How Work From Home Has Affected the Occupant's Well-Being in the Residential Built Environment: An International Survey Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Zhihong Pang ◽  
Burcin Becerik-Gerber ◽  
Simi Hoque ◽  
Zheng O'Neill ◽  
Giulia Pedrielli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
International Survey ◽  
Home Life ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Indoor Lighting ◽  
Acoustic Conditions

Abstract This paper presents the results from an international survey that investigated the impacts of the built environment on occupant well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic when most professionals were forced to work from home (WFH). The survey was comprised of 81 questions focusing on the respondent's profiles, residences, home indoor environmental quality, health, and home working experiences. A total of 1,460 responses were collected from 35 countries, and 1,137 of them were considered complete for the analysis. The results suggest that home spatial layout has a significant impact on occupant well-being during WFH since home-life distractions and noises due to the lack of a personal workspace are likely to prevent productive work. Lack of scenic views, inadequate daylighting, and poor acoustics were also reported to be detrimental to occupant productivity and the general WFH experience. It is also revealed from this survey that temperature, relative humidity, and indoor air quality generally have higher satisfaction ratios compared with the indoor lighting and acoustic conditions, and the home layout. Hence, home design for lighting, acoustics, and layout should also receive greater attention in the future

AN EVALUATION OF INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND OCCUPANT WELL-BEING IN MANITOBA SCHOOL BUILDINGS

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Radwan ◽  
Mohamed H. Issa
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Green School

This exploratory research aims to evaluate indoor environmental quality in the classrooms of three school buildings in Southern Manitoba, Canada, and to evaluate the well-being of these schools' teachers as it pertains to their perception of their classrooms' indoor environment. The schools include a middle-aged, conventional school; a new, non-green school; and a new, green school certified using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. The methodology involved using a mobile instrument cart to conduct snapshot measurements of thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting and acoustics in classrooms and an occupant survey to evaluate teachers' long-term satisfaction with their classrooms' indoor environmental quality. The results showed that the new, green and new, non-green schools' classrooms performed better than the conventional, middle-aged school's classrooms with respect to some aspects of thermal comfort and indoor air quality only. Teachers in the new, green school and in the new, non-green school were more satisfied than teachers in the conventional, middle-aged school with their classrooms' overall indoor environmental quality, lighting quality and indoor air quality. Surprisingly, the new, green and new-non green school classrooms' performance were very comparable with the new, green school's classrooms performing statistically significantly better with respect to relative humidity. Similarly, none of the differences in teachers' satisfaction ratings between the new, green and new, non-green school were statistically significant.

scholarly journals Cost-Effective Customizable Indoor Environmental Quality Monitoring System

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-18
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ayad Al-Rawi ◽  
Praneel Chand ◽  
Archie Van Mendoza Evangelista
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Image Sensor ◽  
World Health ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality

Poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has become a global concern for World Health Organization (WHO), and its impact on health and well-being has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To monitor and sanitize indoor air, this study develops a cost-effective and customizable IEQ monitoring system to detect unhealthy and low-comfort air levels. This system uses ThingSpeak (MATLAB), microcontrollers (Arduino Uno), and various low-cost sensors to measure indoor air quality (IAQ) and IEQ in terms of gas, particulate matter, temperature, sound level, and ultraviolet (UV) light. The presented system is validated with respect to temperature, relative humidity, and particulate matter by benchmarking against the Camfil air image sensor manufactured by Camfil AB, Stockholm, Sweden. The average error of temperature, relative humidity, and PM2.5 are 0.55%, 5.13%, and 3.45%, respectively.

Negotiating Time and Space When Working From Home: Experiences During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 153944922110338
Author(s):  
Yoko E. Fukumura ◽  
Joseph M. Schott ◽  
Gale M. Lucas ◽  
Burcin Becerik-Gerber ◽  
Shawn C. Roll
Keyword(s):  
Time Use ◽  
Work Performance ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Free Response ◽  
Home Life ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
Occupational Patterns ◽  
Home Space

Stay-at-home mandates following the COVID-19 pandemic increased work from home (WFH). While WFH offers many benefits, navigating work in nontraditional contexts can be a challenge. The objective of this study was to explore the benefits and challenges of WFH during COVID-19 to identify supports and resources necessary. Comments from two free-response questions on a survey regarding experiences of WFH ( N = 648, N = 366) were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis. Four themes emerged: time use, considerations of working in the home space, intersections between work-life and home-life, and temporality of WFH as situated within a pandemic. Across all themes were concerns related to participation in both work and home roles, work performance, and well-being. Findings highlight the importance of support during times of disruption of occupational patterns, roles, and routines. Despite challenges, many individuals hoped to continue WFH. Organizations should consider the complex intersections of work-life and home-life to develop supportive policies and resources.

scholarly journals An IoT measurement solution for continuous indoor environmental quality monitoring for buildings renovation

ACTA IMEKO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 230
Author(s):  
Serena Serroni ◽  
Marco Arnesano ◽  
Luca Violini ◽  
Gian Marco Revel
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Environmental Sensors ◽  
Improve Energy Efficiency ◽  
Sensor Configuration ◽  
Radiant Temperature ◽  
The Impact

