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It is difficult to measure the impact of plants on staff well-being and morale, yet links have been found between plants in offices and staff productivity. Is a 'green environment' more productive? How do plants in a working environment affect behaviour? Is there a right amount of plants to have in a workplace?

Global WorkPlace Innovation addresses these questions with the 'Plants in Offices' research. This project aims to develop a new 'plantscape' product; tailored for corporations and integrated with existing facilities management solutions.


Read more about the plants at Johnson Controls' offices:

In the current economic climate, perceived “nice to have” items such as plants tend to be the first to go during cost cutting exercises. However, the benefits of indoor nature may outweigh the costs.

The benefits of plants were tested at Johnson Controls’ offices at London, Aldershot and Waterlooville to examine their effect on air quality and building users’ perceptions of their working environment.

Evidence exists of the ability of plants to balance indoor relative humidity, remove carbon dioxide and other gases, remove volatile organic compounds (chemicals linked to cancer) and remove airborne particles. Evidence is also available of the psychological benefits of plants such as reducing stress, affecting mood and perceived health as well as improving productivity.

A survey was carried out to examine perceptions of an office space with various different levels of planting. Participants viewed a series of photographs of the same office with different planting levels ranging from none at all to resembling a jungle!

Participants were asked to indicate whether or not they would feel comfortable in the office shown, if they liked it better than the previous picture and also to give each one a rating out of ten.

Answers to the questions on comfort and whether or not they liked it indicated that the offices with a reasonable number of plants were preferred to the office with no plants. Professor Michael Pitt, of Liverpool John Moores University explains, “You can go an awfully long way before people start to say hang on a minute, this is a jungle. We have a natural predisposition to being around plants.”

These results show that there is a general preference for offices with plants in them.

Prior to the trials, relative humidity at Cannon Street and The Briars was around 38 - 40% (recommended levels are 40 – 70%), increasing the risk of complaints such as asthma and eczema. Carbon Monoxide levels were well within recommended levels and carbon dioxide was found to be slightly above maximum recommended levels of 1000 ppm.

Plants were installed for six months for the trials. Indoor air quality readings were taken and staff surveys completed at Cannon Street, Tower One and The Briars. Staff perceptions were measured using questionnaires.

Humidity was slightly higher on the floor with plants at Aldershot. At The Briars, an upward trend was noted following the installation of the plants and then readings for the two areas were closer, perhaps due to the open plan nature of the building. A linear increase to within recommended levels was also noted at Cannon Street. This supports the theory that plants raise the humidity level within offices.

Contrary to expectations, carbon dioxide was found to be slightly higher on the floor with the plants at Tower One. The results followed the same pattern at The Briars while at Cannon Street, the carbon dioxide level increased over the period of the trials. These results are currently unexplained and are not in line with the findings on other trial sites.

Carbon monoxide, although increasing slightly at Tower One, did follow the expected pattern at The Briars and Cannon Street in that it reduced following the introduction of the plants. The data provides tentative support for the theory that plants reduce carbon monoxide levels in offices.

Volatile organic compound (VOC) levels reduced over the period of the trials at all three locations. The data provides some support for the theory that plants reduce volatile organic compound levels, although in some cases the figures were slightly lower in the areas without plants.

Online surveys were used to examine users’ perceptions of their workplace. The response rates were relatively low. In the office with plants and a view of natural surroundings, respondents found their office more comfortable, better designed and laid out and felt slightly less pressure than they did in the office without plants. They also perceived that privacy levels had increased, as well as creativity and they felt that the office with plants was more aesthetically pleasing.

However, there was an increase in the feeling that the work environment contributed to pressure felt and motivation appeared to be slightly lower in the second survey, after the plants were installed.

The majority of respondents in both surveys indicated that they would like more plants in their offices.

The results relating to temperature were inconclusive and reflect the subjective nature of this parameter.

Following the surveys, support was found for a general preference for plants in the office.

These results may be due to a range of factors, but they provide an indication that plants are likely to bring both air quality and psychological benefits to the working environment.