Telecommuting, often known as working from home(WFH), is growing more and more common in India, especially in bigger cities like Delhi. Many businesses now give their employees the choice to work from home either full- or part-time. Both companies and employees may benefit from this, as it can cut costs for the business and improve employee flexibility and work-life balance. However, air quality significantly impacts productivity and health. Let’s find out more about how bad air quality affects work from home(WFH) experience.
Working models:
The best model to use depends on the unique requirements and objectives of the business and its employees while preserving the best possible indoor air quality. Each model has advantages and disadvantages of its own.
- Hybrid working model– A more recent model of work that combines in-person and remote labor is called hybrid work. Employees can choose to work from home or another remote location occasionally while also visiting the office or a physical workspace on particular days or for specific amounts of time under this arrangement. Due to the ability to balance the flexibility and autonomy of remote work with the social and collaborative advantages of in-person work, this can be advantageous for both companies and employees.
- Work from home model– Employees that work from home (telecommuting) carry out their job responsibilities from a distant location, such as their house. This paradigm is characterized by autonomy, flexibility, and the absence of a set workday. However many factors can influence the work productivity in a work from home scenario, such as air quality of that area, disturbance factors, etc.
Bad air quality affects work from home(WFH): Graphical Analysis
As modern houses are becoming more and more airtight, air pollutants are accumulated very easily in a home. It was observed that pollution levels, especially CO2 levels were high in a home setting. This further affects the productivity of employees. They feel lethargic, and loss of coordination is noticed among the employees.
It is an inverse relation: As the air pollution levels increase, the productivity of employees decreases.
A study by Bjarne W. Olesen, International Center for Indoor Environment and Energy, Technical University of Denmark, has shown that poor indoor air quality causes sick-building syndrome and that it reduces the productivity of office workers.
Air pollutants that affect work from home productivity
There are several air pollutants that can affect work from home, including:
- Particulate matter: It is a suspended combination of liquid and solid particles in the air. They can range from microscopic particles to visible particles such as smoke, soot, liquid particles, and dust.
Sources:
- Cooking
- Cleaning products
- Smoking
- Furniture and building material
- Candle and incense burning
- Pets
- Mold and mildew
- Heating and cooling systems