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HCaTS and HCaTS SB
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State and local programs
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  6. Buildings and health

Buildings and health

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Health, as defined by World Health Organization in its 1948 constitution,1 is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This definition of health has been expanded in recent years to include: resilience and the ability to cope with health problems, and the capacity to return to an equilibrium state after health challenges.2,3

These three health domains — physical, psychological, and social — are not mutually exclusive but rather interact to create a sense of health that changes over time and place. The challenge for building design and operations is to identify cost-effective ways to eliminate health risks while also providing positive physical, psychological, and social supports as well as coping resources.

How buildings can support health and well-being

Physical health

Physical health includes the proper functioning of internal and external body parts, the ability to resist disease, and the physical fitness necessary to perform daily functions without restrictions.4,5

Features that support physical health and well-being include:

  • Ergonomic support
  • Circadian effective light
  • Comfort controls, including temperature, light, and sound
  • Enhanced ventilation
  • Access to indoor and outdoor activity spaces and alternative transportation
  • Availability of healthy food and clean water
  • Stair design to encourage regular use
  • Cleaning chemical and air filter management plans
  • Integrated pest management

Psychological well-being

Psychological well-being is a positive mental state that allows people to realize their full potential, cope with the stresses of life, work productively, and make meaningful contributions to their communities.6 It also includes resilience, happiness, high levels of satisfaction with life, and a feeling of belonging and sense of purpose.7,8,9

Features that support psychological health and well-being include:

  • Provision of a connection to nature
  • Access to daylight from all regularly occupied spaces
  • Occupant control of the physical environment
  • Equitable access to workplace features and amenities
  • Access to a variety of environments, including those for respite, focus, and social connection
  • Access to spaces with effective acoustic design

Social well-being

Social well-being is the extent to which a person feels a sense of belonging, acceptance, and social inclusion including participation in community activities. Positive social well-being includes having mutually beneficial friendships and social supports.

Features that support psychological health and well-being include:

  • Fair and equitable distribution of amenities
  • Space that supports a sense of connection to others
  • Variety of spaces to support different social needs including private conversations, informal interaction, formal meetings, and visual connection to others

Buildings and health components

Building design

Rendering of an office building with a cutaway showing the interior with occupants
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Encouraging occupants to use alternative means of transportation to get to and from work has a multitude of benefits. Cycling, walking, and running are forms of exercise, which promote cardiovascular and respiratory health. These forms of transit create no pollution and contribute to better air quality. They are also quiet resulting in the lowering of ambient noise levels and promote social interaction, camaraderie, and teamwork.

Bicycle storage and location

Providing secure, covered bicycle parking may increase the appeal of cycling to work. Secure bicycle storage can include an enclosed, lockable room or fenced-off space at entry level within an existing parking garage. A facility’s bicycle parking should consist of bicycle racks that are securely mounted and resist being cut or detached using common hand tools. Additional bicycle amenities may include a workbench and tools for tune ups or maintenance of equipment and a compressed air for tire inflation.10

Locker and changing facilities

Providing a locker room with showers may increase the appeal of biking, running, or walking in various weather conditions. Consider the sizing of facilities to meet the needs of the full building occupant load, such that at least 30% of occupants might utilize the facilities at any one time. Locker and storage facilities may need to be provided in excess of this number for intermittent alternative commuters

Access and convenience
  • Short-term parking should have more emphasis placed on convenience.
  • Long-term parking should have more value placed on security and shelter.
  • The building and site should be connected to bicycle path network and evaluated during overall site selection.
  • Consider the creation of a “Bike Ambassador” in a facility, with roles that may include:
    • Promoting the use of bike commuting
    • Assisting with dissemination of bicycle safety tips
    • Aiding in determining best commuting routes
    • Issuing routine commuting surveys
  • Offer employee benefits or subsidies for monthly fees for urban bicycle sharing systems.

Biophilic design focuses on how to deploy a variety of natural features that create positive physiological, cognitive, social, and psychological experience, including stress reduction, enhanced mood, improved performance, and varied sensory experience.

Research in multiple fields, using both laboratory and field studies, provides compelling evidence of benefits from contact with nature. The most frequently cited benefits and the link to specific biophilic features are summarized below.

Links between biophilic elements and health outcomes
Design elementStress reductionEnhanced moodImproved cognitive performanceEnhanced social engagementEnhanced sleepEnhanced movement
Indoor plantsXXX   
Fish tanksXX    
Flowers X    
WaterXX    
Views and images of natureXX    
Daylight and circadian effective light XX X 
Thermal transitions X    
Outdoor green space X X X
Varied spatial environment   X X
Green roofs XX   
Natural, fractal patternsX     

See Terrapin Bright Green’s 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design for an extensive review of health and performance benefits.

