As a member of a houseplant rental company in Sydney, Australia, we are well aware of the reaction people in offices have to houseplants. When we have recently installed plants, the reaction from the staff is almost always positive and welcoming, and most people would like to have a plant near their desk. Plants seem to improve staff morale. On the other hand, removing plants is not popular, and on occasion we have been asked by management to remove them when staff are not there, to try to limit the impact of their removal on morale.

I guess it makes sense that people have an affinity for vegetation. It’s part of nature, and we’ve lived in close proximity to plants for millions of years, only recently starting to lock ourselves away in concrete boxes well removed from nature. I guess, as the saying goes, houseplants bring the outside… inside.

The other thing we’ve observed is that people love healthy, well-cared-for plants, but get depressed when a plant doesn’t look its best. Sometimes we get calls from customers concerned about a plant that might have a yellow leaf (and is otherwise pretty healthy), but they’re worried it’s dying and they’re worried. Healthy, well-cared-for plants improve morale, but diseased plants do not. In fact, they could depress morality.

Over the years there have been many studies that support our observations.

In 1986, a study by Joan Aitken and Rodger Palmer of the University of Missouri found that:

1. Most of the men and women in the study thought that indoor plants gave an impression of warmth in the work environment.

2. Effective use of houseplants can give the impression of a well-run organization. The title of his work was, appropriately enough, “The use of plants to promote warmth and nurturing in a business environment.” What business wouldn’t want a well-managed and supportive workplace? Well, it seems that having well-cared for indoor plants helps to achieve this, and the best way to do it is to have a professional indoor plant rental service.

In 1999 Oxford Brookes University conducted a study titled “Green Plants for the Feel Good Factor”, which concluded that:

1. People’s perception of an interior space is more positive in the presence of indoor plants.

2. The interior space was perceived as more relaxed and less stressful with indoor plants.

3. Both men and women showed a preference for sitting near plants.

The Green Building Council of Australia awards “Green Star” points for the use of indoor plants in its assessment of a building’s interior environmental friendliness, but only if the plants are visible at all workstations. In view of previous studies, this seems like a very perceptive condition.

Another study deserves a mention, and it is a study by Engelbert Kötter working on behalf of the Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry. The study was carried out in 94 offices and over a period of two years, and found that:

1. The environment in the offices with plants felt cooler, made them feel less stressed, made work feel more humane, and generally seemed to improve their surroundings.

2. The plants in the offices improved the perception of the employees about their well-being and improved the comfort factor of the offices.

3. With better conditions and perceptions, office workers will enjoy their work situation better; happy employees = more production and happy bosses.

More information on the other benefits of houseplants in an office environment can be obtained by entering the following search words into Google “benefits of houseplants”.