Better Indoor Air Quality for better work
Updated: Feb 24
Would you breath the dark smoke from a truck's exhaust or any kind of dark fog with a toxic smell that comes your way? You wouldn't, because you know it's bad for your health. But what do you do if you can't see or smell polluted air?
With almost 90% of our time spent indoors, and pollution being 5 to 10 times worse inside than outside*, Indoor Air Quality is one of the most underrated health concerns in the built environment. With the unfolding Great Resignation and an ongoing battle for talents, IAQ has become an essential element in a healthy and qualitative workspace that organizations can no longer ignore.
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Clean air for clear thinking
Whether they're working from your office space or from their homes, your people are operating indoors and their health, productivity and overall wellbeing are being impacted by air quality. Poor IAQ doesn’t just make your people unhealthy, it makes them slower, less accurate and inevitably less productive**. The more polluted the air is, the worse your people will perform, it's really that simple. After cleaning the indoor air, employers have seen workplace productivity increase by up to 11%. ***
From the paint on the walls, to the printer or even the furniture materials, air pollutants can come from many sources indoors. From irritation and discomfort, to respiratory and mental illnesses resulting in sick days and long-term health problems, poor IAQ can compromise your people's health, increase absenteeism and be costly for your organization.
What can you do?
Ventilation, contaminants' control and thermal comfort are the main aspects influencing your IAQ, and certain behaviors can help you improve it, such as:
Opening windows to bring in fresh air - if possible - and depending on where your office is located (there're places and times during which outdoor air is worse than indoors').
Keeping your workplace clean to reduce the spread of mold, dust, allergens, and other contaminants through the air.
Using eco-friendly cleaning products to avoid the release of harsh chemical compounds into the air.
Maintaining and cleaning your HVAC regularly, and making sure to change the filters every now and then to prevent air pollutants from circulating back to your indoor air.
Measuring continuously your IAQ through air monitors instead of relying on sporadic checks. It will help you measure and understand the specificities of your IAQ and create an actionable strategy to improve it over time.
IAQ is influenced by multiple elements and can be complex to tackle. As your employees are more health-conscious than ever before, fostering a healthy and durable work environment for your team through continuous air monitoring is essential.
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At Spacebloom, we can help you choose the right air monitors for accurate, timely, and detailed air quality data. Get in touch and let us help you establish an efficient long-term strategy to promote a work environment that fits your organization's needs and your people's values.
*EPA
***World Green Building Council.