I’m happy to have gotten lots of feedback on my last posts about the right home office setup. Some of you have even made pictures of your workspace and sent it to me. *so proud of you*
As you can see in the headline, today I want to share my thoughts on why I think plants can really make a difference your work environment. I’m going to list a few examples and facts about how people function, when they have a green little friend on the table or at least in their sight.
Computer eye strain is something that most of you came across, if your work is done in front of the computer most of the time. It’s an unpleasant feeling, that will take you out of your workflow. Plants actually help to prevent that. It is suggested that you look away from your screen around every 20 minutes. This helps to prevent fatigue and keeps productivity high. Staring at a plant can have many more benefits than looking at a white wall.
I’ve read about an interesting study, where around 70 people got two minutes to find a solution for a certain problem. Just before the experiment started, 50% of them were shown a white square and the rest was shown a green one. Then, after the experiment, the results were rated for their creativity. The group, who looked at the green screen found to have come up with much more creative solutions then the rest. This shows, that the color green alone has an effect on our workflow.
Another one: In an experiment with 27 participants, some of them were exposed to plants while working, and some were not. Other than that, the workstations were completely equal. And what to you think happened to these people in those few minutes of stress? When plants were in the room, people had clear increases in their post-task attentiveness and, on top, their reaction time was increased by 12 percent. Visual exposure to plants was responsible for a significant recovery from the stress in just a few minutes.
NASA has plants on the ISS for a reason. They are efficient in purifying air and improving air quality. Your house plants are real super heroes, when it comes to removing toxins from the air, which are being produced by your computer or TV, for example.
Many of you have plants at home. Place them near your home office station, it really makes a difference. You can always put them back, when you are done, but while you’re working, it makes a noticeable difference.
Originally published on LinkedIn.com