How IAQ Affects Health, Happiness, and Productivity

The answer is all around us

If you could make everyone around you a little happier, healthier, and smarter, would you?

I struggle to think of the case where the answer is not a resounding YES.

The boss responsible for creating a space for workers to show up everyday and produce at their highest level is undoubtedly saying yes. She sees statistics surrounding higher turnover & employee burnout and is looking for any solution to push her company in the right direction. Anything to reduce the costs of decreased productivity, increased sick days, and continuously filling newly-empty seats.

I imagine the parents of a young family are on the same page as well. With aspirations for their children to be capable, healthy, and happy and the fatigue of balancing those ambitions with the chaos of raising young children, a low-maintenance way to positively affect the household seems desirable.

I could rattle off a dozen more scenarios where this desire exists, but you get the point. From Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics to Adam Sandler’s seminal film Click, our innate desire for more control and understanding over our happiness, health, and productivity has been well documented.

It’s all around us

The cool thing is that a key factor affecting these three things is all around is: our air quality. More specifically, the quality of air in the indoor spaces where you spend most (90% on average) of your time.

But does something as pervasive as the air we breathe really vary that much? Isn’t air just air?

Kind of.

Air quality varies by the quantity and quality of pollutants existing in the air, which can vary depending on building vintage, insulation, ventilation, and a number of other variables. These pollutants include (but are not limited to) lead, nitrogen dioxide, radon, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds.

Unfortunately, these pollutants affect us in major ways. On the happiness front, specific pollutants like particulate matter has been identified as factors increasing the likelihood of depressive mental health conditions.

As for health, it’s estimated that over 100,000 premature deaths occur each year due to illness related to pollution. It’s estimated that these air pollution-related illnesses cost $150B per year, with the EPA attributing $90B of that to sick building syndrome.

Lastly, the Harvard School of Public Health determined that particulate matter (PM2.5) and decreased ventilation rates are associated with acute reductions in cognitive function. You’re literally less intelligent when you’re breathing dirty air.

TLDR; (and next steps)

In short, odds are high that you could make people sharing your space happier, healthier, and more productive simply by improving your space’s air quality. This goes for homeowners, business operators, and anyone else responsible for an indoor space intended to host people. Especially considering the EPA’s claim that indoor air quality tends to be worse than air quality outdoors, it’s clear that there’s room for improvement. 

Luckily, there are solutions. In my follow-up, you’ll find a one-stop guide to the providers and strategies you can use to guarantee cleaner air in your space (whatever it may be), making occupants happier, healthier, and smarter.