Effects of Indoor Plants on Occupants’ Emotional-State, Performance, and Perceived Comfort in an Open-Plan Seating Space

Abstract

Indoor plants are a reliable means of introducing nature connection indoors, which can positively affect occupants’ well-being. To better understand the effectiveness of indoor plants on occupants’ well-being (perceived comfort, emotional state, and performance), we conducted a between-subjects study in a simulated open-plan seating space. Subjective questionnaires queried the occupants regarding their perception of indoor climate, sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms, emotional state, self-assessed performance, and overall satisfaction with the space with and without indoor plants. The participants also undertook a cognitive task targeting working memory (operation Span). Participants in the group with plants (WP) rated the room to have better aesthetics (p = 0.004, r = 0.27), felt slightly cooler (p = 0.05, r = 0.18), and perceived less air dryness (p = 0.05, r = 0.18) than the group without-plant (WoP). Differences noted between the two groups’ perception of air quality, SBS symptoms, and their subjectively or objectively assessed task performance were not significant. The WP group had enhanced positive emotions (p < 0.0001 to 0.02, |r| = 0.21–0.45) and reduced negative emotions (p = 0.05, |r| = 0.18). Overall, our findings indicate that potted indoor plants positively impacted aesthetics, perceived thermal comfort, and mood in a simulated open-plan seating space.