Recently, a new, extensive study published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics on January 3, 2019 revealed that contrary to popular belief, businesses do suffer from being lax on pollution regulations by saving on emissions control equipment, like air filtration systems, and it's quantifiable. The main reason is inferior productivity in their workforce.

The study measured workers' productivity, daily in factories, (through different shifts) which were paid according to the amount they produced. The comparisons were made by the concentration of particulate matter that the workers were exposed to.

The outcome: Prolonged exposure (of up to 30 days) to inferior air quality above the "safe limit" set by the US Environmental Agency shows a significant drop in overall productivity.

”We found that an increase in PM2.5, by 10 micrograms per cubic meter sustained over 25 days, reduces daily output by 1 per cent, harming firms and workers,“ says Associate Professor Liu, from the Department of Economics at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

At one facility, PM2.5 levels averaged about seven times the safety limit.

A previous study focusing on American workers in a food packing facility found a considerable and immediate effect from exposure to PM2.5; specifically when levels rose by 10 micrograms per cubic meter, workers became 6% less productive on the same day.

Discover the benefits of clean air for your business

• better productivity
• a healthier work force
• cleaner equipment and products
• less downtime and maintenance
• averting unnecessary interruptions in your processes and agendas

Maintaining the indoor air quality in your specific working environment has many immediate and future proofing benefits. Click here to read more or choose which type of business you work in on the top menu to see how businesses in your field are seeing the advantages of a clean air environment.

*The full, published study can be found here.