It’s hard to get work done in a facility without clean air. In fact, ever since the Industrial Revolution, one of the main drawbacks to working in an industrial facility was poor air quality. Unclean air results in health issues and lower productivity.
According to recent research, unclean air also causes something else: unhappiness.
How Air Pollution Hurts Happiness
The science is definite and clear about the impact air pollution has on health. It carries with it a very real cost in that regard. Researchers at the University of Beijing and MIT conducted a study in which they found that there’s another cost involved: an emotional cost.
The research team took air pollution data from 144 cities in China and examined the mood of the population in these cities by studying 210 million messages from a prominent social media platform in the country. By comparing the two data sets, they found a negative correlation between the amount of air pollution in the environment and the happiness level of the population.
What’s the implication for business? According to researchers, unhappy workers are problematic for companies because they are more likely to make poor, irrational decisions that can ultimately hurt the company. Performance suffers due to low morale, and air pollution can be a cause of it.
Helping Keep Workers Healthy and Happy
Fortunately, air pollution in a workplace is something that can be handled with air pollution control systems.
Industrial air control equipment, from dry and wet electrostatic precipitators to dust collectors and scrubbers, keeps the air free from particulate matter that can cause health problems. Per research, this cleaner air also helps maintain emotional stability, or at least ward off unhappy moods that can diminish performance.
Depending on your industry, air control systems may be required. If your facility is prone to certain contaminants that are regulated by OSHA, then some kind of air control system is mandatory in order to comply with regulations.
Even if it’s not mandated by law, it’s probably mandated by the demands of your facility. Most owners and managers understand the need to keep air clean, but with this new research, you have even more of an incentive to do so.
After all, happy workers are productive workers – and unhappy workers are poor ones.
Southern Field provides air control systems for a variety of industries. Contact our team for more information on designing, fabricating, and installing air pollution control equipment for your facility.