Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office

Kamrie Sarnosky; Mark Benden; Leslie Cizmas; Annette Regan; Garett Sansom

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12

| Peer-Reviewed

Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office

Kamrie Sarnosky, Mark Benden, Leslie Cizmas, Annette Regan, Garett Sansom

Published in International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 9, Issue 2)

Received: 3 March 2021 Accepted: 30 March 2021 Published: 12 April 2021

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated an already existing trend of individuals increasingly working remotely. With the growing popularity of remote working, specifically in a home office, there is a critical need to better understand and characterize the potential environmental differences between these two spaces. Indoor air pollution can have adverse health effects and impair cognitive functioning. Methods: This small pilot cohort study (N=22) recruited home and office workers to better understand the indoor air quality between these spaces. Air contaminants collected and assessed included PM₁₀ and PM_2.5, carbon dioxide (CO₂), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). Results: Findings showed a strong statistically significant increase in all measured variables within homes in comparison to traditional offices (p<0.001). Within in individuals’ homes three was a marked increase in variability of environmental conditions in comparison to traditionally offices. These results indicate that those who work from home are at increased risk due to longer exposures to higher levels of certain contaminants, the importance to better develop interventions to mitigate this reality is underscored by the fact that many workers will be moving to home-based offices in the coming years. Conclusion: Traditionally, working adults would split their time between a home and office microenvironment. However, the transition of the workforce from a commercial office building to a home-based office results in more time in the residential microenvironment. This study suggests that home workers may be asked to shoulder an undue burden of environmental conditions than traditional office workers.

Published in	International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12
Page(s)	40-44
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Home Office, Indoor Air Quality, Remote Work, COVID-19

