Smart employers know that the traditional work space is a thing of the past. Workplaces need to be versatile places where employees are happy, relaxed and productive.
Biophilia is a love of nature. And this love of nature means that when we are connected to nature we feel better both physically and mentally.
Biophilic design harnesses the presence of nature in our surroundings to improve our health. There’s plenty of simple Biophilic elements to incorporate into the office: plants, natural lighting, natural materials, fresh air to name a few.
According to the UK Mental Health Charity MIND, being in green spaces, bringing nature into daily life can help reduce feelings of anxiety, stress and anger making people feel calmer. Stress and anxiety is the root cause of 40% of work related illness, so nature really is our ally in keeping the workforce well.
Biophilic designs in the workplace have proven to increase productivity by 15%, and 33% of office workers say that the design of an office would affect their decision to work for a company. Since better workplaces boost feelings of loyalty, staff retention rates also get a boost. It’s a win win, because this wellness and productivity in the workforce translates into profit in the long run.
This year we face the unique challenge of making the workplace an inviting, safe environment to go back to and work in once we are out of Lockdown. We will need spaces that people want to spend time in, but that are also socially distanced. We will need to dedicate even more space to communal areas we would like staff to congregate in and provide a focal point to encourage traffic to that part of the building. Living infrastructure is going to be a very useful tool in creating both social and private spaces and for providing partitions.
It’s predicted that Biophilic Design will be the norm in office design in the future rather than a current trend that’s superseded. We will all be surrounded by oxygen pumping, noise absorbing, air purifying plants in our workspaces in the future hopefully.
Whether you are an Architect, a Designer or simply wanting to remodel your workspace into something more employee friendly, we are Biophilic Professionals. We can walk you through the process from selecting the species of plant for you, to installing a HYVERT living wall or maintaining the plants in your office. We can do it all.