References and suggested readings
  • Appleton, J. 1977. The Experience of Landscape. London and New York: Wiley.
  • Browning, W, Ryan, C. and Clancy, J. 2014. 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design. Terrapin Bright Green LLC.
  • Gillis, K. and Gatersleben, B. 2015. A review of psychological literature on the health and well being benefits of biophilic design. Buildings, 5: 948-963.
  • International Living Future Institute
  • Kellert, SR. 2018. Nature by Design: The Practice of Biophilic Design. New Haven: Yale University Press.
  • Kellert, SR and Calabresse, EF. 2015. The Practice of Biophilic Design. Biophilic-design.com
  • Kellert, SR, Heerwagen, J and Mador, M. 2008. Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life. New York: Wiley.
  • Sturgeon, A. 2018. Creating Biophilic Buildings. Ecotone Publishing.
  • Wilson, E.O. 1984. Biophilia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

*Note: Please see the circadian-effective light section for additional information on electric circadian lighting sources and the lighting ecosystem.

Circadian rhythms are physiological processes that occur in the body approximately every 24-hours. An example of a circadian rhythm is a person’s wake-sleep cycle. If a person is not exposed to a sufficient amount of light, their circadian rhythm may become disrupted, negatively impacting the duration and quality of sleep. Medical research has linked circadian disruption to health problems such as poor sleep, higher stress, heart disease, and diabetes. The World Health Organization considers lack of exposure to natural light through shift work a probable carcinogen.11,12,13

On average, people spend less than 17 hours a week outside in daylight. People live indoors the remaining 151 hours and many spend most of their waking hours indoors at work. As a result, there are limited opportunities for people to receive sufficient daylight to synchronize their circadian functioning to daily light-dark cycles without interventions to ensure exposure in the workplace.

Being inside most of the time presents a public health concern, and people are starting to take notice — so much so that this topic has become mainstream through green building conferences, design forums, and even TED Talks.

Potential health impacts from a disrupted circadian rhythm

Irregular light-dark patterns or exposure to light at the wrong time may lead to circadian disruption. This means our biological clock, and consequently our sleep patterns are no longer synchronized with the local sunrise and sunset. The disruption of the circadian system over long periods can have health consequences. Those who work irregular night shift hours are particularly susceptible to adverse health effects because the disruption repeatedly alters their internal clock. In fact, women who work irregular shifts have a higher frequency of developing hormone-related breast cancer.14 Medical studies have also linked circadian disruption to mood disorders including depression and other health risks including diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.15

Health benefits from a synchronized circadian rhythm

Several studies show positive health benefits from synchronized circadian rhythms.

  • In a study conducted at five federal buildings, GSA found that people who received a sufficient amount of daylight while at work had entrained circadian rhythms. These same people who received a lot of daylight in the morning fell asleep faster at night, reported better sleep quality, less sleep disturbances and generally reported they were in better moods. Similarly, people who received a lot of daylight throughout the day while at work reported they had better sleep quality, less sleep disturbances throughout the night, and were in better moods.15
  • A separate study by GSA examined whether LED task lighting could provide similar benefits as what was shown in the daylighting studies. Study participants reported being more alert as the workday progressed with the LED task lighting on. In addition, they reported they felt more energetic and less sleepy.16 It should be noted that this study lasted only 3 days and took place in multiple geographic locations: Virginia, Vermont, Iceland, and Latvia.
  • Other studies17 show that personal exposure to bright electric lighting during the afternoon improves alertness and mood in office workers just as well as personal exposure to bright light in the morning.
Access to daylight as a default

Typically, daylighting is used in buildings as a way to provide an aesthetically pleasing environment while also used to reduce the amount of electrical energy consumed.

Studies have shown that hospital patients with access to daylight and views spend less time in hospitals than patients with no access to daylight or views. Similarly, numerous studies have shown connections of daylighting in schools and higher test scores.

However, daylighting is not always possible in buildings because of numerous factors:

  • Age of building
  • Building size and orientation
  • Mission of the building occupant, such as high-level security limiting access to daylight

If daylighting is not available, supplemental electric lighting may be needed to ensure occupants receive enough light to stimulate and entrain their circadian rhythm.

Photo showing an office sitting area with a couch and chairs in the foreground, with tables and a bar counter in the background.
Denver Federal Center

Shared services provide opportunities to incorporate social interaction and foster inclusive workplace culture. Services such as print and copy areas, break rooms, open collaboration tables and cafe spaces should be well-lit, well kept, well placed and well planned, following the appropriate guidance to maximize occupant comfort, such as addressing acoustics, visual, and thermal comfort. Encourage social interaction, a key health benefit, by building destination nodes with good wayfinding into workplace floorplates to house shared services while also limiting distraction. These include walking paths, rooftop and courtyard gardens, and other access to outdoor spaces. Consider making use of outdoor spaces for both individual respite, one-on-one conversations, and opportunities for walking meetings.

