It’s widely known that poor indoor air quality can cause life-threatening health problems, like asthma, neurotoxic symptoms, respiratory disease, and allergies.
But did you know that indoor quality also affects your productivity, attention-span, and overall work performance?
According to the Australian Government, we spend around 90% of our time indoors. Over a lifetime, that’s tens of thousands of hours at work and billions of inhalations of air. And what if every breath you take is polluted with invisible dust, mold, or chemical particles (e.g. from old carpets, toxic wall paints, floor sealants, the chemicals you use to clean your workspace, or wood finishes)?
Carbon dioxide and cognitive performance
A recent study, conducted by a team of researchers at Harvard University, revealed that an excessive amount of carbon dioxide in your work environment could have a negative impact on your work performance. After studying a simulated office environment for an extended period of time, the researchers found that when workers were moved from an office with low carbon dioxide concentrations to one with high levels there was a 15%-50% percent decrease in cognitive performance. In the work environment with inadequate ventilation, airflow, and air filtration the workers struggled to think, reason, and solve simple problems.
Optimise employee productivity
If filtered air can improve employee productivity, health, and work performance, then buildings with excellent air quality become an essential human resources tool and offer a competitive advantage. The CSIRO estimates that the cost of poor indoor air quality in Australia may be as high as $12 billion per year*. That’s a lot of lost money! To optimise productivity, increase employee performance, save money, and minimise health problems (especially headaches, fatigue and respiratory disorders), it is important to install a superior air conditioning system in your workplace, ensure that your building has optimal airflow, and that you have a good filtration system in place.
If you’re interested in learning more about installing new air conditioners for you home or workplace, contact Star Air Conditioning today!
*Brown, S.K. (1998) Beating the $12 Billion Cost of Polluted Air. CSIRO Press Release, Ref 98/55.
