Page 21 - I-Plants Magaine April 2021 Issue #4 v 4

BIOPHILIA

Are you struggling to justify the expense of a Biophilic office
design? Do you see an office strewn with indoor plants and
natural light as a “nice to have” but not essential?

We buy software that make our teams more efficient
because the business case is clear. More efficient em-
ployees equal a more streamlined business equals’ higher
profitability.

And yet, People and Culture initiatives such as green work-
spaces, staff gardens or nature-based break rooms often
fall on the back-burner. WhyW? Because business owners
struggle to see a direct correlation between spend and The Cost of Poor Design
profitability.
In 2018, Mercer (1) found that 49% of employees wanted to
But first, Biophilia work for an organisation that protected their health and
well-being. Calling them the “cornerstones of an energised
Biophilia, a concept popularised by Edward Wilson in 1984, workforce”.
simply refers to our innate love of nature. Biophilic design
then is a philosophy that incorporates nature-based el- Yet 58% (2) of offices had no plants and 47% no natural
ements such as light, air, water, plants and natural land- light.
scapes into interior design.
Still the benefits for greening your workplace go beyond
While there are a number of studies that connect health employee preference and beautiful design. In addition to
with Biophilic design, most businesses see this as a luxury improved air quality, a plant-filled workspace can increase
reserved for the offices of tech giants like Twitter and staff productivity by 8% and decrease sick leave taken by
Amazon. 10% (1).

But the truth is if you want to increase profitability in a Currently, sick leave alone costs Australian businesses “in
COVID world, a holistic approach to employee health and excess of $44 billion per annum” or “$578 per employee per
well-being is essential. day of absence” (4).
By simply “providing employees access to plants, natu-
ral views, daylight, and other Biophilic design elements”
employers are poised to save over $2,600 per employee per
year in absenteeism, and over $1,100 in presenteeism (3).

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