Wellness experts say keeping your office green not only can make you healthier – it can help you do a better job, too.
Studies indicate plants reduce stress, increase productivity by as much as 15 percent, purify the air, stimulate creativity and suppress noise levels.
Geneva Crow, the green-thumbed Manager of Patient Transportation and Mail at JPS Health Network, has a miniature jungle of lush, green vegetation along a wall behind her desk that she believes make her happier and more effective at her job. The display isn’t something that happened overnight. One of the plants in her office is several years older than some of the team members she supervises. But that might not even be the most remarkable part of the story.
The incredible thing is that her office is a windowless room located on the lower level (otherwise known as the basement) of the main JPS campus. There’s not a hint of sunshine to be found. So, her plants rely entirely on the overhead florescent bulbs for life-giving light. It’s not a situation that seems ideal for them to thrive. But, somehow, they do.
“I don’t know what the secret is about this spot,” Crow said. “I’ve had plants that wouldn’t grow in sunlight at my house that I brought here. Suddenly they get healthy and do great. I can’t explain it.”
While she can’t do anything about getting her potted pets any exposure to the sun, Crow said she makes sure her flora gets the appropriate amount of water and the plants are trimmed when they get a little too big for their space. Crow said her mother taught her talking to plants was the secret to getting them to grow big and healthy. But Crow said the amount of one-way conversation didn’t seem to make as much difference to the plants’ well-being as the change in location from her home to her workplace.
Crow has worked at JPS 20 years. Her oldest plant, a Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, came from her father’s funeral and was six years old when she brought it to the office. It was yellow and scrawny at the time. Now the plant is a deep and healthy green and its blade-like leaves don’t give any clues about its advanced age.
One by one, leafy, green neighbors showed up to keep the first plant company. Some were gifts. Others were cultivated from clippings. No matter what she’s tried to grow in her office has taken root.
Bettina Jones, manager of Food Services, also has a lower level, windowless office where plants grow like crazy. She and Crow share advice and even some clippings to help reproduce their plants.
Jones said her leafy office is a popular gathering place for her teammates. Folks often pop their heads in just to take a look at how things are growing and offer a compliment.
“My plants make me happy,” Jones said. “They seem to make other people happy, too.”
While none of her leafy office mates are close in age to Crow’s 26-year-old, Jones has one that’s been around for seven years. Its name is “BriJodi,” a hybrid of the names of two of her team members. Jones also has a poinsettia that maintains is vibrant red hue despite its unusual surroundings.
“I love being surrounded by plants because it livens up the atmosphere,” Jones said. “I think they make my space seem less like an office and more like my home. Then I am more comfortable and that helps me to do my job. To me, this isn’t just an office. It’s the place where I spend a lot of my life.”