The impact of Biophilia on your team - 5 great points
Do you know the impact of biophilia on your team? Now more than ever, it's so important to make sure we're giving our people the best spaces possible to work in, so they can get the best results possible for the business.
What is Biophilia?
Biophilia has become a hot new trend in interior design, and yet we often find that people don't really understand the data behind the phrase, the benefits behind the buzzword. Biophilia actually means 'the love of nature', and this is at the heart of this design trend. It focuses on an innate connection between nature and humans that goes back millennia to a time before we lived in an industrialised, built-up environment and instead lived in an agrarian habitat with a close, symbiotic connection to the natural world. As more and more people have moved away from this day to day connectivity with nature (the UN predicts two-thirds of humans will live in cities by 2050) and have instead settled in the concrete, unnatural environments of cities this link has been lost, sometimes by accident, and sometimes by intent. E.O Wilson, an American scientist is credited with coming up with the Biophilia concept and proving its impact on humans. His studies on the socio-impact the disconnect between nature and urban living, and the ways he found to overcome these have become the cornerstones of biophilia and how it can be used to create fulfilling, healthy spaces for us to live and work in.5 Statistics showing the impact of biophilia
Some of the statistics around the impact biophilia can have on us are shown below - as you can see, the results are astounding!- In offices productivity increases by 8%, well-being shoots up by 13%, and in addition to this absenteeism falls and staff are more engaged when in the office.
- In an Education environment, the results are even more exciting! Learning rates can rise by 20-25%, test results improve, concentration levels increase, and ADHD effects are reduced.
- In a retail environment, customers have said they are willing to pay 8-12% more for goods and services when in a space with biophilic elements, such as plants.
- In healthcare environments, biophilia has spectacular results. Post-operative recovery times can be reduced by 8.5%, and the need for pain-reduction medication can be lowered by 22%.
- In hotels, customers have been found to be willing to pay 23% more for rooms with a view of biophilic elements!
What do the staff want?
The two most popular biophilic elements wanted by office staff in a global study commissioned by Interface were natural light and office plants. While we're not window fitters, we can help out with the planting required to create a biophilic office space that your team will enjoy working in. There are many different options of planter and plant available, so we can always find a way to make planting work in your office and rebuild that connection between nature and people.
If you need any more help or information on the impact of Biophilia on your team, get in touch with one of our experts!