar variety. Woe betide any co-worker who is spotted with a single use plastic Frappuccino cup or a plastic straw! You lead by example and have a fervent conviction that we should all vote with our wallets and switch to greener and more ethical brands.

 

“The Sustainability Superstar”

You’re probably working for a large Multi-National with responsibility for ensuring sustainability across all areas of your business, which has already recognised the importance of this subject enough to appoint you to focus full-time on it. You are likely to review the compliance and green credentials of suppliers and potential business partners to ensure that there’s no ‘green-wash’ going on. This means reviewing documents and verifying details with a magnifying glass. You spend your spare moments reviewing news letters  from http://sustainabilitypractitioners.org even when you wish you were strolling around Hyde Park or doing some ‘Forest bathing’ instead. Passionate about the importance of your role to create impact and effect positive changes, your natural business acumen and ability to influence the board, innovate and suggest changes that will also boost the bottom line, mean you really deserve a superhero cape to wear to the office.

 

“The Green Hero”

Being environmentally aware and ethical is ingrained in your psyche, and comes naturally to you. Your role as office manager or facilities manager is one of juggling many balls, and spinning plates, keeping the whole place running smoothly. However, yours is a challenging task as you are often battling against colleagues who don’t share the same mind-set, or are perhaps just not as ‘enlightened’ as you. You despair of the amount of paper used in the printer for tasks which frankly need not be printed at all. Not to mention the take-out wrappings, and cups which you keep finding in the waste bins rather than the recycling bins you have provided. Sometimes you wonder if you are sounding more like a nagging parent than a departmental manager. As Kermit the frog famously said, “It’s not easy being Green”, and some of your colleagues, it seems, are determined to prove him right. It takes time for people to adopt new habits. But you are on a mission to ensure that they do. Take it from us, you’re the one who really deserves a medal.

Green books stacked with ecological natural efficient renewable and sustainable on each book end

7 Easy Top Tips For Being Greener in The Office

Top tip 1: Cutting Back on Consumption – In the Kitchen

Ditch the coffee shop runs, or the coffee pod machine and most certainly get your colleagues out of the habit of buying single use plastic bottles of drink… and invest in a proper coffee machine or water  filter.  https://www.liquidline.co.uk/ check out the huge range from Liquidline and get a free quote or trial. If you just can’t quit your coffee shop habit then at least use a reusable coffee cup. Did you know that Starbucks reward customers who get into the recycling habit with a discount on every drink bought? Giving them a 25p discount every single time they bring in their own cup.

 

Top tip 2: Cups and glasses over plastic and paper

Use reusable water bottles and mugs at work.

 

Top tip 3: Prep Ahead

Save money and the planet by packing your lunch ahead of time with reusable containers. You might find that you make healthier, lower calorie choices this way too!

 

Top tip 4: Bring nature indoors

Did you know that having plants in your indoor environment can help clean the airoffset VOCs and CO2 emissions, and improve your mood?

Biophilia is the term for our love of nature and living things, we are genetically pre-disposed to feeling uplifted and ‘connected’ when we are exposed to natural elements. Including biophilic elements, like plants, in your office environment increase positive feelings, aid concentration and subconsciously connect you to nature and the wider world.

Bonus: plants look great and are a low-cost way to add contemporary decoration for any desk. You can get a FREE QUOTE for office plants here.

 

Top tip 5: Make Greener Office-Wear Choices

If you wear shirts to the office choose ones made of natural cotton or even better organic cotton, as synthetic fibres wash into our oceans adding to the plastic contamination. Do a label check before buying new clothes and avoid clothes that need to be dry cleaned. If it really needs dry cleaning seek out your local “green” dry cleaner. Look for your local Johnson Cleaners… Branch search 

 

Top tip 6 : Switch to non-toxic cleaning products

https://methodproducts.co.uk/  Method is just one of the many alternatives in ethical brands.

 

Top tip 7 : Digital Media

Opt for online media rather than paper version, including magazines, newspapers, trade journals, and other publications.

 

Why not email this list to your colleagues?!

Window Boxes in the City

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You may have heard the expression – ‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression’. This is certainly true. Research indicates that impressions are formed very quickly, sometimes in as little as a second, and once formed are hard to change. When you think about your brand identity, what does your location and office or premises say about your business?

Does your building match your online profile and digital branding?

The first thing a prospective employee sees when they approach your company is the outside of the building, and this crucial first glance will tell them everything they need to know about whether they want to spend the majority of their week in your offices. Just like a home has a better chance of selling if the outside looks appealing, so too will your business attract more custom if the outside is aesthetically pleasing.

