研究：綠色植物能提升15%的辦公效率

Bosses looking to quickly increase productivity should ditch brainstorming meetings and instead invest in office plants, a study has found.

Greenery in offices boosts work output by 15 percent, and challenges ‘the lean philosophy’ which holds that stark, uncluttered buildings are best for concentration.

In experiments at two large commercial offices in the UK and The Netherlands, it was found that plants significantly increased workplace satisfaction, self-reported levels of focus, and perceived air quality.

“Simply enriching a previously Spartan space with plants served to increase productivity by 15 percent,” said lead researcher Marlon Nieuwenhuis, from Cardiff University’s School of Psychology.

“This conclusion is at odds with the present economic and political zeitgeist as well as with modern ‘lean’ management techniques, yet it nevertheless identifies a pathway to a more enjoyable, more comfortable and a more profitable form of office-based working.

“Our research suggests that investing in landscaping the office with plants will pay off through an increase in office workers’ quality of life and productivity.

“It directly challenges the widely accepted business philosophy that a lean office with clean desks is more productive.”

Previous studies have shown that the presence of plants can lower physiological stress, increase attention span and improve well-being.

The study, which also involved academics from the University of Exeter; the University of Groningen in The Netherlands, and the University of Queensland, Australia, studied offices over several months during which times plants were removed and added.

Professor Alex Haslam, from The University of Queensland’s School of Psychology, who also co-authored the study added: "The 'lean' philosophy has been influential across a wide range of organisational domains.

“Our research questions this widespread conviction that less is more. Sometimes less is just less".

Analyses into the reasons why plants are beneficial suggests that a green office increases employees’ work engagement by making them more physically, cognitively, and emotionally involved in their work.

Co-author Dr Craig Knight, from the University of Exeter, said: “Psychologically manipulating real workplaces and real jobs adds new depth to our understanding of what is right and what is wrong with existing workspace design and management.

“We are now developing a template for a genuinely smart office.”

The research was published in Journal of Experimental Psychology.一項研究發現，希望快速提高辦公效率的老闆們應該拋棄頭腦風暴似的會議而投資購買辦公室植物盆栽。

辦公室的綠色植物能夠提升15%的工作量，也挑戰了“精益思想”（Lean philosophy）管理學的理念：樸素整潔的建築最有利於集中注意力。

在英國和荷蘭的兩個大型商業辦公室進行的實驗發現，植物能顯著地提高工作滿意度、注意力和對空氣質量的感知度。

“只要在先前斯巴達式的空間佈置植物盆栽就有助於提高15%的效率，”來自卡迪夫大學心理學學院的首席研究員馬龍·尼烏文赫伊斯（Marlon Nieuwenhuis）說。

“這項結論和目前的經濟和政治思潮不一致，也和現代的‘精益’管理技術有矛盾，然而它標識了一條更愉快、更舒適、更符合利益的辦公室工作途徑。”

“我們的研究表明，在辦公室佈置植物景觀上投入資金將會在提高辦公室員工的生活質量和效率上得到回報。”

“它直接向廣爲接受的帶有樸素辦公桌的精益辦公室會更高效率的經營理念提出挑戰。”

先前研究表明，植物可以減輕生理壓力，提高注意力和促進身體健康。

這項調查由來自埃克塞特大學，荷蘭格羅寧根大學，以及澳大利亞昆士蘭大學的學者參與其中，調查研究了辦公室數月裏植物盆栽移除和添加的變化。

參與此項研究來自昆士蘭大學心理學院的亞歷克斯·哈斯勒姆（Alex Haslam）教授補充說：“這項‘精益’思想也影響了大範圍的組織領域。

“我們的調查向這個廣爲流傳的理念：少就是多，有時候少就是少提出了質疑。”

對爲何植物是有益的原因的分析表明綠色辦公室環境通過使員工更有活力地，更有認知力地，更有情感地進行工作來提高他們的工作投入。

來自埃克塞特大學的參與者克雷格·奈特（Craig Knight）教授說：“心理操縱真實的工作場所和真實的工作加深了對現有的工作環境設計和管理的理解。

“我們現在開發的是真正的智能辦公室模板。”

這項調查被髮布在實驗心理學雜誌。