Surprising Well-Being Facts and Figures

We're all working in challenging times to deliver growth to our businesses and for many organisations there has been a focus on keeping costs to a minimum through cutting or reducing what are seen as discretionary items to minimise the impact of the economic downturn on the business.

Interior landscaping, such as plants, flowers and artwork which enrich the work environment are seen as one such item. They are a 'nice to have'. It's obvious, people can work in 'lean', bare spaces and still get on with their jobs, can’t they?

Well, yes they can. However, would you believe that by enriching the environment with plants, artwork and flowers, peoples' productivity can be improved by as much as 17%? And that their sense of wellbeing and corporate citizenship is increased too? We have been working in conjunction with the University of Exeter on a scientific study that independently verifies the power of enriched work environments to improve productivity and employee morale.

Our research

Psychologists at the University of Exeter warn that current methods of office space management could be costing UK businesses £93bn a year in lost productivity.
Studies by the same research team found that people were happier, healthier and 17% more productive in an enriched work environment than they were in a 'lean' space.

Dr. Craig Knight, Prism (Psychological Research into Identity and Space Management), University of Exeter, says:

"That we have been able to scientifically demonstrate how workspace can be easily and profitably transformed is a source of great pride to all of us associated with research into the psychology of office space. The idea of a 'lean' office providing a positive working environment was found to be commercially as well as intellectually moribund and should be consigned to the museum of management horrors as quickly as possible. We now know that simple enrichment of a working area provides a launch-pad to more engaged staff, a more convivial workspace and a more productive business."

Find out more about our research through Prism, a joint venture between Ambius and the University of Exeter.

Download our White Paper : Enrich the Office and Engage your Staff: Why lean is mean (pdf file 909 KB).