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'"
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.
Those conversations definitely happen, but usually a knee-jerk reaction to annual employee surveys (and managers can spend a heck of a lot of time spinning results that look bad).
An interesting alternate approach I was privy to and liked joining was a weekly 'spruce up the office meeting' where some of the management team would discuss upcoming holidays (how to best fit employee needs), decorations, budgets allocated to 'team building' events (more often than not - give the staff the money and have them provide a receipt for somewhere they've spent it), who has a birthday coming up, etc. Discussion of plants was included too. Team prizes, award certificates. I definitely recommend trying such a weekly approach and seeing if it works. We did ours on a Friday afternoon, where everyone was itching to get going as it was; pretty fun and relaxed.
They have been a way to try to raise morale without making any meaningful change, addressing root causes, or spending a significant amount of money. If management does address the actual problems and they add plants, that would probably be a good sign--but that's never been my experience.
Couldn't agree more. The best way to increase employee morale is to act on the feedback that employees give you. Benefits, perks, plants – these things don't address the underlying reason of why employees are unhappy to begin with!
In fact, not acting on feedback is also the #1 reason why employees choose not to give feedback in the first place. I wrote a bit about it here & what CEOs + managers can do to actually act on feedback: https://signalvnoise.com/posts/3760-why-we-dont-speak-up-at-...
i see what your saying- management that uses plants as a solution is probably shitty, so presence of plants increases the likelihood of shitty management. thats a weird thing that should have a name, seems like people in statistics would run into that more than once. so some variable is positively correlated with satisfaction, but also positively correlated with a variable that is negatively correlated with satisfaction, and the negative variable has a stronger magnitude of effect
There's some saying that using a metric for control causes it to lose all useful correlations. (Ie you can only optimize what you measure, but once you optimize, you can no longer trust the measurement.)
I have one of the large (6.5") EcoSpheres on my counter right now. "Average life span of 2-3 years." Heh.
My first EcoSphere was the little one, and the shrimp lasted a year or two.
My large sphere has been going for at least 4 years. From what I remember reading the algae will go on basically indefinitely once the shrimp died, but my little shrimp are still kicking. I've got two little shrimp in there right now, and I've seen so much.
When the shrimp die, they go away (eaten by bacteria) quite quickly. You can see the other shrimp poke at the corpses, I assume eating some of the bacteria or algae.
The shrimp also change colors. Depending on how stressed they are and a few other things they can be quite light pink (fading into white) or bright red.
My shrimp have bread at least one. I saw the little bits in the water and thought it was some sort of debris but I noticed that it was moving. They looked like little fry. I don't think any survived (I assume died or eaten), but maybe the shrimp I have are second generation or more. No real way to know.
I haven't touched it in years. It gets a dusting every few months, but there isn't much dust so it doesn't matter. I haven't done a 'cleaning' (uses a magnet sealed inside to scrap algae off the glass) in years. It sits in my apartment that I try to keep about 70 but has been as low as 60 and over 80. They seem quite resilient.
It's a very neat desk accessory. At this point there is quite a bit of algae built up in mine so it looks dirty, and a few people have asked me why I don't clean it (doesn't help since the algae is still trapped in there) or just throw it away because it looks disgusting.
But with the two shrimp living in there, I can't throw it out. They're still happy.
Please don't buy Ecospheres - I realize that many people don't feel particularly sympathetic toward shrimp, but they really are amazing creatures slowly starving to death:
Do you have any other sources? When one company bashes a competitor in general I'm skeptical. I also know that the Ecosphere company sells larger installations for businesses and museums which gave them some credibility in my eyes (back when I first bought one).
It wouldn't surprise me much if you were right.
I don't plan to buy another though. It's been neat to watch, but after 6+ years (since I've had two spheres) I'm satisfied.
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.
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.
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.
This is a pretty big wall garden, with three shelves about two feet wide. We're talking about a four feet high, three feet wide wall of green you can stick your head in :) Can't provide a picture, sorry.
The varieties of basil we grow start out slow but grow really fast after a few weeks. The individual plants reach a height of several feet in a month or so.
We have started out by planting a few seeds and once those plants reach some height, we take cuttings to clone them and fill the entire garden. I've had an almost 100% success rate in cloning basil, much better than any other plant I've tried.
Do not trim the growth nodes (you won't eat them anyway), just pick as much leaves as you need from the lower parts of the plants.
Basil is really easy to grow in hydrocultures, it's much more difficult to grow in soil. Rucola is the opposite, I've had zero success putting it in the hydros at the office but grows really well at home in soil.
I've been growing some shiso in my Aerogarden - http://i.imgur.com/zitLRIV.jpg - and it's to the point that I have to replant it due to rampant growth crowding out half the other plants after I already pruned what you see there.
Herbs are easiest I think. Mint is super low maintenance and nice for flavoring water and for cocktails. Thai basil can be tasty, and other varieties of basil are also fun. I've had no luck at all with thyme, but... eh. I'm also growing lavender just because it smells good.
Veggie-wise, you can try fast growing sprouts and microgreens, perhaps? I'm also trying my hand at some bird's eye chilies despite lack of temperature control and general warm weather in SF.
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 !!
