Ventilation: 11% gains in productivity

A 2003 study links improved ventilation with up to 11% gains in productivity, as a result of increased outside air rates, dedicated delivery of fresh air to the workstation, and reduced levels of pollutants5.

A meta-analysis in 2006 of 24 studies6 – including 6 office studies – found that poor air quality (and elevated temperatures) consistently lowered performance by up to 10%, on measures such as typing speed and units output. This analysis appeared to demonstrate that the optimum ventilation rate is between 20 and 30 litres/second (l/s), with benefits tailing off from 30 up to 50l/s. This is significantly higher than minimum standards required, which are typically between 8-10l/s (although these vary considerably by country)