A good interior can make or break a workplace. You want to ensure that your place of work is a space where employees feel happy and comfortable. Your employees will be spending up to five days a week in the workplace, so you must consider their needs and create a welcoming and calming space.
One great interior design idea that can help with this is biophilia. As human beings, we have an innate affinity and connection to the natural world, which is what biophilia means. Therefore, biophilic design is an extension of that and the use of natural materials within a building design. It also refers to the use of plants and other parts of the natural world incorporated into modern designs of buildings. Biophilic design is quickly becoming a popular choice for many workplaces as it offers a host of benefits to employees. So, what are the benefits? Keep reading for our breakdown of why you should adopt biophilic design in your workplace.
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Boosts Productivity
Having a biophilic design in your workplace could be beneficial as plants and nature can boost productivity. A recent study by Exeter University found that employees were 15% more productive when the workplace was filled with even just a few house plants. This demonstrates that even having something simple as a couple of houseplants dotted around your office can be extremely beneficial for your business. Additionally, it could be a good idea to get employees their own little plants that they can have on their desks and take care of. This can boost productivity, and it can give your employees some responsibility.
It Can Help To Relieve Stress
One great benefit of having a biophilic design in the workplace is that it can help to relieve stress. Stress is very common in the workplace as employees face enormous pressure with deadlines and workloads. The pandemic has certainly increased that stress as people are now having to catch up with a lot of work that was missed. Biophilic workplace design could be a good idea for your workplace as being around nature and natural properties are known to have a calming effect that can help reduce stress.
It Will Improve Sustainability
Another benefit of having a biophilic design in the workplace is that it can improve sustainability. In 2022, it is more important than ever to be eco-conscious and try your best to reduce your carbon footprint. Sustainability has become something of a buzzword, but it doesn’t make it any less important. Even in workplace design, you need to be thinking of ways to improve sustainability, and biophilic design is one way to do this. When designing the workplace, try to create green spaces and water features and try to use as many natural materials as possible. All of this can go a long way in reducing your carbon footprint and improving sustainability for the whole workplace.
It Will Improve Air Quality
One important concept of biophilic design is using real plants through the design space. Plants have such a wide range of benefits for us, one of those being that they improve air quality. Having real plants inside can be effective in reducing air pollution, which can make the workplace feel nicer and calmer as the air quality is improved. The great thing about houseplants is that they are not expensive to buy and can be quite easy to maintain, so there is not a huge amount of hassle when it comes to having them in the workplace. If you are concerned with watering the plants, you could set up a rota so that everyone has a responsibility to look after the plants.
Helps With Staff Retention
As mentioned throughout this article, biophilic design can be extremely beneficial throughout the workplace as it can boost productivity and can make employees feel calm and relaxed while at work. Having all of these things in a workplace is important as you want to create a place where your staff feel welcome and encouraged to produce good quality work. If your employees feel like this when they are at work, they are more likely to stay at the job and not look elsewhere for employment.
Often, one of the big factors that go into someone looking for a new job is that the workplace environment isn’t welcoming or a nice place to be. If you ensure your workplace is a space where employees feel calm and relaxed, they are more likely to stay at the job. Furthermore, having a welcoming workplace can also be encouraged for new employees. When people go for an interview and see that the workplace is well-looked after and employees are happy, they may try harder in the interview as they are more eager to get the job.
