If you were asked to consider how to create a positive work environment, what would you suggest? Caring management. Comfortable, ergonomic office furnishings. Pleasant colours and access to daylight. All these things may come to mind. But one unique Ontario workplace expert suggests a natural way of improving the health of your office.
The health benefits of office plants are well known but are often missed in office planning. James Cuthbert of Urban Green helps companies incorporate plants into their spaces to realize these benefits.
“There are many meaningful advantages that plants can have where people work.” James says, “Whether it’s adding oxygen, removing toxins, the aesthetic value, or increasing humidity in a dry space. It adds up to what I believe is the greatest benefit: stress-releasing calmness that comes from being with healthy plants. People are happier and more relaxed with nature around them.”
And the thought of adding plants to an office may seem like a good idea to an office manager. So, with a few potted plants, good intention is added to a desk or a shelf in the corner. James notes, “I have seen it many times though that people hear about the benefits of plants and go out and buy a few. Then they look good for a month and the mess and upkeep takes it downhill.”
This is an all-too-common trend that James witnesses when Urban Green is invited into an office space to give a free quote on the maintenance services they offer.
“In contrast, with plant service teams like Urban Green, we come into your workplace and set up interior landscapes that match your needs and budget. We select each plant for long term success, and, with our maintenance plan, we guarantee each plant. In this way we don’t just sell plant service, but we provide permanent healthy interior environments.”
There are many ways to incorporate plants into a workspace. James highlights one highly impactful way of doing so.
“One of the shifts in terms of plants is the huge interest in living walls. A living wall in an office is not only a great visual feature that people are drawn to but also allows for a ton of plants to be used in a small amount of usable space with high impact.
I believe the increased interest is due in large part to buildings becoming even more energy-efficient. The result can be needing office plants to overcome a closed up stale space or sick building syndrome. ”
The addition of office plants may seem like a small change, but it can make an impressive difference in the health and happiness of those in your workplace.
James Cuthbert’s inspiring passion for plants began at an early age with a love of the outdoors growing up in rural, Southwestern Ontario. Now living near London Ontario with his wife and two children, James is part of the locally-owned Urban Green team servicing Southern Ontario from Burlington to London. James consults and maintains interior plants in commercial and retail spaces.
Reach out to James james@urbangreen.ca and follow his green adventures on Instagram
See furniture-matching office planters on our website as well 😉
