
Plants in offices increase happiness and productivity - dsr12
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/31/plants-offices-workers-productive-minimalist-employees
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IvyMike
Funny enough, when the plants show up, in my experience it's a bad sign. I
have no proof this conversation happened at the last two places I worked...
but I'm pretty sure it did happen.

Upper-level manager #1: "The results of the employee morale survey are back.
Morale is at an all time low. The employees feel that upper-level management
is clueless, they are increasingly unable to do their jobs efficiently because
of process and bureaucracy, and the raises we gave this year were below
industry average."

Upper-level manager #2: "I just googled 'how to raise morale' and it said
'plants'"

Upper-level manager #1: "Let's do that!"

~~~
gweinberg
That's probably true as far as it goes, but they probably should have been
there all along. If the plants disappear because management decides they are
too expensive, start your new job search immediately.

~~~
nostromo
I'd rather the company divide up the plant costs and give it to the employees.

If an individual wants to spend it on a plant for their desk, great.

I feel like this for most benefits btw.

~~~
blowski
I did a back of the envelope calculation. If we got rid of our plants and
plant-waterers, I would expect to see about 60p extra in my monthly salary.

~~~
eru
Pre or post-tax?

~~~
blowski
Post-tax. Fortunately, it doesn't push me into another tax band.

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dominotw
I have this[1] closed ecosystem on my desk that I share with a coworker. Best
decision ever.

1\.
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IZOB5M/](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IZOB5M/)

~~~
exDM69
We have a flood'n'drain style hydroponic garden at the office we use to grow
Basil. We've tried some other stuff but nothing else is as low maintenance as
basil.

Now we have a problem where where to put it all. I make a huge bowl of pesto
every week and force feed basil to all my coworkers whenever I get a chance
but I just can't get rid of all of it. I can't even make a dent in the huge
bush we have.

We also grew some salad with mixed success but it's not a reliable enough
source to be worth the effort.

Anyway, it's rather enjoyable. I recommend getting a small hydro garden to
anyone who has any space and a little natural light in their office. Hydros
need less regular maintenance (but need a bigger maintenance every now and
then).

If anyone has any (preferably edible) plants that are suited for a
hydroculture, please do suggest.

~~~
exhilaration
Could you post a picture? I'm intrigued by the idea of having too much basil -
we pay a crazy amount ($1-$2) for maybe a dozen leaves when we make pizza.
I've always been afraid that there would be not point in getting a basil plant
because we'd strip it bare each time we needed basil.

~~~
SwellJoe
Basil is really easy to grow, and grows pretty aggressively. We have a handful
of new plants (~3 months old, planted from seedlings) in the back yard, and I
use a couple dozen leaves every couple of days. They continue to get bigger
and definitely aren't stripped bare. My roommate just chopped the top third
off of all of the plants in order to make starters for more plants. A week
later, I can't tell they've been chopped off...they regrew a bunch of new
leaves. Theoretically, they can be trained to be bushy and short (which
produces "sweeter" leaves), but so far ours are re-growing tall. Nonetheless,
I have a _lot_ of fresh basil and it's all delicious (big leaves are chewier
and have a more licorice flavor, little leaves are milder and sweeter, etc.).

I don't know what we'll do with the starters for more plants, as I think we
probably have enough basil. But, "too much basil" might be a nice problem to
have.

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GFischer
I really hope they took the Hawthorne effect into account:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect)

I'm not sure if it's the plants themselves which generated the positive
change, or whether anything else (paintings, something personal/warm) would
have generated a similar response.

And while I rant about my awful working conditions, at least I don't have my
keyboard fixed into place !!

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nether
What plants can survive with 100% fluorescent office lighting? I tried a
succulent but the soil was covered in mold in a few weeks.

~~~
lutusp
> What plants can survive with 100% fluorescent office lighting?

Marijuana. In the prohibition era just ending, many people discovered this in
surreptitious basement experiments.

> I tried a succulent but the soil was covered in mold in a few weeks.

From an evolutionary perspective, that would indicate success, but for the
mold, not the plant.

~~~
rgbrenner
_Marijuana. In the prohibition era just ending, many people discovered this in
surreptitious basement experiments._

You do realize that those are grow lights, which are at a different color temp
and higher wattage than normal office lights.. right?

~~~
exDM69
Cannabis plants grow quite alright under fluorescent lights. Grow lights are
better of course. There are also fluorescent grow lights (available in
different spectra) but they are less cost effective than high pressure sodium
or metal halides.

Can't cite a source on this one, you're just going to have to take my word for
it. Seen it work in practice :)

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SushiMon
There was actually a NASA study about which plants clean the air for space
stations.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study)
or

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Shivetya
For the last twenty years the offices I have worked in have had trees in their
atrium. A few coworkers have had plants in their individual cubes. Yet I think
the fact I am in Atlanta and the last two office buildings I worked in are
surrounded by trees and flowers made a bigger difference. You cannot look
outside any window without seeing trees, shrubs, and depending on the time of
year flowers.

I won't live in a city nor work in one for these very reasons. I never want to
look out a window and see concrete. Yeah I know cities have parks and
fortunately cities like Atlanta have more trees than not, but its the
grayness, the dirty feeling I don't miss. Which leads me into one peeve, who
thought that gray cubes and dark carpet were appealing?

