Is your boss getting on you about your productivity in the office? Of course it isn’t your fantasy football habits, it is the lack of foliage around your desk. Or at least that’s the excuse you’re giving your boss. And this time the world’s top thinkers have your back! Studies have shown over and over that adding plants to an office can increase productivity (but probably not your fantasy football team).
In addition to providing a mental micro-reset for over distracted workers, potted plants also provide aesthetic beauty and air quality benefits. Think of it as free fresh air… organic free fresh air! The biggest objection to adding potted plants to a workplace setting is care and maintenance. Some of us have a hard time keeping plants alive at home, doing so at work where you are spending less time (hopefully) might be a challenge.
What Are Succulents
Fortunately not all plants are high maintenance. Succulents are some of the most popular indoor plants available and many varieties are especially easy to care for. What are succulents? Cacti are succulents and so is Aloe Vera. They are plants that have a thick or fleshy part for water storage. Sometimes in the stem and sometimes in the leaves. You’ve probably seen them around a lot lately in living wreaths or pinterest boards (hopefully not while you’re supposed to be working).
In addition to being low maintenance, succulents come in a huge variety of colors and shapes. Some look like very normal plants, while others look like strange alien lifeforms. Typically succulents tend to either grow slowly or stay small so you don’t have to worry about a well cared for plant over-running your workspace, which, to be honest was never going to happen.
Choosing The Right Succulent For Your Space
Whether you are looking for air quality improvement, a little eye catching cubicle improvement, or something to green up your warehouse there is the perfect plant for you!
Desk Area
Haworthia (aka Zebra Cactus, Star Window Plant, or Pearl Cactus) is one of my personal favorites. It looks a lot like an Aloe Vera plant but keeps things fresh with white horizontal stripes. This plant is very tolerant of poor lighting conditions in case your desk happens to be far far away from the nearest window, and it can get by one just one watering per month, although tends to do better with being watered about every other week. The Haworthia does NOT like to be over watered though, so go easy on the watering unless you want to get root rot.
Office Area
Are you an office manager who would like to green up the entire office floor? Then we would suggest a variety of succulents. Some of our favorite office friendly plants include Hens-And-Chicks, Aloe Vera, Jade plants, and Christmas Cactuses. All of these are hardy, capable plants that can happily survive in your office boosting productivity while asking little in return.
Restroom Area
While restrooms aren’t typically the first area of your office you think of regarding productivity, they are a vital part of your work flow, so to speak. One of the best succulents for the job here is the Snake Plant, also known as the Mother-In-Law’s Tongue. This familiar and hardy plant not only grows in the low light but often humid conditions of a bathroom but it also is a decent air quality improver. However I would recommend not placing it in a bathroom that has automatic lights, even the hardiest of plants need a little more light than that.
Warehouse Area
So you work in a giant windowless box with no natural light and what feels like no hope of ever seeing another living thing. Guess what! We have just the succulent for you! It does prefer natural light, but the famous Air Plant is capable of doing just fine under full spectrum fluorescents even in warehouse conditions. You can even tie some to the corners of shelving and you don’t even need to worry about a pot, simply mist it every so often before it becomes completely dried out (think of it like a sponge). Next thing you know your warehouse is more like a greenhouse! Kind of, or not really, but it is an improvement and is a nice touch in an otherwise stark environment.
Let Us Help You Keep Your Area Productive
Environmental Cleaning Services believes that both a green space AND a clean space boost productivity. We offer the Dallas Fort Worth area’s most flexible commercial cleaning services and janitorial services in order to keep you focused on doing what you do. Contact us today for your free quote and be sure to let us know how often you want the plants water 😉
