Are shrivelled, dying indoor plants worse for your mood than having no plants at all? Our latest blog post has the answer.
We may have just passed the winter solstice and technically be heading towards summer again, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it. I feel like we’re bang in the middle of winter, with its short, cold days and – in Cape Town at least – lashings of rain.
It’s not uncommon for employees to feel a bit ‘down’ in the winter months. Shorter, darker days can dull employees’ moods and – in the extreme – give rise to seasonal affective disorder. This is a type of depression related to the change in seasons, with symptoms starting in autumn and continuing into winter.
An office or workplace that includes an abundance of nature could help us feel happier over winter. Maintaining a link to plants and nature has been shown to improve our mental wellbeing, and indoor plants have also been shown to help beat the “afternoon slump” that so many office employees experience.
Add into the mix the biophilia hypothesis that suggests humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life, and office plants are starting to look like a great way to keep the mood up at work during winter.
Healthy plants only, please
But what about having plants around you that don’t look happy and healthy? We’ve all been to that office that has one sad, shrivelled palm in the corner, in an out-of-date pot ….
Joint research by the RHS and University of Reading asked participants to assess the beauty and interest of a series of different common indoor plants, including a cactus, weeping fig, bird’s-nest fern and snake plant, as well as how much they thought these plants would improve indoor air quality.
Their results found that (unsurprisingly) people reacted best to “lush, green plants with a rounded, dense canopy”.
Dying indoor plants are depressing 🙁
What was interesting about the study was the corollary: a neglected palm used in the study “was the least attractive, least preferred plant and participants thought the appearance was unhealthy and depressing.”
The neglected, dying indoor plant was scored as 1.5 times more depressing, on average, than the healthy plants used in the study. “This important finding shows that to benefit occupants’ well-being, sick or dead plants should be removed from the indoor environment,” the authors concluded.
What was also interesting was that the study found that people thought unhealthy plants might spike their stress levels and make them feel that air quality was poor. (If you’re worried about the air quality in your office, read our post on how to tell your boss you need a VIRUSKILLER air purifier).
Keeping plants healthy in winter
Ok, so now that we’ve established that letting your plants shrivel makes you sadder than having none at all, how do you ensure that plants (like people) don’t suffer in the winter months?
While you may think that plant maintenance is more difficult in winter due to lower light levels, this isn’t always the case. A plant maintenance specialist like Ambius will ensure that the plants in your workplace are specifically chosen for lower light levels and then pre-conditioned to survive in your workplace.
Many participants commented on the problems of looking after plants and worrying about killing them by accident, which adds to the stress of owning them. (Read our post on 5 hard to kill indoor plants if you can relate).
So if the thought of caring for your office plants over winter (or anytime at all) sends you into a cold sweat, remember that Ambius specialises in interior plant maintenance. Read our blog post on 5 reasons to choose an indoor plant maintenance service.
Contact Ambius today to find out more about how we can create a lush, green workspace that keeps your employees happy and motivated this winter.
Leave a Reply