How Air Quality Testing Helps Businesses Maintain Safe and Productive Employees

Posted in Air Quality, on January 10, 2025

Business owners and managers looking to improve their working environment often start with office furniture or lighting — cosmetic changes that can help enhance the mood and comfort of your office space. At SafeAir, we suggest paying close attention to your indoor air quality, too, an often invisible but critical element that affects employee health, productivity, and safety just as much as an uncomfortable desk chair or harsh spotlights. Home air quality testing pays attention to indoor pollutants, airflow, humidity, temperature, and many other subtle but impactful qualities that have a significant effect on your working life. Here’s how to work happier, healthier, and safer at the office by identifying and addressing potential air quality issues. 

The Impact of Poor Air Quality on Employee Health

Most people believe poor air quality starts and stops with strange odours; at SafeAir, we know that the most dangerous air quality pollution is generally odourless, invisible, or so subtle that it’s challenging to detect. The effects of this exposure, however, are noticeable on your health and general wellness. Some of the common impacts we observe include:

• Respiratory Issues: Coughing, sneezing, and congestion may be the most common symptoms of air quality problems. These irritating effects can be hazardous for employees with asthma, bronchitis, or other respiratory conditions.
• Headaches and Fatigue: Various pollutants like Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), mold spores, or dust can all cause headaches and fatigue, leading to decreased productivity and concentration. 
• Increased Sick Days: Better indoor air quality has been shown to decrease absenteeism and improve overall morale. 

In our experience, many different workplace-specific pollutants can increase the impact of these effects. SafeAir’s customized testing ensures that the unique implications of your activities are addressed and understood so that solutions target areas that need the most help.  

How Air Quality Affects Employee Productivity

Some of the effects of poor air quality are obvious. If the whole office is constantly coughing or sneezing, everyone will know there’s something more than the flu going around. Beyond these physical effects, air quality issues also affect worker productivity, which can be harder to measure but has a more significant impact on your office culture, morale, and bottom line. 
Studies in controlled research environments show that indoor air quality can affect:

• Cognitive function and focus, reducing problem-solving capabilities, concentration, and efficiency. 
• Errors and Accidents. Poor air can distract employees, increase mistakes, and even lead to workplace accidents. 
• Employee well-being can be decreased at macro and micro levels. Even small changes to temperature and humidity, for example, can change mood and energy levels, which influences job performance.   

Common Sources of Indoor Air Pollution in Workplaces

At SafeAir, we’ve found that our customized air quality testing can reveal surprising causes of pollution in offices and workplaces — no matter your building’s age, state of repair, or activities. Some of the most common sources of air pollution indoors include:

• Building materials or construction.
• Ventilation issues. 
• Moisture issues like high or low humidity. 
• Mold. 
• Chemical exposure from cleaning products, equipment, or industrial processes. 
• Environmental pollution from neighbouring industries or highways. 
• Age-related materials, like asbestos. 

The Benefits of Air Quality Testing for Businesses

While each workplace is different, SafeAir clients report several benefits no matter what their business is. These benefits include improved employee health and wellness due to a more comfortable and healthy work environment. Employees with chronic conditions experience fewer sick days, and absenteeism can also often significantly decrease. Clean air improves health across the board! 

We also find that businesses that undergo environmental assessments tend to rate higher when it comes to workplace health and safety standards. Air quality improvements may help your business achieve professional certifications that bring you greater recognition and client trust, too. 

How SafeAir Helps Businesses Achieve Better Air Quality

The breath is an essential part of many wellness practices and a necessary part of relaxation, hinting at the role clean and safe air has to our overall health. At SafeAir, we’ve been helping clients and homeowners improve their environments with home air quality testing in Toronto and the GTA. By paying close attention to indoor air quality, pollutants, and their effects on health and wellness, we’ve helped thousands of clients live, work, and play happier, healthier, and more safely. To learn more about workplace air quality testing or our methods, reach out to the SafeAir team to learn more about our high-quality testing and remediation services today. 

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