As more people head back to offices this fall (NYC’s 300,000 municipal workers just returned to in-person work), there’s an increased emphasis on healthy workspaces. Studies show that employees in clean buildings with good ventilation are more productive. And prospective workers now say they consider a healthy work environment, along with compensation, when deciding on a new job.
Harvard University professor Joseph Allen and senior lecturer John Macomber have studied public health data on workplaces and written the book, Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity.
They point out that, in a typical year, a worker will take two million breaths in their office, so what they’re breathing in really matters.
“A study of workers found that they reported more headaches and worked 6.5% more slowly on a typing test when they were in an office with a pollution source,” Allen and Macomber wrote in an article in the Harvard Book Review. “The ‘pollution source’ in question? A dirty carpet.”
Other interesting data points?
“Every time you double the rate of outdoor air delivered into an office, worker performance improves by 1.7%,” they wrote.
“It’s no surprise, then, that an analysis of sick leave data for more than 3,000 workers across 40 buildings found that 57% of all sick leave was attributable to poor ventilation.”
Allen and Macomber offer “9 Foundations of a Healthy Building,” which are ventilation, air quality, thermal health, moisture, dust & pests, safety & security, water quality, noise, and lighting/views.
Not only can a healthy building attract employees and make them more productive, it can save money, according to the researchers. The benefits of higher ventilation alone are estimated to be between $6.,000 and $7,500 per person per year, they say.
Allen and Macomber go on to cite a study at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory showing that improving indoor air quality in offices could add as much as $20 billion annually to the U.S. economy.
AffinEco understands the importance of healthy and clean workspaces, especially during the pandemic.
“Our clients have had confidence to bring employees back to their workspaces knowing their locations are sanitized,” said Michael Diamond, AffinEco managing partner.
“The Delta variant and the future of the pandemic is still in flux, but AffinEco has worked tirelessly to be prepared with materials, equipment, and a larger workforce to be a reliable partner for our clients.”
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