Improved Health means Increased Productivity

Optimal workforce health contributes to increased productivity, a sense of well-being, and job satisfaction.  Infectious disease transmission, allergy and asthma symptoms, respiratory disease, odors and symptoms of sick-building syndrome such as irritation of eyes, nose and skin, headaches, fatigue and difficulty breathing all take a toll on the workforce.

One study, which looked at the effect of indoor environment quality on employee health and productivity in the United States, concluded that improving indoor air quality leads to significant reductions in illness and has a direct positive impact on productivity as well.  The authors estimated a potential direct increase in employee performance to be in the range of 0.5 to 5 percent due to a reduction in the number of incidents of allergies and asthma, respiratory disease, and symptoms of sick-building syndrome.  Their estimate of the annual economic costs of these common respiratory illnesses was 180 million lost workdays, 120 million additional days of restricted activity and approximately $36 billion ($140 per person) in health-care costs.