The attractiveness of a property and its surroundings when viewed from the street is known as its kerb appeal. Kerb appeal is a well-known term in the context of selling a house but it’s important for any property to maintain a good kerb appeal if it wants to draw positive attention.

Window boxes are the ultimate statement for creating some kerb appeal. These simple additions can give a company that perfect touch that makes the façade of the building one that passers-by will certainly give a second glance.

window box plants white and green

 

A Touch of Colour

Brightly coloured flowers and lush greenery will make a building’s windows pop, especially in the middle of a drab, city centre. In a street where other buildings are similar and there is a lack of nature, window boxes will mark out a building as a cut above the others, with a touch of luxury and class.

Window boxes can keep things interesting and can brighten up any building. You could even coordinate your window box to match any colours already present on the outside of the building. If the door is painted red, for example, then a window box featuring red flowers will coordinate and add impact to really make a statement.

pink and purple window box flowers

 

A Company that Cares

Windows boxes aren’t just there to look great – although they really do – their presence alone speak volumes about your company. Flowers and plants show that you care about your image and your clients. Window boxes are not just a pretty decoration that you plant and leave, they require care and attention, and that care and attention gives the perception of a company that cares for and is attentive to its clients.

 

Seasonal Window Boxes

Window boxes provide a great opportunity to add interest throughout the year and ring the changes. Re-planting with seasonal plants, will really give that wow-factor and ensure that your window boxes and building look stunning all year.

Take advantage of the warmer spring months by adding a splash of bright colour and luxurious scent with spring bulbs. Daffodils, tulips and hyacinths, provide dazzling colours that will create an eye-catching window box and radiate those spring vibes. Lavenders are also a great choice with the added benefit that they attract bees and butterflies.

For a divine scent when you open the windows, consider rosemary or pinks: beautiful tiny carnation like flowers with a wonderful aroma. Summer sees geraniums and fuchsias added into the mix in bright pinks, reds and crisp white.

Window boxes do not need to be retired when autumn and winter come along. Swap your summer plants for some cyclamen, violas, trailing ivy, flowering heathers or winter flowering pansies to keep the window boxes blooming, looking beautiful and seasonal whatever the time of year.

white and green window box flowers and plants

At Planteria Group, we can do it all for you. We can provide you with exquisite window boxes and bedding plant changes that complement each other. If you would like to find out more about any of our services, do not hesitate to contact us, and get a free quote today.lo

Corporate Planting Ticks All the Boxes for Facilities Managers

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Facilities Managers have a lot on their plate! Responsible for the management of services and processes that support the core business of an organisation and tasked with using best business practice to improve efficiency, reduce operating costs and increasing productivity.

Juggling the competing needs of the end user, reactive maintenance, supplier relations and contract management are the daily norm.

So how can you make a big impact for your organisation through a small change? Something that will improve health and wellbeing, and increase productivity?

Corporate planting for the office space ticks all those boxes.

  • Improves air quality
  • Absorbs sound
  • Proven to have a positive effect on mental and physical wellbeing
  • Improves concentration and productivity
  • Increases staff satisfaction

But…Space is a premium

Maximisation of office space is a key importance. Fitting your staff and equipment in, having enough space to grow, and providing for multi-purpose areas where meetings can be held and staff can work creatively are all high on the agenda.

There are lots of creative planting solutions to help you achieve this. Planting can be used to screen an area for multi-purpose use. This is a cost effective method of creating an attractive office feature with the associated positive impacts of increasing wellbeing.

Living pictures are an impactful design feature and take up no floor space whatsoever. They look great in reception areas and client suites.

Cabinet top planting brings all the beauty and benefits of living plants, but takes up no floor space and keeps a paperless office, well… paperless! So, no untidy piles of printer paper, files and brochures which get left laying on cabinet tops!

What do facilities managers want from their suppliers?

Whether a company chooses to outsource, or takes care of their requirements in-house their expectations of their suppliers is the same:

  • Excellent customer service
  • Competitive pricing of services
  • A straightforward on-line invoicing process
  • A National Service: One company, one contact, one central reporting system, one standard for all their locations across the country.
  • Instant Reporting: a service that is transparent and instant – key for multi-site managers providing unprecedented operational visibility of service to help you manage SLA’s
  • A quick response and solution if anything goes wrong

Over the past 39 years we’ve worked with a lot of Facilities Managers and Facilities Management Companies and we’ve gained a deep understanding and appreciation for what you do.

Get in touch with us today.