Restorative Elements at the Computer Workstation: A Comparison of Live Plants and Inanimate Objects With and Without Window View

Abstract

The objective of the study was to test whether live plants on computer workstations with and without window view had restorative effects. Guided by Stress Recovery Theory and Attention Restoration Theory a mixed randomized experiment was conducted exploring restorative effects of plants, including mediating effects of perceived fascination. Eighty-five participants carried out a 1-hr work session with repeated tasks demanding directed attention in an office with one of three interior conditions: live plants, inanimate objects and control, all with and without a window view. Plant presence led to greater perceived fascination, but perceived fascination was not related to either self-reported restoration or directed attention capacity. The presence of plants during work did not have superior restorative effects compared with inanimate objects, neither with nor without access to a window view. However, environmental enrichment with either plants or inanimate objects at the computer workstation seemed to provide a restorative potential, which should be investigated further.

Keywords

indoor plants; mental fatigue; office design; natural elements; people-plant interactions

Published in

Environment and Behavior
2015, volume: 47, number: 3, pages: 288-303

SLU Authors

• Hägerhäll, Caroline

  • Department of People and Society, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)

Global goals (SDG)

SDG3 Good health and well-being

UKÄ Subject classification

Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Applied Psychology

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916513499584

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/69078