The measurement of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) requires the acquisition of multiple quantities regarding thermal comfort and indoor air quality. The IEQ monitoring is essential to investigate the building’s performance, especially when renovation is needed to improve energy efficiency and occupants’ well-being. Thus, IEQ data should be acquired for long periods inside occupied buildings, but traditional measurement solutions could not be adequate. This paper presents the development and application of a non-intrusive and scalable IoT sensing solution for continuous IEQ measurement in occupied buildings during the renovation process. The solution is composed of an IR scanner for mean radiant temperature measurement and a desk node with environmental sensors (air temperature, relative humidity, CO2, PMs). The integration with a BIM-based renovation approach was developed to automatically retrieve building’s data required for sensor configuration and KPIs calculation. The system was installed in a nursery located in Poland to support the renovation process. IEQ performance measured before the intervention revealed issues related to radiant temperature and air quality. Using measured data, interventions were realized to improve the envelope insulation and the occupant’s behaviour. Results from post-renovation measurements showed the IEQ improvement achieved, demonstrating the impact of the sensing solution.

scholarly journals The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Working Conditions, Employment, Career Development and Well-Being of Refugee Researchers

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Ourania Tzoraki ◽  
Svetlana Dimitrova ◽  
Marin Barzakov ◽  
Saad Yaseen ◽  
Vasilis Gavalas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Home Setting ◽  
The Public ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
The Impact

The ongoing ‘refugee crisis’ of the past years has led to the migration of refugee researchers (RRs) to European countries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RRs often had to work from home and/or to continue their social, cultural and economic integration process under new conditions. An online survey carried out to explore the impact of the pandemic on the refugee researchers showed that RRs found it difficult to adapt their everyday working life to the ‘home’ setting. The majority have had neither a suitable work environment at home nor the appropriate technology. Although they stated that they are rather pleased with the measures taken by the public authorities, they expressed concern about their vulnerability due to their precarious contracts and the bureaucratic asylum procedures, as the pandemic has had a negative impact on these major issues. The majority of RRs working in academia seem not to have been affected at all as far as their income is concerned, while the majority of those employed in other sectors became unemployed during the pandemic (58%). Recommendations are provided to the public authorities and policy makers to assist RRs to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on their life.

scholarly journals Effects of Climatic Conditions, Season and Environmental Factors on CO2 Concentrations in Naturally Ventilated Primary Schools in Chile

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4139
Author(s):  
Muriel Diaz ◽  
Mario Cools ◽  
Maureen Trebilcock ◽  
Beatriz Piderit-Moreno ◽  
Shady Attia
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Co2 Concentrations ◽  
The Impact

Between the ages of 6 and 18, children spend between 30 and 42 h a week at school, mostly indoors, where indoor environmental quality is usually deficient and does not favor learning. The difficulty of delivering indoor air quality (IAQ) in learning facilities is related to high occupancy rates and low interaction levels with windows. In non-industrialized countries, as in the cases presented, most classrooms have no mechanical ventilation, due to energy poverty and lack of normative requirements. This fact heavily impacts the indoor air quality and students’ learning outcomes. The aim of the paper is to identify the factors that determine acceptable CO2 concentrations. Therefore, it studies air quality in free-running and naturally ventilated primary schools in Chile, aiming to identify the impact of contextual, occupant, and building design factors, using CO2 concentration as a proxy for IAQ. The monitoring of CO2, temperature, and humidity revealed that indoor air CO2 concentration is above 1400 ppm most of the time, with peaks of 5000 ppm during the day, especially in winter. The statistical analysis indicates that CO2 is dependent on climate, seasonality, and indoor temperature, while it is independent of outside temperature in heated classrooms. The odds of having acceptable concentrations of CO2 are bigger when indoor temperatures are high, and there is a need to ventilate for cooling.

HIEQ LAB: A NOVEL FULL-SCALE FACILITY WITH OCCUPANTS TO INVESTIGATE INTEGRATIVE LIGHTING AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE IN A MULTI-DOMAIN APPROACH

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Giovannini ◽  
V.R.M. Lo Verso ◽  
F. Favoino ◽  
V. Serra ◽  
A. Pellegrino
Keyword(s):  
Human Performance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Real Space ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Building Components ◽  
Lighting Systems ◽  
And Control

The new HIEQ Lab (Health, well-being and Indoor Environmental Quality Laboratory) is presented. It is a living lab, primarily intended for research on human performance, comfort, and well-being, integrated with the energy performance in a completely controlled real space. Users are involved as active players in controlling and assessing building components and design strategies for health, well-being and IEQ requirements. Experimental activities will be addressed through a multi-domain approach that combines lighting, acoustic, air quality and thermal issues. For what concerns lighting, the laboratory is conceived to study the performance of daylighting and electric lighting systems and control solutions, focusing on the relationship between lighting conditions and human performance, comfort, and well-being. The paper reports the results of a literature review on existing lighting research facilities, and then describes the features of the new HIEQ Lab and its main research objectives, with a focus on lighting and daylighting research opportunities.

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