Air Quality and the Future of Work: Why IAQ Matters So Much to Employees
Tuesday, 10th January 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic certainly had a lot to teach us about the importance of good indoor air quality (IAQ). But even though the most challenging days of the pandemic are behind us, Infogrid’s most recent research indicates that concerns about IAQ are set to persist long into the future.
Our study revealed that most employees are concerned that poor IAQ is affecting their health. What’s more, we found younger members of the workforce are the ones most concerned.
Crucially, we found that almost half of those under 35 think their companies could be doing more to manage workplace air quality. When asked, a substantial number of employees felt that facility managers haven’t considered air quality in workspace design. Many would like to see their employees taking concrete steps to improve IAQ at work in the future.
There’s no doubt about it: the modern workforce wants employers to drastically improve IAQ. With a younger generation more aware of the negative impacts of IAQ than ever before, employers need to get on board—and quickly.
In this article, we take a deep dive into exactly what employees want when it comes to air quality and the future of work, and the best strategies to safeguard the health of your workforce long into the future.
How do employees feel about air quality at work?
We surveyed 4,000 hybrid working employees from the UK and US on their perspectives on IAQ at work.
We found three clear trends across all age ranges:
The majority of employees in the US and UK are worried that poor IAQ is affecting their general health. About three-quarters (74%) of employees in the US and just over half (52%) of employees in the UK say they’re concerned.
Most employees are already aware of the impact CO2 levels can have on productivity. About four-fifths in the US (77%) and three-fifths (60%) of employees in the UK said they were aware of the effects of high CO2 on productivity at work.
Many employees agree that providing clean air is ‘vitally important’ to creating a healthy workplace. 31% of respondents in the US and 29% in the UK agreed with this statement.
This tallies with research done for View's ‘Future Workplace Wellness Study’, a survey of 1,601 corporate office employees. The survey revealed that 50% of participants felt poor air quality made them sleepier throughout the workday and 31% said they lose more than an hour of work per day due to environmental factors, including air quality.
How do employees feel about the future when it comes to IAQ?
One way to discern longer-term future workplace trends is to focus on the perspectives of younger employees. When it came to concerns about IAQ amongst the younger generation, our survey results were very telling:
Younger employees were significantly more concerned about the effects of IAQ on their health. 85% of respondents aged 18-34 in the US, and 66% in the UK, were either ‘fairly’ or ‘very concerned’.
Younger employees are the most aware when it comes to CO2 levels and productivity. In the US, 87% of employees aged 18-34 rated themselves as ‘fairly’ and ‘very aware’, in the UK, this figure was 70%.
Nearly half of those under 35 think their companies could be doing more to manage workplace air quality. 49% in the US and 48% in the UK of those under 35 say their companies could do more to manage IAQ.
And there’s another side to consider when it comes to air quality and the future of work—the causes of poor air quality and greenhouse gas emissions are often shared.
For example, inefficient, poorly maintained HVAC systems perform below standard when it comes to IAQ, but they take more energy to run, which generates more greenhouse gas emissions. So if you commit to improving IAQ in the workplace, you'll also be taking steps to lower your greenhouse gas emissions.
Of course, a business’s carbon footprint is a major factor when it comes to workplace sustainability. According to our recent report, today’s employees are already concerned about workplace sustainability, and many believe businesses aren’t doing enough to improve.
That means when it comes to attracting and retaining the workforce of the future, ensuring your workplace is sustainable as it can be will be crucial.
What do employees want their workplaces to do about IAQ?
Whilst it may seem easy to take a sticking-plaster approach to the problem, our research shows that employees are looking for bigger-picture, long-term solutions to IAQ. They want measures that will transform workplace infrastructure and company culture.
Here are some ideas from our survey to consider in future:
A change in company policy to highlight IAQ. About a quarter (28% and 25% of respondents in the US and UK) said they’d support the idea of clean air being turned into company policy.
Employee consultation. 28% of respondents in the US, and 20% of respondents in the UK feel that it’s important that their company consults them on the experience of their work environment.
A change to equipment and maintenance. About one fifth (20% in the US and 17% in the UK) don’t believe that ventilation systems are fit for purpose.
Intentional workspace design. Many employees feel that FMs haven’t considered air quality when designing their workspace. About one in five workers in the US and UK (22% and 17% respectively) don’t believe FMs have given enough consideration to air quality in the design of their workplace.
So rather than providing shiny ‘perks’, employees want their employers to get the fundamentals right.
Other studies have found this too. For example, participants in the View's ‘Future Workplace Wellness Study’ said getting temperature and air quality right at work meant four times more to them than having onsite gym facilities.
Infogrid’s healthy building system: A complete IAQ solution for now and the future
The Healthy Building system from Infogrid uses cutting-edge technology and AI to provide a comprehensive solution for clean, safe workplaces—now and in the future.
Here at Infogrid, we know great air quality comes from well-maintained, efficient, and healthy buildings. Our solution goes far beyond basic air filtering. With discreet, easy-install sensors and our proprietary AI platform, you can:
Automatically measure key indicators of air quality, including CO2, VOCs, temperature and humidity, all in real-time.
Optimise your HVAC system and run preventative maintenance, so you can ensure all of your systems are running optimally, all the time.
Track occupancy alongside air quality and assess viral risk.
Collect reliable, accurate data on your building’s air quality, and easily share the results with your workforce.
Don’t just tackle the symptoms of poor IAQ—commit to your employees’ wellbeing with the Healthy Building Solution from Infogrid.
And don’t just take our word for it. After installation, the Royal Sun Alliance Insurance Group now has concrete measures in place to reduce viral risk and improve employee comfort. The result? Employees who feel safer returning to the office and positive feedback from workers and unions alike.
Invest in your workplace’s future with Infogrid. Try it out for yourself with our online demo, here.