Besides affecting health, prolonged exposure to air pollution can also reduce employee’s productivity, finds a study. The study showed that daily fluctuations in pollution did not immediately affect the productivity of workers. However, a definite drop in output was witnessed when measured for more prolonged exposures of up to 30 days, the researchers said. In addition, working in a highly polluted setting for long periods could affect mood. For the study, the team gathered information from textile factories in China. They compared how many pieces of fabric each worker produced each day. “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.