~~~
Someone
_" Which leads me into one peeve, who thought that gray cubes and dark carpet
were appealing?"_

The cleaners/the people who try to keep the cost of cleaning low.

They're not that bad, though, as long as you have sufficient daylight
(building not too wide, large windows, low cubicle walls)

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mbesto
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis)

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Edd314159
I learned this in Theme Hospital 15 years ago.

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calinet6
Are dead plants better than no plants at all? That's our problem... but it is
really nice to have (mostly living) plants around, have to admit.

~~~
meej
A former employer of mine hired a plant service for the office. They provided
both the plants and people to come in every week or two to tend to them.

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mlwarren
The impact plants have on clean indoor air also creates a boost in
productivity[1]. This is probably most effective in areas with increased
pollution, though.

1\.
[http://www.ted.com/talks/kamal_meattle_on_how_to_grow_your_o...](http://www.ted.com/talks/kamal_meattle_on_how_to_grow_your_own_fresh_air?language=en)

~~~
UrMomReadsHN
If you are looking for specifics check out the results of the NASA Clean Air
Study. Many common houseplants are good at eliminating indoor pollutants such
as benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene. NASA suggests 1 plant per 100
square feet.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study)

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lifeisstillgood
Cause and effect are reversed here - people who are happy and capable at a
good enjoyable place to work often decide to bring plants in because they feel
empowered to do so and have latitude to do it.

Aping them by putting plants in front of disempowered bored workers will not
help.

~~~
peterwwillis
Agreed. If I had a nicer working environment I wouldn't need to bring in
plants to make things less depressing. Instead of sighing at my desk at how
drab things are, I can look at a plant and think how sad it is for a living
thing to be forced to live out a sub-standard existence in an artificial
environment. Funny how this 'one weird trick' gives perspective on the real
problem.

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trumbitta2
Unless you have allergies like me. It may seem a joke, but most of you know
someone with allergies to various plants. Just ask them :)

~~~
lightcatcher
Somewhat seconded. I don't believe I'm allergic to any particular plant, but
I'm allergic to mold and I've heard from several doctors that indoor plants
often grow a lot of mold in their soil.

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GazNewt
Surely the presence of plants reflects employers giving a shit about the
employee environment and that this this is the true reason for happiness and
productivity. Really come on... I don't look at a plant and feel happy, it's
common sense.

~~~
HCIdivision17
You'd likely be surprised then. I work in a plant, and seeing a live plant can
relieve stress. At least it does for me, much in the way a glass of water on a
hot day can. Otherwise, the whole day is beige office interior or the drab
metalic grey of machinery. That, and plants make places _smell_ better.
(Offices in factories really aren't closed systems...)

So, as counter point, I look at a plant and feel happy. I mean, if it can
survive here, then I probably can.

~~~
GazNewt
Maybe you should work in a garden centre you'd be on a constant high.

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meej
I wonder if it works if the plants are fake?

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themgt
I find it amusing the plant they have pictured looks quite possible to be a
San Pedro cactus. Office happiness indeed!

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TeMPOraL
From my experience, plants (whether in office or at home) attract bees, wasps,
mosquitoes and other such annoying nonsense, that tries to bite you, stab you
or enter your ears/mouth, and in office, flamethrowering them away with
lighter and deodorant is not always an option (due to people not used to fire
being afraid of it). Therefore, plants near me usually directly decrease my
happiness and productivity.

(EDIT: I'm dead serious here)

~~~
UrMomReadsHN
How do you have so many insects inside your office?

~~~
TeMPOraL
I work at ground-level, we have some plants inside and a lot of them on the
outside. I started regularly spraying myself with DEET when going to work,
because there are tiny mosquitoes hell-bent on biting you during the day.

At home I just observed that when I have plants near my windows, I get bees,
wasps and hornets during summer much more often.

~~~
disputin
Reminds me of living on the ground floor next to a planty area in Malta. I was
killing around 18 mosquitoes every evening, and discovered they fly through
keyholes. Next flat was on the third floor.

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GrinningFool
Always brought my own plants wherever I work.

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callmeed
Coming soon: a subscription-based PWAAS* startup

* _(Plants-and-Watering-As-A-Service)_

~~~
blowski
If you're outside, there is a watering service delivered from the cloud.

But, Reddit-puns aside, this is already quite a common office service in
London. We pay a company to bring plants, water them, prune them, etc.

