Study Suggests Workers in LEED Buildings are More Productive

Each worker gains more than 40 productive hours per year in the move to a LEED building, according to "preliminary" research

A new peer-reviewed study from Michigan State University researchers lends rare quantitative support to the idea that green building can lead to greater worker health and productivity. The study has several limitations, however, and the researchers characterized its results as “preliminary.”

Surveying 250 employees of two Lansing, Mich., companies before and after relocating from older, conventional offices to new, LEED-certified headquarters (one Platinum, one Silver), results indicated substantial improvements in all areas surveyed, including hours absent for asthma and allergies, work hours affected by depression and stress-related conditions, work hours affected by asthma and allergies, and productivity separate from health issues. The study pointed to a benefit of over 40 additional work hours per year per occupant due to health and indoor environmental quality improvements.

(More at BuildingGreen.com. . . )

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