Ever heard the term biophilia? It refers to that inherent pull we humans have toward nature, and the desire we have to be connected to it.  

It’s been well-established that engagement with nature is restorative and leads to an increased sense of wellbeing. Many of us retreat to nature in our down time to relax, perhaps with a bushwalk on the weekend or a swim after work.  

But what if we brought a little nature inside the workplace?  

Plants in the office 

Let’s face it, the modern office can be a bit stark. It’s often neutral grey walls and uniform desks, with fluorescent white lights beating down. Psychologist Dr Chris Knight told the Guardian: “If you put an ant into a ‘lean’ jam jar, or a gorilla in a zoo into a ‘lean’ cage – they’re miserable beasties…People in ‘lean’ offices are no different.”

Plants are very aesthetically pleasing. They make a room feel warmer and fill out those stark spaces. They create an attractive office for new applicants and have serious benefits for regular workers – both psychologically and physically. 

Plants and the body 

Observation of plants, and the act of potting plants especially, trigger a parasympathetic (aka relaxation) response. An ASHS study found that “placing small plants within close sight [of office workers] contributed to psychological stress reduction across the board” and “anxiety [of workers] decreased significantly from pre- to post-intervention.” 

Dominique Hes, a researcher at the University of Melbourne, told Triple J’s Hack: “When you are near plants, your brain is actually more relaxed, more in tune, more able to think and communicate and use those higher brain powers when it is relaxed.” Plants in the office actually make for more relaxed and more effective employees.  

Plants and productivity 

Not only do plants chill us out, having them around has been proven to boost productivity!  

Dr Chris Knight has studied this topic for over ten years, and told The Guardian that his research has found “employees were 15% more productive when “lean” workplaces are filled with just a few houseplants”. One of his studies, which included one plant per square meter, revealed that “when plants were brought into the offices…employee performance on memory retention and other basic tests improved substantially.”  

Engineer Mike Robinson stumbled onto this after allowing each of his employees to choose a plant for their desk. He found that his workers’ productivity increased by as much as 30%! Not only this, but after five years, not a single plant had died. Now that’s impressive! 

So why not give it a try? It’s as simple as providing a few house plants, or even taking a leaf from Mike Robinson’s book and asking your employees to choose a plant for their own desk. You won’t be sorry you did. 

You know what else makes employees happy? Great software. Vetting.com offers a streamlined, easy background screening solution to simplify pre-employment screening. Want to skip the hiring headaches? Request a demo of our platform today.  

Written by Mary Snowden.