Air pollution decreases work productivity
A study found that prolonged exposure to air pollution can also reduce employee’s productivity, besides affecting health.
The study showed that daily fluctuations in polluted air quality did not immediately affect the productivity of workers.
However, a definite drop in productivity output was witnessed when measured for more prolonged exposures of up to 30 days, the researchers said.
In addition, working in a highly polluted environment for long periods of time could affect mood or disposition to work.
‘Our aim with this research was to broaden the understanding of air pollution in ways that have not been explored. We typically think that firms benefit from lax pollution regulations, by saving on emission control equipment and the like; here we document an adverse effect on the productivity of their work force,’ said Alberto Salvo, Associate Professor from the National University of Singapore (NUS).
For the study, the team gathered information from textile factories in China which involved interviewing managers before obtaining access to data. The study was published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
The study compared how many pieces of fabric each worker produced each day to measures of the concentration of particulate matter that the worker was exposed to over time.
‘We found that an increase in PM2.5, by 10 micrograms per cubic metre sustained over 25 days, reduces daily output by one per cent, harming firms and workers,’ said Haoming Liu, Associate Professor of the varsity.
‘The effects are subtle but highly significant,’ said Liu.
The researchers, however, remain firm about the reasons that explain why productivity goes down when pollution goes up, the study noted.
