How Does Air Quality Affect Employee Productivity in the Workplace?

To avoid your business being affected by poor air quality, you must act quickly.

Productivity is one of the most critical metrics for every business to consider. If you can boost productivity, your earnings will almost certainly rise as well. As a result, it’s no surprise that business owners around the world are always looking for new ways to improve productivity and motivate their workers.

Growing productivity can be accomplished by providing more incentives to workers, improving the working environment, streamlining services to save time for employees, and so on. Improving indoor air quality may be another unanticipated way to boost productivity.

According to a recent study published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics by a group of researchers from the National University of Singapore, working in toxic environments is bad for development (NUS). Contaminants in the workplace environment may be affecting your workers’ health and slowing your business down.

“We discovered that a sustained increase in PM2.5 [fine particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter] of 10 micrograms per cubic meter reduces daily output by 1%, harming firms and workers,” said NUD study lead researcher associate professor Liu Haoming. “The effects are subtle, but they have a major impact,” says the author.

Effect of Indoor Air Quality on Productivity

While the notion that indoor air quality has an effect on business performance may seem odd at first, there is plenty of scientific evidence to back up these claims.

According to several reports from Harvard University and others, employees in workplaces and other spaces with pollutants and chemicals in the air tend to work slower, are less alert, vigilant, and focused than those in better air quality settings.

One of these research, for example, looked at how workers in different environments worked on cognitive tests. Those who took the tests in rooms with better air conditioning and lower levels of contaminants got nearly perfect results, while those who took the tests in spaces designed to look like typical offices and had lower air quality standards made more mistakes.

So, why do employees struggle so much when the indoor air quality is poor?

Health Effects

One theory may be that airborne contaminants have a short- and long-term effect on their health. People who work in greener environments have less headaches and respiratory problems, according to reports.

On the other hand, many people who work in dirty environments with a number of toxic substances in the background are more likely to experience nausea, eye pressure, and other issues.

Employees are less likely to give it their all and work to their maximum capacity while they are in pain or tired, resulting in lower productivity.

Influence of Mood

Bad air quality has far-reaching effects that go beyond physical health. Many that are required to work in offices and workplaces with dirtier conditions and poor air quality, according to research and reports, will develop mental health issues and mood disorders.

Various contaminants and pollutants in the air can increase tension, decrease concentration, and make people feel sluggish and unfocused. As a result, they may be less focused on their employment and operate in a less positive environment, which may have negative effects for the whole company.

Suggestions for Improving Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air quality clearly has a true, observable effect on employees, both physically and emotionally. This can have a number of consequences for a company, as dissatisfied and motivated workers are less likely to give their all, resulting in lower earnings, less energetic staff, and less appeal for talented recruits.

This is why it’s important for business owners to focus on protecting their indoor air quality and improving conditions for all employees, which can be accomplished in a number of ways.

Conducting tests and actually checking the air quality to identify pollutants and begin eliminating them is one of the most successful methods. You’ll be able to find out what you’re up against by taking tests and then changing the conditions in your workspaces with the right cleaning items and air filters.

A thorough cleaning, for example, may be needed for mold and extreme dust issues, and your office may need more fans, open windows, and even plants to release oxygen into the air and improve the quality for everyone.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to act quickly and avoid allowing poor air quality to ruin your company.