References

[1]	Dales, R., Liu, L., Wheeler, A. J., & Gilbert, N. L. (2008). Quality of indoor residential air and health. CMAJ, 179 (2), 147-152.
[2]	Bernstein, J. A., Alexis, N., Bacchus, H., Bernstein, L., Fritz, P., Homer, E.,... Tarlo, S. M. (2008). The health effects of nonindustrial indoor air pollution. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 121 (3), 585-591.
[3]	Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2015). 24 percent of employed people did some or all of their work at home in 2015. Retrieved November 2018, from The Economics Daily: https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/24-percent-of-employed-people-did-some-or-all-of-their-work-at-home-in-2015.htm
[4]	Béland, L. P., Brodeur, A., & Wright, T. (2020). The short-term economic consequences of Covid-19: exposure to disease, remote work and government response.
[5]	Gomzi, M., & Bobić, J. (2009). SICK BUILDING SYNDROME Do we live and work in unhealthy environment?. Periodicum biologorum, 111 (1), 79-84.
[6]	Chi, R., Chen, C., Li, H., Pan, L., Zhao, B., Deng, F., & Guo, X. (2019). Different health effects of indoor-and outdoor-originated PM_2.5 on cardiopulmonary function in COPD patients and healthy elderly adults. Indoor air, 29 (2), 192-201.
[7]	Dehbi HM, Blangiardo M, Gulliver J, et al. Air pollution and cardiovascular mortality with over 25 years follow-up: A combined analysis of two British cohorts. Environ Int. 2017; 99: 275-281.
[8]	Karottki DG, Beko G, Clausen G, et al. Cardiovascular and lung function in relation to outdoor and indoor exposure to fine and ultrafine particulate matter in middle-aged subjects. Environ Int. 2014; 73: 372-381.
[9]	Lu, F., Xu, D., Cheng, Y., Dong, S., Guo, C., Jiang, X., & Zheng, X. (2015). Systematic review and meta-analysis of the adverse health effects of ambient PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ pollution in the Chinese population. Environmental research, 136, 196-204.
[10]	United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2018, June 20). Health and Environmental Effects of Particulate Matter (PM). Retrieved October 2018, from Particulate Matter (PM) Pollution: https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/health-and-environmental-effects-particulate-matter-pm
[11]	Ackermann-Liebrich, U., Leuenberger, P., Schwartz, J., Schindler, C., Monn, C., Bolognini, G.,... Tsc. (1997). Lung function and long term exposure to air pollutants in Switzerland. Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA) Team. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (155), 122-129.
[12]	Sekine, K., Shima, M., Nitta, Y., & Adachi, M. (2004). Long term effects of exposure to automobile exhaust on the pulmonary function of female adults in Tokyo, Japan. Occupational Environmental Medicine, 61 (4), 350-357.
[13]	Offerman, F. J. (2010). IAQ in Airtight Homes. ASHRAE Journal, 52 (11), 58-60.
[14]	Abt, E., Suh, H. H., Catalano, P., & Koutrakis, P. (2000). Relative contribution of outdoor and indoor particle sources to indoor concentrations. Environmental Science & Technology, 34, 3579-3587.
[15]	United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2017, April 12). Technical overview of volatile organic compounds. Retrieved November 2018, from Indoor Air Quality: https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/technical-overview-volatile-organic-compounds
[16]	International Agency for Research on Cancer. (2018, November 2). Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1-123. Retrieved August 2019, from https://monographs.iarc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ClassificationsAlphaOrder.pdf
[17]	Allen, J. G., MacNaughton, P., Satish, U., Santanam, S., Vallarino, J., & Spengler, J. D. (2016). Associations of cognitive function scores with carbon dioxide, ventilation and volatile organic compound exposures in office workers: a controlled exposure study of green and conventional office environments. Environmental Health Perspectives, 124 (6), 805-812.
[18]	Delgado-Saborit, J. M., Aquilina, N. J., Meddings, C., Baker, S., & Harrison, R. M. (2011). Relationship of personal exposure to volatile organic compounds to home, work and fixed site outdoor concentrations. Science of the Total Environment, 409, 478-488.
[19]	Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. (2020, June). Minimal Risk Levels (MRLs) List. Retrieved September 2019, from Minimal Risk Levels (MRLs) for Hazardous Substances: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mrls/mrllist.asp
[20]	Tsai, D. H., Lin, J. S., & Chan, C. C. (2012). Office workers' sick building syndrome and indoor carbon dioxide concentrations. J Occup Environ Hyg, 9 (5), 345-51.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Kamrie Sarnosky, Mark Benden, Leslie Cizmas, Annette Regan, Garett Sansom. (2021). Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 9(2), 40-44. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Kamrie Sarnosky; Mark Benden; Leslie Cizmas; Annette Regan; Garett Sansom. Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2021, 9(2), 40-44. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Kamrie Sarnosky, Mark Benden, Leslie Cizmas, Annette Regan, Garett Sansom. Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2021;9(2):40-44. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12,
  author = {Kamrie Sarnosky and Mark Benden and Leslie Cizmas and Annette Regan and Garett Sansom},
  title = {Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {40-44},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20210902.12},
  abstract = {Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated an already existing trend of individuals increasingly working remotely. With the growing popularity of remote working, specifically in a home office, there is a critical need to better understand and characterize the potential environmental differences between these two spaces. Indoor air pollution can have adverse health effects and impair cognitive functioning. Methods: This small pilot cohort study (N=22) recruited home and office workers to better understand the indoor air quality between these spaces. Air contaminants collected and assessed included PM10 and PM2.5, carbon dioxide (CO2), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). Results: Findings showed a strong statistically significant increase in all measured variables within homes in comparison to traditional offices (pConclusion: Traditionally, working adults would split their time between a home and office microenvironment. However, the transition of the workforce from a commercial office building to a home-based office results in more time in the residential microenvironment. This study suggests that home workers may be asked to shoulder an undue burden of environmental conditions than traditional office workers.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office
AU  - Kamrie Sarnosky
AU  - Mark Benden
AU  - Leslie Cizmas
AU  - Annette Regan
AU  - Garett Sansom
Y1  - 2021/04/12
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 40
EP  - 44
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12
AB  - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated an already existing trend of individuals increasingly working remotely. With the growing popularity of remote working, specifically in a home office, there is a critical need to better understand and characterize the potential environmental differences between these two spaces. Indoor air pollution can have adverse health effects and impair cognitive functioning. Methods: This small pilot cohort study (N=22) recruited home and office workers to better understand the indoor air quality between these spaces. Air contaminants collected and assessed included PM10 and PM2.5, carbon dioxide (CO2), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). Results: Findings showed a strong statistically significant increase in all measured variables within homes in comparison to traditional offices (pConclusion: Traditionally, working adults would split their time between a home and office microenvironment. However, the transition of the workforce from a commercial office building to a home-based office results in more time in the residential microenvironment. This study suggests that home workers may be asked to shoulder an undue burden of environmental conditions than traditional office workers.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Kamrie Sarnosky

