Human Resources departments will start to prioritize getting workers back to work in 2022. Due to remote work, some organizations have seen major drops in work productivity over the past two years, but other businesses have adjusted and seen a rise in their financial metrics. It’s about health at the office.
If the corporate environment sets a clear direction – working in the office as the primary option and hybrid work as a secondary option – employees see things a little differently. A recent study shows that only 8% of corporate employees choose “office” as their first choice, the majority (87%) choose “blended,” and only 5% want to work exclusively “virtually.”
Lately, we have heard all sorts of opinions: employees who want to come to the office to socialize first and foremost, others who threaten to resign if they are not allowed to work from home, HR directors who advocate for a return to the classic work system before the pandemic … one thing is certain – we will witness many changes in the coming years – resilience to change, mental health, and employee productivity will be the hot spots that will characterize the labor market for a long time.
How do we convince employees to return to the office?
We asked a sample of employees about the barriers they currently face when it comes to returning to in-person work at the office. All of them mentioned first and foremost the uncertainty that the workplace is safe, uninfected, and that they are afraid of getting infected with viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, Delta, Omicron, and the list goes on. Only secondarily did they mention convenience and saving time commuting to/from work.
Therefore, the solution is to provide a healthy working environment.
Employees will want sanitation measures against viruses.
How do we ensure a healthy environment for employees in office buildings?
A healthy environment can be ensured by continuously disinfecting the air in indoor spaces. This is a method that has been used and validated for many years and is already a quality standard for the operation of business buildings. Currently, there is a trend on the Romanian market to use nebulization, which many local and foreign specialists claim is already an obsolete system that uses harmful substances that end up being inhaled by building occupants and does not ensure disinfection residue. The reason for this nebulization trend is induced by cleaning companies or even in-house departments that choose the cheapest options without considering the medium and long-term effects they have on people’s health.
When implementing air disinfection and cleaning systems in business buildings, the decision to work with a particular service provider should first and foremost be based on the safety of using the respective systems and minimizing harmful effects on employees’ health, and then based on the price level.
The indoor air quality in office buildings can be properly ensured only by implementing adequate ventilation, purification, and disinfection systems and devices for the respective spaces, as well as the appropriate manner of usage.
A modern and efficient option from all perspectives is the use of UVC air disinfection systems – this can refer to:
- Stand-alone devices that can be placed in any indoor space and can operate continuously in the presence of people (office, lobby, meeting rooms, etc.)
- UV germicidal devices placed at the top of rooms (which are 10 times more efficient than mechanical ventilation of the air)
- Mobile and autonomous UV robots that can be used for large spaces and disinfect the air and surfaces in the absence of people (lobby, meeting rooms, etc., when all employee activity has ended, outside business hours)
- Integrated systems for HVAC / CTA – mandatory for obtaining WELL V1, V2, Health and Safety standards
- A platform for monitoring air quality using sensors that collect information and thus provide real-time monitoring of air quality in office buildings.
Systems for HVAC/CTA
The conditions in air handling units can favor the growth of bacteria and biofilms that contain mold on moist surfaces such as cooling coils, condensate drain pans, walls, humidifiers, fans, energy recovery wheels, and filters.
Traditional methods of maintaining air handling unit components include chemical and mechanical cleaning, which can be costly, difficult to perform, and potentially dangerous for maintenance personnel and building occupants.
The vapors of cleaning substances can contribute to indoor air pollution, chemical leakage contributes to groundwater contamination, and mechanical cleaning can reduce the life span of components. In addition, system performance may begin to degrade again shortly after cleaning, as microbial growth reappears.
In contrast, HVAC/air handling unit integrated UVC light systems have proven effective in preventing the growth of bacteria and mold on irradiated components. Thus, we can detail the advantages of surface treatment with ultraviolet radiation:
- Continuous surface cleanliness maintenance
- No harmful chemical substances are used
- Lower maintenance costs
- Elimination of mechanical cleaning intervention
- Improved system performance
Generating significant ROI for any organization
The benefits of creating and maintaining healthy indoor environments in business buildings include the altruistic component of emphasizing the improvement of employee health and therefore quality of life, but it also generates significant financial value for almost any company that invests in healthy building infrastructure. This generates significant ROI for any organization by:
- Increasing employee productivity
- Reducing sick days and medical leave
- Improving employee wellbeing and mental comfort, which translates into increased employee retention and decreased recruitment efforts.
When we demonstrate that we deliver what we promise
Air quality tests carried out in a business building in Ploiesti have revealed excellent results in minimizing the risk of contamination with fungi, viruses or bacteria. In this regard, samples were taken before and after the Wolf-e ROBOTICS devices were put into operation. The analysis was performed by the Environment Laboratory – ALS Life Sciences Romania SRL. QC level: ALS RO Quality Control Program. 2001.
The initial parameters of the air in the building’s rooms were 250 CFU/m3 for Bacteria and 1050 CFU/m3 for Fungi, with significant decreases recorded after 1 hour of operation of the air disinfection devices, and almost complete elimination after 4 hours (50 CFU/m3 for Bacteria and 50 CFU/m3 for Fungi).
Wolf-e ROBOTICS product range for office health
UV-C disinfection, filtration, and purification systems increase safety and reduce the risk of infection in the workplace and clinical environments. We have combined UV-C disinfection technologies used in clinical environments with modern technologies to create a continuous and automatic ecosystem that disinfects the air and surfaces in real-time in business buildings. Our products offer a holistic solution that can address any use case and can be combined to form a personalized solution adapted to any indoor space. We are talking about UV bactericidal lamps placed at the top of the rooms, UVC systems for HVAC/air conditioning units, mobile and autonomous UV robots for air and surface disinfection, and smart equipment that can be used in the presence of people and ensures the continuity of disinfection to the highest quality standards.
With this in mind, we can now visit any physical area, get some fundamental data about the features and intended usage of the structure, and then construct a tailored solution that maximizes risk reduction in that particular place. The end result is an extraordinary effectiveness that significantly improves the health of those who use the place.
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Suntem Wolf-e Robotics și contribuim în fiecare zi la susținerea misiunii noastre, de a asigura dezinfecția aerului și suprafețelor în spațiile în care lucrăm, învățăm, ne petrecem timpul. Oferim metoda cea mai eficientă și ecologică de inactivare a microorganismelor de pe suprafețe și din aer prin dezinfectarea cu echipamente inteligente cu lumină UVC și roboți mobili. Cu aplicabilitate în sectorul medical, comercial, transporturi, educație, corporate.
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