Why you need to get serious about the ‘green features’ of your business

If you run a business, it is likely that you often think about how to make your employees happier and more productive

There are lots of things that businesses can do to make their employees happier, such as offering more breaks, providing coffee machines and constantly bringing in new technology to make their employees’ jobs easier; however, one thing most businesses are not doing is adding green features. 

The benefits of green features

This may sound like a waste of money to many business owners; however, greenery is one of the best ways to promote office productivity.

This is because people tend to be happier and more productive if they spend time around nature. This phenomenon can be applied to people in every situation; for instance, mental patients from a nearby hospital tend to the rooftop garden at St Canice’s Church in Sydney’s Kings Cross once a week.

The doctors found that being outside in the open air has a similar effect to therapy. The patients only get to spend a small amount of time in the garden; however, this makes a world of difference.

The patients reported feeling much more positive and the clinicians were shocked to see how much more willing the patients were to open up to them when they were in the garden.

The benefits of spending time in nature are known as biophilia, and today’s scientists and doctors are learning more about these benefits.

A series of studies has already found that nature can benefit us in various ways; for example, one study found that hospital patients recovered faster if they could see trees from their hospital room.

The effects of spending time in nature have been proven and businesses are now jumping on the nature bandwagon to help their employees to feel happier and more productive while at work.

How to embrace green features

If you want to make your business more nature friendly, there are a few things you can do. One of the cheapest and easiest of these is to bring nature into the office in the form of flowers and plants, which will help employees to connect with nature even when they are inside.

A more expensive option is moving to a new office that has a great view of nature and trees, or you could even invest in greener premises that integrate nature into the actual building.

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The British Institute of Recruiters is the Professional Body operating The Recruitment Certification Scheme

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