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Texas A&M School of Public Health, College Station, USA
Mark Benden

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Texas A&M School of Public Health, College Station, USA
Leslie Cizmas

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Texas A&M School of Public Health, College Station, USA
Annette Regan

Department of Epidemiology, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, USA
Garett Sansom

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Texas A&M School of Public Health, College Station, USA

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Kamrie Sarnosky, Mark Benden, Leslie Cizmas, Annette Regan, Garett Sansom. (2021). Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 9(2), 40-44. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Kamrie Sarnosky; Mark Benden; Leslie Cizmas; Annette Regan; Garett Sansom. Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2021, 9(2), 40-44. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Kamrie Sarnosky, Mark Benden, Leslie Cizmas, Annette Regan, Garett Sansom. Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2021;9(2):40-44. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12,
  author = {Kamrie Sarnosky and Mark Benden and Leslie Cizmas and Annette Regan and Garett Sansom},
  title = {Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {40-44},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20210902.12},
  abstract = {Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated an already existing trend of individuals increasingly working remotely. With the growing popularity of remote working, specifically in a home office, there is a critical need to better understand and characterize the potential environmental differences between these two spaces. Indoor air pollution can have adverse health effects and impair cognitive functioning. Methods: This small pilot cohort study (N=22) recruited home and office workers to better understand the indoor air quality between these spaces. Air contaminants collected and assessed included PM10 and PM2.5, carbon dioxide (CO2), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). Results: Findings showed a strong statistically significant increase in all measured variables within homes in comparison to traditional offices (pConclusion: Traditionally, working adults would split their time between a home and office microenvironment. However, the transition of the workforce from a commercial office building to a home-based office results in more time in the residential microenvironment. This study suggests that home workers may be asked to shoulder an undue burden of environmental conditions than traditional office workers.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office
AU  - Kamrie Sarnosky
AU  - Mark Benden
AU  - Leslie Cizmas
AU  - Annette Regan
AU  - Garett Sansom
Y1  - 2021/04/12
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 40
EP  - 44
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210902.12
AB  - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated an already existing trend of individuals increasingly working remotely. With the growing popularity of remote working, specifically in a home office, there is a critical need to better understand and characterize the potential environmental differences between these two spaces. Indoor air pollution can have adverse health effects and impair cognitive functioning. Methods: This small pilot cohort study (N=22) recruited home and office workers to better understand the indoor air quality between these spaces. Air contaminants collected and assessed included PM10 and PM2.5, carbon dioxide (CO2), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). Results: Findings showed a strong statistically significant increase in all measured variables within homes in comparison to traditional offices (pConclusion: Traditionally, working adults would split their time between a home and office microenvironment. However, the transition of the workforce from a commercial office building to a home-based office results in more time in the residential microenvironment. This study suggests that home workers may be asked to shoulder an undue burden of environmental conditions than traditional office workers.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download