Plant life inducing a sense of being cared for in humans.

[Bird]

I was reading an article today about how an office enriched with plant
life leads to happier employees. The plant life gives the feeling that
employers generally care about them.

Here is the complete article if you would like to read more.

I know for a long time now that restaurants have been putting plants
into their dining rooms. Why do you think that it has taken humans so
long to start incorporating them into the workplace?

Do you think if your office were to have more plants that you would feel
more valued? Why do you think plants have that effect on us? In some
ways, I view plants in offices as more of an aesthetic quality versus a
way for employees to feel valued.

In offices I have worked in where there were plants there were hired
"gardeners" that came in and took care of the plants, would replace the
arrangements and baskets every few weeks, etc... if anything, it did not
make me feel cared about, it kind of annoyed me that the businesses had
to hire an outside company to even care for the plants. Perhaps the office
that this study was conducted around cared for the plants themselves.

 

[sprinkles]

I could see aesthetic sense equating to a sense of valuing employees, under a few conditions.

For example if management would pay the extra money to decorate the common space with plants, this shows that they care about the area being aesthetically pleasing. The main reason to care about that would be for the benefit of the occupants of the area. If they only wanted to do it for themselves then they could just put plants in their private office only.

Also if aesthetics mattered when there's nobody to see it then they'd also decorate boiler rooms and crawl spaces etc. The purpose of aesthetic is to create a more pleasing environment, and the only reason to do that is for the benefit of the occupants.

Edit:
Plants also help freshen the air, which is helpful in stale office buildings.

 

[jyrffw54]

I heard/read somewhere that the presence of the colour green in a space, enhances productivity.
Green is also a very nurturing , caring colour, especially when that green is a plant.
Plants can remove toxins from the air, provide oxygen, and discharge negative energy.

I think that the plant making you feel valued comes from YOU taking care of it.

 

[Eventhorizon]

Interesting. I think it would depend on the plants. I see plants in building's and feel sorry for them of all things. They always look out of place and tend to be odd looking plants in themselves. They always seem to take up so much room. However a well thought of design like a well taken care of courtyard would be nice..

 

[say what]

[MENTION=2926]Bird[/MENTION]

If you're interested in reading/learn more about this, let me know.

My work is on indoor nature exposure!

Glad to see people are interested

 

[Bird]

@Bird

If you're interested in reading/learn more about this, let me know.

My work is on indoor nature exposure!

Glad to see people are interested

I am definitely interested in learning more!!

 

[Dave Fallon]

In offices I have worked in where there were plants there were hired
"gardeners" that came in and took care of the plants, would replace the
arrangements and baskets every few weeks, etc... if anything, it did not
make me feel cared about, it kind of annoyed me that the businesses had
to hire an outside company to even care for the plants. Perhaps the office
that this study was conducted around cared for the plants themselves.

Hmm... I had the opposite reaction to the same thing. When I switched jobs to a new office about a year ago, I was really happy to see they had plants around (nothing too complicated, just philodendrons) and that they had a hired person to come in every week or so to take care of them. In the job I had before, I cared for some plants around my desk, but there's a lot to keeping them happy, and if they are UNhappy, it can have a negative effect on the employees in a lot of ways, such as the smell when roots rot or causing annoying bugs to infest the space. They eventually removed almost all of the plants from that office because of those problems: the individuals taking care of the plants weren't able to give them care enough.

I don't know how much I believe that plants provide "cared for" feelings to employees. My gut says that's a real stretch, but I guess it is possible. Blanket statements like "x makes people feel y" tend to simplify something that in real life can have a different reaction in each person based on their experience with indoor plants, with outdoor plants, and with nature vs. industry, among other things.

 

[sprinkles]

Hmm... I had the opposite reaction to the same thing. When I switched jobs to a new office about a year ago, I was really happy to see they had plants around (nothing too complicated, just philodendrons) and that they had a hired person to come in every week or so to take care of them. In the job I had before, I cared for some plants around my desk, but there's a lot to keeping them happy, and if they are UNhappy, it can have a negative effect on the employees in a lot of ways, such as the smell when roots rot or causing annoying bugs to infest the space. They eventually removed almost all of the plants from that office because of those problems: the individuals taking care of the plants weren't able to give them care enough.

I don't know how much I believe that plants provide "cared for" feelings to employees. My gut says that's a real stretch, but I guess it is possible. Blanket statements like "x makes people feel y" tend to simplify something that in real life can have a different reaction in each person based on their experience with indoor plants, with outdoor plants, and with nature vs. industry, among other things.

I suppose. I've worked in places where there's no attention to aesthetic or comfort whatsoever and eventually it wears on you. It's like you're a robot who is there to work, not look at things or be happy. When you come from that extreme it is easier to feel the opposite effect maybe.

However I'm a bit conflicted because I don't really believe in indoor plants, though I understand why they're some times needed.

 

[barbad0s]

The worst though is fake plants ;_;

 

[sprinkles]

The worst though is fake plants ;_;

Yeah. Some of the expensive ones are pretty nice though. They're like a thousand bucks though so probably wouldn't be seen as typical common space decor.

 

[barbad0s]

Yeah. Some of the expensive ones are pretty nice though. They're like a thousand bucks though so probably wouldn't be seen as typical common space decor.

Lol. Like the ones with fake crystalline water droplets stuck on the petals? xD

Many of them look fine. It's more the concept of them that makes them unpleasant to me.