Enhancing your Workspace with plants for Employees Post-Quarantine
With many businesses bringing employees back into the workplace, safety and space are coming at a premium. However, interior landscaping has been a solution for these issues for decades for many businesses, only now is it becoming a necessity. The real benefit of these natural barriers is employee happiness, and some improved air quality too.
We used plants over the years to improve sterile-looking offices, now it’s time to use them for actual sterilized offices. Tape on the floor, signs, and changing office layout are effective for keeping people socially distant. While these tools can often be a reminder of the situation at hand, and employees can dismiss them easily. You could build an actual wall to keep employees separated or you can use a wall of plants (see picture below). These walls are large natural barriers that people are less likely to move or feel caged by. People love being surrounded by plants, it reminds them they are working in a natural space rather than being in a hygienic box.
Ancient Greek and Romans used palisades, or spiked walls, to keep intruders out of their cities and camps. We feel that is a bit too brutal for the modern office. We like to use the spiky leaves of the Sansevieria Fernwoods (see below) to create space. These leaves may look dangerous, but they are very harmless. They typically fan out and people naturally avoid getting close them. A large Sansevieria Fernwood can easily take up six feet of lateral space in an office. They can also survive in many low-light environments, which makes them ideal for this kind of function.
Fernwoods aren’t the only the only plants that take up considerable space. Large Ficus Lyratas (below, left) which come in a variety sizes and styles can easily take up a large portion of floor space. They can be a bit taller as well, which helps avoid people talking or interacting over a plant. There are also Dracaena Gigantas (below, right), whose leaves fan out far and wide. They look a lot less harmless and a bit more tropical than the Fernwood.
Every office has its own unique issues and aesthetics that these plants can enhance. There are many more solutions out there, but the real objective is making employees feel safe, comfortable, and welcomed back into their workplace. If you are making a safe office environment, it never hurts to use a little bit of environment.
If you are looking for plants for your office, visit our contact page to talk to us about a free consultation.
