Why do we need office plants?
Plants in an office environment have been proved to help in many ways. Here are a few examples:
- Improve the air quality by cleaning toxins from the air and increasing humidity
- Improve staff satisfaction, morale, health and wellbeing
- Improve productivity, efficiency and creativity
- Reduce stress and absenteeism
Find out more about the benefits of plants on our website here.
Why are plants so important in open plan offices?
There appears to be an increasing dissatisfaction with open plan offices. This is partly to do with the fact that the time workers are spending on collaborative tasks is decreasing while time on quiet, concentrated work is increasing. Some of the main issues that are being raised as reported by Oxford Economics here are:
- Doesn’t allow for different types of work
- Acoustic issues making it difficult to concentrate
- Poor air quality and variations in temperature
- Lack of personal space and privacy
- One-size-fits-all just doesn’t suit everyone!
Planting can help transform your open plan collaborative spaces into beautiful areas where quiet focus work can also be done effectively.
Which are the best office plants for open plan areas?
Visibility is key. In a large open plan area the greenery should be able to be seen across the space so it either needs to be tall or elevated by placing the plants on cabinets or pedestals. Having the greenery at eye-height also helps the acoustics in the space. Green walls are another very effective way of creating a superb open-plan office environment. See this video about Nordik Moss walls.
Tall planters are generally more bulky as thy are usually older, more mature plants to have grown to the required height. This can sometimes be overcome by using tall narrow containers to give a smaller footprint – Dracaena (varieties) / Ficus (varieties) / Pachira Aquatica / Kentia Palm
Pedestal planters take up a similar amount of floor space but have a completely different look. Pedestals are available in lots of styles, designs and heights – Mixed foliage and/or exotic colour plants / Ripsalis / Asplenium Nidus / Hedera / Zamioculcas Zamiifolia
Cabinet-top displays are ideal for ensuring that cabinet tops do not become dumping grounds for files etc and help keep a nice crisp clean look throughout the space – Sansevieria / Cordyline Glauca / Aglaonema / Liriope Grasses
