Greening the workplace reduces employee errors by 43%: Study
Naava, an eco-friendly furniture design company, conducted the research in which 12 participants performed cognitive word association tests using pen and paper over a two-day period.
Greening the workplace reduces employee errors by 43%: Study
A green environment always has an impact on human life, but greenery in the workplace can have an even greater impact on employee productivity, a study found.
A study from Finland found that employees who work in environments with biophilic design, such as plants, make significantly fewer mistakes. According to the study, such employees make 43 percent fewer mistakes during demanding cognitive tasks that can cause stress.
Naava, an eco-friendly furniture design company, conducted the research in which 12 participants performed cognitive word association tests using pen and paper over a two-day period. The first day’s tests took place in a room with green walls that had biophilic properties and could clean the air, while the second day’s test was conducted in a room without green walls.
In the word association task, participants were given 20 words, to which they each had to write up to 30 associated words within 10 minutes. Errors included misspellings, corrections, or words that did not match the instructions.
In the control room, participants made an average of 28 errors, while the number of errors in the biophilic environment dropped to 12. Participants surrounded by greenery during the experiment also had increased levels of the happiness hormone oxytocin and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Aki Soudunsaari, co-founder of Naava, explained that although we are more creative and intelligent outdoors, we spend 22 hours a day indoors. He also pointed out that most workplaces are unattractive and some can even be harmful to our health, exposing us to stress-inducing stimuli such as artificial lighting and sterile air.
The researchers also collected experimental data before and after the cognitive tasks, which included a self-report questionnaire to assess mood, environmental comfort, anxiety, and terror, as well as heart rate and body temperature measurements. They also collected blood and saliva samples for hormonal analysis, assessing oxytocin and cortisol levels before and after the task, and they were shown to have increased.
Soudunsaari believes that plants have historically been associated with food, water, and shelter, all of which represent a safe environment. As a result, when we are surrounded by nature, our thoughts can rest, and we can concentrate on the task at hand rather than being aware of our surroundings. He also stated that the effect on our attention is unintentional.
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