The Link Between Air Quality and Productivity
It’s no secret that bad air quality can have a negative effect on our health. But did you know that it can also negatively impact productivity in the workplace?
According to a recent study, poor indoor air quality can lead to a loss of up to 2.5% in productivity. That might not seem like much, but when you consider that there are an estimated 1.6 million office workers in the United States alone, that 2.5% loss adds up to a lot of lost productivity!
So what exactly is causing this drop in productivity? It turns out that exposure to airborne pollutants can have a number of adverse effects on our cognitive abilities. For instance, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been linked to reduced performance on tests of attention, short-term memory, and reaction time.
What’s more, poor air quality can also lead to absenteeism, as workers are more likely to take sick days when they’re exposed to harmful airborne pollutants. In fact, one study found that for every 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure, there was a 0.36% increase in the number of sick days taken by office workers.
So if you want to keep your employees healthy and productive, it’s important to make sure that the air quality in your office is up to par. There are a few things you can do to improve the air quality in your workplace.
How to improve workplace air quality
If you’re worried about the air quality in your office, there are a few things you can do to improve it.
Ventilation: One of the most important things you can do is make sure that your office is well-ventilated. This will help to get rid of any harmful airborne pollutants that might be lingering in the air.
Air purifiers: Another way to improve air quality is to use air purifiers. Air purifiers can help to remove harmful pollutants from the air, making it safer for your employees to breathe.
Filters: You should also make sure that your office’s HVAC system has filters that are designed to remove airborne particles from the air. This will help to ensure that the air in your
Monitoring: Air quality goes beyond what you can experience immediately. To understand what your workplace air quality is, consider investing in a sensor or monitoring device. The main metric for air quality is the Air Quality Index (AQI) which is an index of particulate matter in the air. However, factors such as humidity, and gasses in the air may be of concern to certain industries.
Using Vape Detector devices can also detect if staff are using vapes within the work place to create bad air quality, protecting other employees from the vape smoke.
The Costs of Improving Air Quality
It is relatively inexpensive to improve workplace air quality. As mentioned above, it only requires ventilation, air purifiers, filters, and monitors. However, the cost of not improving workplace air quality can be much higher. Poor air quality can lead to health problems for your employees, lost productivity, and lost opportunities. In fact, one study found that poor indoor air quality costs businesses an estimated $6 billion annually in lost productivity.
So if you want to keep your employees healthy and productive, it’s important to make sure that the air quality in your office is up to par. A little bit of investment now can save you a lot of money down the road.