From a plants point of view, there really isn't anything wrong with fluorescent light, the issue is not enough light intensity. If you measure the photosynthetically active radiation in a normal office it's about 30-100 umol PPFD; that's about the same as a shady spot outdoors (for reference, direct sun is usually about 1800 umol). Temperatures inside also usually stay pretty warm all year round.
For these reasons, the best office plants tend to be species that were historically found in the understory of cloud forests or rainforests. Some popular options are Dieffenbachia sp. (mother-in-law's tongue), Philodendron sp., Monstera edulis (it can grow really large, but it also produces an edible fruit that tastes like a pineapple), Ficus benjamina (weeping fig), many orchids and ferns will also work if you can supplement their lighting by placing them on a windowsill. If you are someone is who is not good about remembering to water, you might want to consider a bromeliad such as Tillandsia.
Succulents are not a good choice. Succulence in plants is usually an adaptation for an outdoor environment with too much light -- the exact opposite of what is found in an office. Mold on the soil is also a clear indication that you are over-watering.
Let me tell you what I have in my office (disclaimer: I like plants): Monstera deliciosa, Adiantum aleuticum (five-fingered fern), Vanilla aphyla (leafless vanilla orchid), Vanilla planifolia (Tahitian vanilla orchid), another orchid (can't ID it until it flowers), and Coffea arabica (yes, coffee actually does pretty well in an office, if you have the room).
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 :)
More specifically they are high pressure sodium lights or Metal-halides. No ganja plant could healthily grow under fluorescent light. Wattage can range from 100-1500 these days. Maybe even 2000 if you check the latest gear out. That industry is constantly upgrading.
FYI, a spray bottle with some soapy water, will handle the mold on the soil. Just spray it on every so often. You have to do that with houseplants in low-light conditions from time to time.
A mild dish soap works, personally I get one with no dyes, fragrances or anti-bacterial stuff in it.
This is good advice, but it's also sort of like taking painkillers when you have a broken leg: it helps with the symptoms but doesn't address the underlying problem. If you have mold growing on top of the soil, it almost always is because the plant is being over-watered. Make sure the pot the plant is in has good drainage (a nice big drain hole at the bottom) and that the top layers of the soil have a chance to dry out between waterings.
There is more than one plant with the common name "mother-in-law's tongue." I think OP might have been referring to Dieffenbachia sp. which is a tropical rainforest understory plant and does very well in the low light conditions of an office. [It's leaves contain very large amounts of oxalic acid which is probably why it got the name -- eat the leaves and your tongue swells up and you can't talk anymore...]
In the UK, "Mother-in-law's Tongue" usually refers to Sansevieria trifasciata [1]. The plant being sharp and pointed, the name is presumably an un-PC reference to the archetypal "domineering mother-in-law".
All my plants do fine in 100% florescent office lighting. My personal favorite is the peace lily because it is beautiful, is a great air cleaner, and is easy to grow as long as you don't over water it. Anything that is a low light plant should be fine.
I always request to sit somewhere where there is at least some natural light, mostly for my well being, but the plants offer a nice excuse as to why I have to be near a window.
That sucks... I'm not even sure that a plant or eight would make that kind of hell hole any better. I'm happy to be in a country where it's actually illegal to make people work in rooms without windows.
Curious- what country? I didn't think there was anywhere that would actually make that illegal. Does that hold true everywhere, such as in industrial/manufacturing complexes, etc?
French law mandates eye-level transparent windows to outdoors in workplaces, except for those where it is incompatible with the activities. It also mandates sufficient natural light, and for rooms with no windows intended for long work, at least 200 lux of light on the desk (but the lighting also has to be "adapted" to the activities).
Rooms with no doors in large buildings are sometimes used as meeting rooms (since they aren't intended for permanent work). I have seen once a large room with just a few windows that were far away from most desks, I guess it was technically legal but would probably not pass should one of the employees sue (comfort is an important part of the law).
I'm in Denmark and I don't think the law applies to factory workers. however due to the prices on electricity you would be crazy if you didn't try to illuminate with day light, but I'm not sure a skylight counts as a window.
Pretty much all green plants survive under fluorescent lights. I live up north and we have three months of darkness every year. Most people use normal fluorescent lights for their plants (and lighting) during this period. The plants might not exactly thrive (you'd have to put up a huge light to compensate for no sunlight) but they certainly do survive.
There are better types of lights for growing plants but fluorescent are not bad at all.
Try pothos. It's philodendron-like and nearly unkillable. It'll withstand watering daily or once every 3 weeks, or just grow in a vase of water. It grows more attractively, with larger and denser leaves, in indirect and low light but can withstand direct sunlight or 24-hour fluorescents.
Perhaps you were over watering? Succulents in particular from allowing the soil to dry completely between watering. Heck, I have some succulents that are perfectly OK being watered once a month. (When you do water them, flood them)
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
That's my guess. Plants are symptoms of a good work environment rather than the cause.
Personally I don't care one way or the other. As long as it's cool, clean, relatively quiet, and I have a comfortable chair and a nice keyboard I'm good. But I don't put up any pictures or nicknacks either. I guess I prefer clutter free space.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It's been done for years. In fact I've never worked in an office where a service was not contracted to provide and care for the plants (and landscaping, if applicable).
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!"