Objective indoor air quality parameters and their association to respiratory health and well-being among office workers

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests that environmental attributes of office spaces have significant impacts on human health, well-being and job productivity. Therefore, understanding the associations between environmental and social factors of work and human health is necessary for improving the design and operation of a new type of commercial real estate that support the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit. MethodsWe used a validated survey-based health evaluation tool-the Flourishing Index (FI), to assess the well-being of office workers and its association with indoor environmental quality (IEQ). We deployed environmental monitoring sensors and measured carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter of 2.5 μm (PM2.5), temperature and relative humidity, PM2.5and asked participants to rate the environmental factors on a 5-point scale, based upon their perception. We surveyed 574 employees from one company with workplaces in seven buildings located in downtown Bangkok. ResultsParticipants' FI scores had significant positive correlations with reported satisfaction of IAQ, noise, temperature, and light in their workspace. We found that increased CO2 concentrations, lower IAQ satisfaction, and lower FI scores were associated with increased reports of respiratory symptoms, including shortness-of-breath, cough, and sore-throat. Moreover, PM2.5 and CO2 concentration were negatively correlated with FI scores. However, the relationship between CO2 and FI was fully mediated by IAQ satisfaction while PM2.5 directly affected FI. Our research characterizes the interconnected relationships between IEQ and the well-being of office workers and highlights the application of continuous environmental monitoring for assessing employees’ health indoors.