A florist in Princeton, New Jersey, may have found a way to get her designs in front of a key demographic — while helping to turnaround a troubling workplace trend.
On March 14, Georgianne Vinicombe and her team at Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co. will be doing a workplace demo for a local university. The goal: help staff members at the school “decompress and relax.”
“They are paying us $20 per student and we will be going to their location,” Vinicombe said. (Sign-ups were ongoing at press time.) “Usually we seem to get calls to do demos and classes at senior centers, but this is a more corporate-related paid event. I’m thinking I might market it in the future being we have so many corporations and schools in our area.”
Vinicombe could be on to something, as her workshop taps into a nationwide trend: frazzled, stressed-out workers. According to Good Call, a data consulting firm, “’stress’ seems to be the word that describes more than half of employees .”
The firm points to two recent studies to back its claim. An Accountemps report found that “60 percent of employees are at least somewhat stressed and believed their work-related stress levels have increased during the past five years.” Meanwhile, a Careercast survey showed that “71 percent of employees have higher than moderate work-related stress levels, and 59 percent say they would abandon their job for one that is less stressful.”
Society of American Florist members who want to promote the benefits of flowers in the workplace and to overall well-being have scientific studies to support their efforts. SAF’s Impact of Flowers & Plants on Workplace Productivity Study, conducted by Texas A&M University, found that flowers can improve workplace productivity and enhance idea generation and creativity. And the group’s Emotional Impact of Flowers Study, conducted by Rutgers University, showed that flowers and “have a long-term positive effect on moods. Specifically, study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.”
Read more about these studies and find additional SAF resources to help you grow corporate accounts this spring.
