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Comment by maxxxxx | Hacker News Reader

There is a lot of value in being able to see the outside. I can barely see outside from my position in the building and I feel it's really starting to eat my soul staring at walls the whole day.

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Have you tried plants? I can't see windows from my desk, but I've got my cubicle filled with plants & it kind of makes up for it. One is a tropical shrub behind my monitors which would swallow my whole workstation if I didn't prune it back. Now if only people who seem to like the gloom would stop disconnecting bulbs in the fluorescent light fixtures..

There is evidence[1] that tropical plants and microorganisms in the soil will remove VOCs from sealed indoor environments, although the effect will likely be limited in an open plan office. At least they are nice to look at.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study

Critical Review: How Well Do House Plants Perform as Indoor Air Cleaners?

https://www.buildingecology.com/download/critical-review-how...

This might be of interest to you.

Oh... If only I could keep a plant alive in my office. I struggled with one for months, got it really healthy. Left instructions with co-worker and went to Europe for a month. While I was gone at least 5 people walked by that plant and said "oh, he's gone to Europe, I'd better water his plant for him". I get back and my plant is dead. My co-worker feels really, really bad about it and tells me he followed my interactions to the letter. It was over the course of 2 weeks that the other 4 people excitedly tell me that they watered my plant for me while I was gone, even though there was a little sign in it saying "please don't water me".

Facilities doesn't allow plants Everything needs to to dull, uniform and gray.

Leave.

(Edit: That sounds very depressing, and could be health affecting in the long term, so if you can, please do leave!).

break up with your SO.

detach from the electrical grid

buy a van

Just bring one! They may not ask you to remove it.

Fluorescent light is typically low quality.

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