Improving Corporate Culture and Employee Wellness with Plants

If your organization is like most, you’re looking for ways to improve employee health, productivity, and performance in easy, cost-effective ways that also can help you reach your employee recruitment and retention goals. It sounds like a tall order, and in some ways, it is.

The good news is that there are some simple and inexpensive ways to help you meet those goals right away, and one of them is incorporating plants and other natural elements into the design of your workplace.

Plants can help improve employee health by removing chemicals from the air – nasty ones like formaldehyde, benzene, and ammonia, which can be found in common items in the workplace like plastic, floor finishes, detergents, cleaning products, and more and have been shown to cause anything from dry skin to headache to paralysis to cancer. Whew!

Plants also contribute to a sense of beauty and peace in the work environment and relieve stress. Incorporating plants can improve employee focus and performance, as well dampen sound and soften otherwise harsh workplace environments.

There are so many ways to add plants and natural elements to the workplace. Here are just a few:

Plant and Storage Pedestals

Plants such as English Ivy, Gerbera Daisy, Aloe Vera, Weeping Fig, and more are known for their ability to clean the air (but if you have pets in your workplace on a regular basis, be sure to do your research – some plants are toxic to animals). Planting them in a product like these Park Plant and Storage Pedestals by Allsteel can help you accomplish multiple goals at once, since they can act as plant stands, space dividers, and extra storage. Accomplishing so many things with one product reduces costs while still allowing your company to reap the benefits of plants in the workplace.

Individual Planters

Individual planters, like this sleek, contemporary steel Kona Planters by Peter Pepper Products, can come in all shapes, sizes, and styles and can be incorporated in any part of the workplace, from the reception area to conference rooms to individual workstations. This is a simple way to add plants anywhere in your space.

Build Your Own Planter Wall

At Benjamin Roberts, we often have a lot of wood pallets at our warehouse from furniture deliveries, so we decided to use some of them to create our own planter walls for the breakroom area of our office. We also used one of the pallet wood walls to display our purpose statement and values. Not only did we save money by making them ourselves, we also found a unique way to recycle leftover pallets and to reinforce our company’s purpose statement and values.

Of course, if you want to take it to the next level, you can explore company gardens, green roofs, and outdoor work areas. The opportunities and the benefits are endless. Here’s to making your space your place!

To learn more about planters for your workplace, send us an EMAIL or call 717-291-1001.