Majority of UK managers believe in importance of air quality in the workplace but fewer investing in improvements

The majority (90 per cent) of UK leaders, managers and owners believe that air quality in the workplace is important, according to Dyson’s ‘Air Purity Pulse Check’ report. This directly correlates with the public, with 90 per cent saying that air quality in the workplace is important to them as well.

However, there is clearly a mismatch between what is considered important by decision-makers and what actions they are taking: only 65 per cent of managers say that air quality in the workplace is a business priority, and half of people polled say that the organisations they work for have invested in indoor air quality.

The findings suggest that indoor air quality should be a business priority to aid staff wellbeing and retention. Two thirds (66 per cent) of people polled said they would be uncomfortable working somewhere with poor air quality and nearly half (46 per cent) said air quality would be a consideration when deciding to take a job.

When it comes to poor air quality’s effects on health, the UK public is even more worried: 55 per cent of those surveyed say that they are concerned about poor air quality impacting their health and, of that group, 80 per cent of respondents say they have become more concerned about this in the past three years.

Tim Jones CEng MIET, Lead Research Engineer at Dyson, commented: “Despite indoor air quality being much more prevalent in our lives, people are far more aware of the impacts of poor outdoor air quality. At Dyson, we believe that it’s time to make the invisible visible and the Air Purity Pulse Check report aims to do exactly this.

“The past five years have changed our relationship with air quality, as we spend the majority of our time indoors. In particular, the public r has been made much more aware of the air circulating in their indoor spaces, whether in a shared or private space.

“Despite its importance, indoor air pollution is largely invisible so has flown under the radar. This in-depth study illustrates the current views and opinions of the public and business owners, creating a ‘pulse check’ on the nation when it comes to indoor air quality.”

Read the full Air Purity Pulse Check report here: