Biophilic Office Design: How it Could Help Your Employees

Whether it’s at home or at work, studies have shown that humans spend over 90% of their lives inside. This can have a dramatic impact on health and wellbeing - especially when it comes to stressful environments, such as an office. With over 130 million days lost to illness every year in the UK - it’s becoming more and more important to come up with a solution for the increase in absences. Over recent years, many employers have been recognising and adopting the benefits of biophilia, in order to - at the very least - reduce absenteeism. The Building Research Establishment (BRE) is currently conducting a two year research project on the effects of Biophilc design on a workforce, using a refurbished office floor.

But what exactly is biophilic office design and how does it benefit employees?

What is Biophilic Office Design?

The biophilia hypothesis suggests that humans actively seek out connections with nature and other forms of life - primarily to improve health and wellbeing.

But as the world continues to digitalise and urbanise at a rapid rate, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for humans to connect with nature on a day to day basis

 - making biophilia an important addition to offices. Quite often, biophilic elements within the workplace are the only natural elements employees get access to - especially those who live within built-up cities with little access to green spaces.

Biophilic office design involves introducing elements of nature, such as trees, water and natural materials, into offices in order to reap the benefits of biophilia. Considering a significant amount of employee time can be spent inside an office each day, it’s important for business owners to ensure the office is fit for purpose to maximise employee health and wellbeing.

How can Biophilic Office Design Benefit Employees?

Biophilic office design can have a dramatic impact on employees, in turn, benefitting the business. Some of the most prevalent benefits of biophilic office design include:

• Reduced stress levels
• Improvement in staff engagement
• Maximised staff retention
• Increase in concentration levels
• Encourages creativity
• Boosts cognitive function

The health and wellbeing benefits are among the most important benefits of biophilic office design - both to employers and employees alike. Studies have shown that there is a direct link between biophilic elements within offices and an increase in employee health and wellbeing, so, as a business owner - it’s certainly worth investing in.

Research has shown that the presence of plants within an office environment can lower feelings of stress and anxiety by up to 37%, along with reducing feelings of tiredness by up to 38%, thus, increasing productivity.

As well as making humans feel more relaxed and alert, plants also invoke a physical response from the human body due to the reduced levels of CO2 and increased presence of melatonin. In turn, this increases employee health and wellbeing and reduces the rate of absenteeism - benefitting both the employer and employee.

How can Biophilic Design be Integrated Into the Workplace?

There are a number of elements of biophilia which can easily be incorporated into the office - from potted plants to natural materials, such as wooden desks. However - with a larger budget - there are some awe-inspiring biophilic elements which can be introduced to the workplace, such as living walls and water features.

Water features provide a huge number of benefits. Studies have shown that running water is one of the most soothing, therapeutic sources of white noise - helping to minimise stress levels within the office. Additionally, they help to purify the indoor air quality by adding negative ions to the air, increasing oxygen flow to the brain to improve mood and concentration.

Equally, living walls make a huge statement in any office - but they’re not just pretty to look at, they have a range of functional benefits too. From improving air quality to boosting staff productivity and motivation - living walls are certainly worth investing in.

If a living wall isn’t possible, one of the most simple ways to incorporate biophilia into the workplace is to introduce plants into the office. Not only do plants improve the air quality in the office by reducing Co2 and dust levels, but they can also make it feel more natural and inviting - enhancing the overall ambience of the office.

One element of biophilic office design - which is often overlooked - is natural sunlight. Natural light is a vital aspect of any office design as it can help to reduce fatigue, stress and increase productivity. In turn, this can have a huge impact on the business - decreasing absences and improving productivity.

From decreasing absenteeism to improving staff productivity - biophilic office design can have a dramatic impact on staff, making the office a much more pleasant place to work. And with some elements of biophilia being so easily implemented - it’s never been easier to incorporate them into the workplace. If you’d like to learn more about biophilic design, explore how Green Infrastructure can assist with it here.