How to Improve Your Indoor Environment on a Budget

Your business is always evolving, and the way you approach efficiency and sustainability should, too. The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of your workspaces can have a huge impact on your employees' health, wellness, comfort and productivity, making it a clear focus area for your next project.

IEQ encompasses air quality, daylight and views, sound levels, and general occupant comfort. Making improvements in these areas with big changes to expensive systems can be costly, but luckily, you don't have to break the bank to enhance the IEQ of your business.

Use Daylighting

Using natural lighting as a substitute for electrical lighting can provide multiple benefits. Rooms with windows that receive an adequate amount of natural light could eliminate the need for any overhead lights — as long as your employees are only present when the sun is out. Light shelves or reflective surfaces can direct sunlight into normally dark areas, too.

Daylighting also allows for light layering, or using natural light as the main, ambient light in a room and allows employees to use lower energy task lighting where they need it most. Plus, natural light can boost moods, increase productivity and reduce stress levels, so maximizing the amount of daylight in your workplace is key.

Reduce Airborne Toxins

Good indoor air quality (IAQ) is crucial to ensuring a healthy and productive work environment. You can improve yours by assessing where toxins, contaminants and odors may be present.

Employees can bring in toxins on their clothes or shoes, but some threats come from within, too. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from paints, adhesives, carpets, particle boards and more can be released into the air. If it's not in the budget to replace any of those harmful products, you can target those toxins in a similar way to those that enter the space from outside.

Adding entryway systems, such as grates, grills and walk-off mats can help trap dust, dirt and other harmful particles brought into the building. Other solutions include:

•    Adding indoor plants to the workspace
•    Prohibiting smoking indoors and near operable windows and air intake vents
•    Utilizing high-efficiency MERV filters in your HVAC system

Clean the Right Way

Removing dirt and contaminants from the facility decreases the occurrence of "sick building syndrome" — when occupants experience acute health and comfort effects as a result of spending time in an unclean, enclosed space. This can increase employee dissatisfaction, hinder productivity and increase the number of days called off.

While it's important to keep things clean, occupant health can also be impacted by the types of chemicals used to sanitize your building and how you use them. Switch to less toxic cleaning products when possible. Establish clear guidelines about how often common areas should be cleaned and disinfected, and provide cleaning staff with personal protective equipment when handling hazardous materials like chemicals or solvents used for deep cleaning.

Improve your IEQ doesn't have to cost you a fortune. Small, inexpensive changes can make a big difference when it comes to creating a safe and healthy workplace for your employees.