“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.”
THE HUMAN SPACES REPORT INTO THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF BIOPHILIC DESIGN IN THE WORKPLACE
As we move into the next phase of Massachusetts’s reopening plan, we are so excited for everyone’s return to the office. How have you adapted your space to create a safe and healthier workplace? Are your teams and employees ecstatic or resistant to go back to the office? What should the post-pandemic workplace even look like? Here at Cityscapes, we are confident in the benefits of plants and biophilic design as the way to move forward to create and maintain a healthier work environment.
While the pandemic has proven that business can continue and even thrive with a workforce working from home, we’ve also seen the necessity of reinventing our surroundings to better serve our new work reality. We need an environment that promotes collaboration and creativity, as well as fostering productivity in a healthier way. Access to fresh air, natural light, and nature are increasingly critical for employee mental health and overall wellbeing, giving them confidence in the safety and comfort of their work environment. Employees who are psychologically and physiologically connected to nature are proven to be more productive, creative, and focused. Incorporating plants into your office design is a simple and practical way to achieve an optimal workplace.
While we pivot into the new normal, workplace design will play an even greater role in encouraging people to safely gather and work together again. The perception of a healthy and safe work environment is just as important as actual health and safety. Not all of us are equipped for structural changes to the workplace to allow more light or replace HVAC systems, however, incorporating nature into the environment can achieve many of the same benefits. Plants are an immediate, easy, and cost-effective way to do that.
Here are our top design ideas of how to easily incorporate plants into your new post-pandemic office space:
1. Oversize planters/ Plant dividers.
Instead of plexiglass barriers, why not use plant dividers for your office layout? If the new normal demands separation, try using attractive plant walls or oversize planters to separate desks and workspaces. Your employees will thank you!
2. Living Walls or Moss Walls.
Are you ready to rise to the challenge of incorporating plants into your office? Go vertical with a lush living wall when there’s less floor space for planters. Living Walls naturally filter the air of pollutants and offset carbon output from humans, fuel emission, as well as cleaning air space by removing VOCs and other toxins. This can also reduce the building’s dependency on HVAC systems for filtering, cooling, and balancing humidity levels. Moss Walls are a cost-effective option, adding green and organic shapes and colors. Moss walls are custom designed and can include your company logo, creating a perfect branding backdrop with biophilic benefits that bring life to your space.
3. Desk plants.
Who said that personalizing your workspace was a bad thing? Let your employees create their own sense of home and calm, and give them a darling desk plant!
Studies have found that 10% of employee sick days are linked to the lack of natural light and life in the office.
Without healthy employees, there is no innovation, collaboration, productivity, or profits, and the ROI for adding plants to your office will show in your workforce.
After all of this time away from the office, we need to bring back our workforce with their best. As your company adapts to the new normal, show your employees you care about them, and give them an office that is full of life and color, the best invitation back to work. How about letting the plants do their thing to stimulate connection, to replenish the air we breathe, and to remind us all of our innate connection to nature!
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