Transform wellbeing in the workplace through improving air quality
Breathing is the first thing you do when you are born and the last when you leave this life. Imagine a workspace that is breathable, buildings that worked with nature and aerated themselves meaning no more midday headaches, low energy or irritation. As leaders, we have the power to decide how and where our team works, and air quality is one of the biggest issues in design of spaces right now. Considerations such as air quality should be factored in from the start. By doing so you are taking care of your team’s wellbeing, saving costs in the long-run, increasing productivity and addressing sustainability.
1. Improve employee wellbeing
The biggest issue with indoor air pollution is that we can’t always detect it. The slight headache you get after sitting in a conference room for 2 hours in the middle of winter with all the windows closed, or the cost-efficient air conditioning you signed off to purchase with improperly fitted filters produces toxins that constantly circulate through the building, piling up over the years. The impact of outdoor air pollution on wellbeing are well documented (respiratory tract infections, cancers, pulmonary disease) but according to research by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air pollution is generally 2 to 5 times worse than outdoors. Do you know if your employees suffer from dry or watery eyes, throat problems, itchy or irritated skin, headaches on a daily basis or have trouble concentrating in meetings? No one wants to work at a company that doesn’t care about their health, especially after a global pandemic.
2. Cost-saving
The main cost of poor air quality is its effects on employee performance in a way that affects the bottom line when it’s too late. According to research by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Clear Air Fund, over 3 million working days are lost each year to air pollution in the UK whilst a study in California measured that the total cost impact of indoor air pollution on health and productivity is estimated at $60 billion per year. It is evident that investing in managing air quality in the workplace has significant impact on the bottom-line, actually increasing profits in the long-run. Any lost time is lost revenue for the business.
3. Increase productivity
A 2014 study found that for every 10 micrograms of harmful particulates in the air, productivity of pear pickers dropped by $0.41 per hour. We may be putting our employees in poorly-ventilated meting rooms, where CO2 levels can go through the roof, and asking them to make critical decisions about how to run the business when they can’t think clearly. A 2015 study by Harvard School of Public Health proved that employees working in well-ventilated offices have double the cognitive function than those in offices with average levels of pollutants. Start by making the unseen seen, and begin to make conscious decisions such as installing sensors that empower your decision-making process.
4. Address sustainability
A sustainable approach to workspace leadership recognizes that there are huge benefits in taking a holistic approach to tackling air quality in the workplace. The funding, design and building of workspaces can improve business performance in an entirely new way by not viewing air quality as a silo-ed issue but rather one piece of an integrative puzzle that can transform how and why we work. At Space Your Place we are keen on supporting businesses to view these issues as part of a whole and so would like to have the opportunity to show you how air quality is one part that when considered together with a host of other factors together creates a result that is larger than the sum of the parts.
If you are an executive and you are interested in support with managing workspace optimization at your organization, please get in touch. Space Your Place offers highly customized consultation services and programs designed to fast-track integration of wellbeing, connection, productivity and efficiency in both virtual and physical spaces.