Want to Increase Worker Productivity? Get Them a Desk Plant!

With fall and winter’s cooler air moving in and days getting shorter, the thought of spending more time indoors can be downright depressing.

Shorter days mean more time surrounded by four walls, closed doors, stagnant air, coughs, fluctuating temperatures, colds…like we said, depressing.

Studies have shown worker productivity declines dramatically when employees spend more time inside without windows, good ventilation and nature. And that is not good news for your customers or your bottom line.

How do companies combat this condition? You can hire consultants and host retreats and team building events to stimulate worker productivity, satisfaction and loyalty, but recent research shows the solution can be much simpler.

What is the solution? Clean air. That’s right…clean air. Who’d have thought it? Indoor air is a shared resource and air pollution knows no boundaries.

Everyone knows that air pollution is bad for our health, but research shows that it might also affect our productivity. Study after study says that proper ventilation and fresh outdoor air brought inside is instrumental to good health. It reduces sick building syndrome, lowers absenteeism, and even reduces infectious disease transmission.

The Harvard Business Review found that breathing cleaner air led to significantly better decision-making. It saw higher test scores when workers were exposed to increased ventilation rates, lower levels of chemicals and lower carbon dioxide.

The biggest area of improvement fresh air brought was in how workers used information to make strategic decisions, stay prepared and strategize during crises.

So, what’s the easiest way to reduce carbon dioxide in the air of your office building, improve air quality and improve worker productivity? Get your employees a desk plant!

Key benefits of desk plants include:

Live plants provide clean air throughout increasing creativity by 12%. Yes, 12%
Indoor plants help fight off colds quicker because of their ability to reduce dust and increase humidity levels.
Plants can reduce stress to make you feel happier, calmer and more optimistic.
Plants help to de-tox a room.
Plants can lower blood pressure.
Plants have been shown to strength brain power and clearer focus.
Plants reduce carbon dioxide in the air during photosynthesis.

Have some fun. Let your employees select plants that fit their personality.

For optimal air-filtering, NASA recommends placing at least one plant per 100 square feet of home or office space.

Have you considered live plants for your office space? Every day, Raimondi Horticultural Group works to make buildings more attractive, more comfortable, healthier and more productive for your business and for your employees. As a member of the Green Plants For Green Buildings organization, our team is adept at creating interior environments that capture the vision and identity of the companies that we work with.