- Airing the home office creates a better atmosphere
Frequent ventilation in the home office boosts productivity and reduces burnout risk. Better air quality also contributes to a positive attitude towards working from home. This emerged from a survey of around 1,000 Dutch employees in November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The respondents found the ambient conditions in the home office better, but preferred the technical equipment of their office workspace. A group of the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, led by Martijn Stroom, published the study's results in the journal "Plos One".
Survey on temperature, noise to Wi-Fi
Many previous studies have yielded varying results regarding the productivity and satisfaction of employees working from home. Stroom and colleagues used data collected during the pandemic to identify factors influencing employees' attitudes towards working from home.
Participants were asked to evaluate which aspects related to their work were better at home or in the office. These included indoor environmental conditions such as temperature, air quality, lighting, and noise. They also inquired about equipment, namely desk, chair, screen, computer hardware, and Wi-Fi.
Home environment better
While participants rated all environmental conditions better on average in the home office than in the office, it was the opposite for equipment. On a seven-point scale, temperature was rated 5.13 at home and 4.59 in the office.
Women rated their productivity in the home office higher than men on average. Additionally, the larger the household, the higher the average self-reported productivity in the home office. However, overall, participants rated their productivity in the office higher (7.11 on a ten-point scale) than at home (6.84).
Focus on ventilation
The researchers paid particular attention to the relationship between ventilation and other aspects of the home office. It is already known that stagnant air can lead to fatigue and concentration problems. Through statistical analysis, they found that as fresh air supply increased (from zero to 100 percent), so did satisfaction with environmental conditions and equipment.
This indirectly increased the perceived productivity (0.4 points on a ten-point scale) and willingness to continue working from home (1.2 points). Meanwhile, burnout tendency decreased (0.4 points on a seven-point scale) with increased ventilation duration. However, the researchers note that the data is based on participants' estimates.
"We find that ventilation in the home office is a key underlying factor in predicting overall satisfaction and is indirectly associated with increased productivity, increased willingness to work from home, and lower burnout tendency," the study authors conclude.
Experts recommend opening windows multiple times a day
But how much ventilation is enough? If the air in a room is stagnant, harmful substances can accumulate. These include exhaled carbon dioxide (CO2) and emissions from furniture and building materials. Regarding carbon dioxide, experts consider 1000 ppm (parts per million) in indoor air to be acceptable.
To prevent these from being exceeded, the room air should be completely exchanged several times a day through forced ventilation or cross-ventilation. How often this is necessary depends on how many people are inside and how airtight the house is. CO2 meters, also known as "CO2 traffic lights," indicate the concentration of the gas, room temperature, and relative humidity.
Consumer Advice Center Study: How to Heat and Ventilate BMUV: How to Ventilate and Heat Correctly
The scientific study conducted by Martijn Stroom and his team at the University of Maastricht found that increased ventilation in the home office is directly linked to improved satisfaction with environmental conditions and equipment, leading to higher perceived productivity and a lower burnout tendency. Experts recommend opening windows multiple times a day to ensure adequate ventilation and prevent harmful substances from accumulating in the indoor air.
