Air quality is the invisible layer of employee experience

We spend most of our time indoors – that makes indoor air quality a workplace priority

For office workers, a significant share of their time is spent indoors: in workplaces, meeting rooms and shared indoor environments.

This makes indoor air quality a business-critical issue. If the air inside a workplace is poor, the effects are not limited to comfort. Employees may experience headaches, eye irritation, fatigue, drowsiness, respiratory symptoms or difficulty concentrating. In some cases, poor indoor conditions can also contribute to absenteeism, lower satisfaction and reduced productivity.

The challenge is that indoor air quality problems are not always easy to identify. People may notice that a room feels stuffy, that they feel tired after a long meeting, or that certain areas of the office seem uncomfortable. But without data, it is difficult to know what is actually happening.

Is the ventilation sufficient? Are CO₂ levels too high? Are there VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) in the air? Is the temperature or humidity outside the comfortable range?

Without real-time information, facility teams and employers are often left guessing.

What indoor air quality actually means

Indoor air quality is affected by several factors. Some come from outside the building, such as traffic emissions, industrial pollutants, exhaust fumes or construction activity. Others come from inside the building, including cleaning products, office equipment, building materials, furniture, coatings, adhesives and occupant activities.

From a workplace monitoring perspective, some of the most useful indicators include CO₂, TVOC, temperature and humidity.

CO₂ levels are especially useful for understanding whether ventilation is working properly. Outdoor air generally contains around 400 ppm of CO₂. Indoors, levels rise as people exhale carbon dioxide. If ventilation is not sufficient, CO₂ can accumulate quickly, especially in meeting rooms and other high-occupancy spaces.

As a general rule, indoor CO₂ levels should ideally stay below 1,000 ppm. When levels rise above that, people may begin to experience drowsiness and a feeling of poor air. At higher levels, symptoms such as headaches, sleepiness, poor concentration and a stuffy feeling may become more noticeable.

TVOC refers to total volatile organic compounds. VOCs are chemicals that become gases at room temperature. They may come from cleaning agents, furniture, flooring, adhesives, perfumes, cosmetics, cooking or even human activity. In elevated concentrations, VOCs may contribute to headaches, fatigue and discomfort.

Temperature and humidity also play a major role in perceived indoor air quality. Even when the air is technically clean, a room that is too hot, too cold, too dry or too humid can affect comfort and performance. People tend to feel most comfortable at around 20–23°C and 30–50% relative humidity.

Together, these indicators help create a more complete picture of the indoor environment.

Sample data from Haltian’s Indoor Environment demo tool: CO₂, TVOC, and temperature tracked hour by hour across a work week, benchmarked against standard air quality thresholds.

Poor air quality affects more than comfort

When people talk about air quality at work, the conversation often starts with comfort. The room feels stuffy, or the meeting space feels heavy. Employees complain about headaches or tiredness, but the impact can go deeper.

Poor indoor air quality has been associated with building-related symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, mental fatigue, headaches, nausea, dizziness and skin irritation. These symptoms are often difficult to trace to one specific cause, which makes systematic monitoring even more important.

Indoor air quality can also affect cognitive performance. When people work in environments with poor ventilation or elevated pollutant levels, concentration, decision-making and attention may suffer. For knowledge work, this matters. Offices are designed to support thinking, collaboration and problem-solving – but the indoor environment can either support or undermine that goal.

This is why air quality should be seen as part of the employee experience. Just like an uncomfortable chair or poorly designed workstation can affect how people feel and perform, poor indoor air can make the workplace feel less supportive.

From complaints to data-driven decisions: making indoor air quality visible

One of the biggest advantages of indoor air quality monitoring is that it makes invisible conditions visible.

Instead of relying only on complaints, assumptions or occasional testing, companies can use continuous monitoring to understand what is happening in different areas of the building throughout the day and week.

This is especially important in modern offices, where space usage changes constantly. A meeting room may have excellent air quality when empty but poor air quality during back-to-back meetings. One area of the office may be comfortable in the morning but too warm in the afternoon. A ventilation issue may only appear under certain occupancy conditions.

Continuous monitoring helps facility managers identify these patterns and act before small deviations turn into bigger issues.

It also improves communication. When air quality data is available, discussions between employees, facility managers and property management become more concrete. Instead of saying “this room feels bad”, teams can look at real-time data and identify whether the issue is related to CO₂, temperature, humidity or another factor.

This is exactly what If Insurance achieved by using Haltian’s Empathic Building air quality data. By making air quality visible, If was able to support communication with property management, optimize HVAC operations and detect deviations early. In one case, suboptimal CO₂ levels in a conference room led to the discovery and repair of an HVAC issue. The result was an immediate improvement in air quality.

Air quality monitoring also supports building efficiency

Health, comfort and productivity are strong reasons to monitor indoor air quality. But there is also an important benefit: operational efficiency.

When facility teams know where and when adjustments are needed, they can optimize HVAC systems more intelligently. Ventilation, heating and cooling do not need to be based only on fixed assumptions. Instead, they can be guided by actual conditions and usage patterns.

This can help reduce unnecessary energy use while still maintaining a healthier and more comfortable indoor environment. It can also support proactive maintenance, as poor air quality may be an early sign of a malfunctioning HVAC system.

How to start monitoring indoor air quality

A successful indoor air quality monitoring project does not need to be complicated. The key is to start with clear goals and the right data. A practical monitoring journey usually includes five steps:

Planning
Define what you want to understand and improve. Are there recurring complaints? Are certain rooms more problematic than others? Are you aiming to improve employee experience, support building certification or optimize HVAC use?

Gathering data
Use sensors to collect real-time data on key parameters such as CO₂, TVOC, temperature and humidity.

Analyzing the data
Look for patterns, deviations and areas where conditions fall outside recommended ranges.

Reporting findings
Share the results with relevant stakeholders, such as facility managers, HR, employees or property management.

Taking action
Use the findings to improve ventilation, adjust HVAC settings, investigate sources of pollutants or guide maintenance actions.

The most important thing is that decisions are based on actual data, not guesswork.

Want to make indoor air quality visible in your workplace?
Learn more about the Haltian Thingsee AIR indoor air quality sensor or read how If Insurance uses Haltian’s air quality data to improve workplace conditions.