![]() ![]() The resulting workspace has plenty of plants, both real and fake natural ventilation instead of air conditioning and huge windows on to a duck pond, orchard and woodland. Moneypenny, a switchboard services company based in Wrexham, did just that when it undertook its £15m office development, surveying staff about what their dream office would be. The best workspace is a space where people say, ‘Why don’t you do what you think is best for the job?’” ![]() ![]() “We have a parental managerial system where they either put in these horrible toxic spaces, or they’re kind and put them in places where they can garden. Knight applauds the introduction of nature trails, workplace allotments and anything that encourages engagement with the workspace, but warns against infantilising the workforce or treating workplace decor as a cure-all. The Moneypenny offices, with treehouse meeting room. When you said to these people, ‘Why don’t you develop the space as you see fit,’ they performed best of all there.” “We found that when people put plants or any other form of enrichment into a workspace, they felt better and performed better, like any other animal. The researchers introduced £10,000 worth of plants into its offices, which Knight says, boosted productivity by around 15%. He and a group of academics then undertook another experiment with one of the big four accountancy practices, which was a firm advocate of the stark, lean workspace. Why should a human being be any different? So we tested it and it doesn’t work at all. He explains: “It didn’t make a whole lot of sense scientifically because there is no animal on the planet that thrives in a lean space. He undertook research to investigate the prevailing wisdom of the so-called lean space: the idea that if there is nothing in the space except the job to be done, workers will concentrate and be more productive. There are tangible benefits to a company’s bottom line from enriching the workspace with plants or other elements, says Dr Craig Knight of the University of Exeter. I do very long hours, I don’t really have time for all sorts of things.” But, he says: “You see the difference in people being involved in non-work stuff around you.” Nicolas Tye says some staff are reluctant to engage in the gardening. Instead of the plants, it now has vast windows overlooking the countryside and a workplace vegetable garden. Nicolas Tye Architects in Bedfordshire had to empty its offices of plants when one of its workers had an allergic reaction to them. There is the added complication of allergies when introducing real plants into the office space. “I’ve worked with some clients who had living walls built by other companies, and their living wall very quickly became a dead wall, which is not a very nice symbol of your organisation. Taylor says many companies do not, however, want the added responsibility of keeping plants alive. The Essence meditation room has real plants. As soon as you opened the doors, it immediately symbolised that this was a space to relax in, to squish your toes into the grass, lie back and enjoy nature,” he says. “We created a mini oasis out of three or four trees it had benches covered in moss the walls were clad in moss. Steve Taylor, project director at office designer Peldon Rose, helped create a botanical meditation area for digital media company Essence’s London office. ![]()
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