Photo of a fitness center in an office building with exercise equipment facing a window

Exercising during the work day can reduce stress, interrupt long sitting bouts, and rejuvenate employees for improved focus and performance when they return to work.18 Regimented exercise is directly related to improved concentration, memory, learning ability, and creativity thinking.19

Provide a mix of cardiovascular, strength training, and free-weight equipment to provide flexibility for users of all skill levels.

The Whole Building Design Guide highlights successful fitness center components that attract occupants and provide a range of exercise options that are flexible to all work schedules. Including:

  • Group fitness opportunities, which can go hand in hand with health and wellness promotion campaigns. This provides the added benefit of increased positive social interactions.
  • Information, guidance, or onsite staff to assist occupants in using equipment safely.
  • Open hours should be established that accommodate all schedules

The provision of quiet zones can improve well-being and mindfulness, foster contemplation, peacefulness, and restore emotional balance for building occupants. A quiet room includes providing an uncluttered, minimally furnished multipurpose space used to retreat from over-stimulation and supports the opportunity to meditate or read quietly as a form of respite. A space could include comfortable seating, amber lighting, and pillows. If access to an outdoor space from a quiet zone is available, the access to nature, views, and daylight is an additional advantage. Establish and post clear rules for use, that safeguard privacy, maintain cleanliness and reduce distractions.

Lactation room

In support of nursing mothers, a designated lactation room is required for offices with more than 50 employees — one per building and an additional room or station for every 100 female building occupants — and recommended for all others.20 Providing lactation rooms is vital to a mother’s ability to return to work and continue to meet the AMA and WHO recommendations for breastfeeding for the first year of a child’s life. Lactation rooms are one of the interventions that have the strongest health data and they make the most reliable impact on the child, the mother, siblings, co-parents, co-workers and the community in general. The WHO even cites lifetime productivity gains for children who have been breastfed.

The lactation room would include a door that locks, convenient, above the counter, electrical outlets for plugging in a breast pump, a countertop or table for breast pump and supplies, and a sink and refrigerator access. A sturdy, comfortable chair with lumbar support is appropriate, along with a nearby wastebasket for disposables, sanitary wipes, etc. To encourage privacy, the provision of an “occupied” sign or privacy indicator door hardware for the door allows the user to be undisturbed. As with quiet rooms, good ambient and task lighting, ventilation and thermal comfort, and acoustical control and privacy are recommended. Ideally, a local thermometer can help keep lactation rooms at the warmer ambient temperatures than the rest of the office.

Additional resources
  • WorkDesign.com | Room to Think: The Rise of Still Spaces in the Workplace
  • WELL Building Standard Fitness, Comfort, Mind, and community concepts
  • Fitwel Credit 8.5 and 8.6
  • Health and Wellness Guidance Crosswalk [XLSX - 72 KB]
  • Wellness Rooms | AIA Best Practices: Lactation/Wellness Room Design

Photo of a modern, open stairwell with glass railings in the center of an office building atrium.
Thomas P O’Neill Jr. Federal Building in Washington, DC

Accessible stairwells provide an opportunity for building occupants to increase regular physical activity. Regular physical activity, in turn, reduces morbidity and absenteeism, and instills feelings of well-being.

Location

Location during the design of a stairwell is a key factor. A stairwell should be in a highly visible area and be equally or more visible than elevators or escalators at the main entrance. Increased stairwell visibility with design features such as glass or wayfinding may increase occupants’ use. Signs promoting stair use at building entry prior to reaching the nearest elevators may encourage occupants to use the stairs.

Design

Stairs should be safe and easy for all able-bodied people to use. They should be clearly visible and easy to find. Treads should be consistent in length and height, with landings for rest. Spiral stairs and stairs with tapered treads should not be used, as they are more likely to cause tripping or falls. Consider increasing the desirability of stairs as a circulation option using strategies such as music, artwork, decorative or enhanced lighting quality and levels, the use of color and texture, or biophilic elements.

Water

Providing access to safe and clean water is essential to promoting occupant health and a quality office environment. Drinking water can help maintain body temperature control, lubricate and protect internal joints and tissues, and ensure bodily functions perform as expected.21 Mild dehydration can even adversely impact cognitive performance, especially in tasks that require “attention, psychomotor, and immediate memory skills.”22 However, bottled water can waste tremendous amounts of plastic and other resources; a more efficient solution is to provide filtered tap water.

Tips for water supply include:

  • Provide publicly-accessible and Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA compliant water supplies, preferably with hot and cold water dispensers.
  • Ensure water dispensers are cleaned regularly and that water quality testing is routinely performed.
  • Educate occupants about the benefits of drinking water or raise awareness by starting a hydration challenge or “water week”.
  • Install refillable water stations that visibly promote hydration and the use of refillable water bottles that reduce environmental impact compared to single-use water bottles.

Building certification programs, such as the Fitwel System and WELL Building Standard, also recognize the importance of water and promote hydration and increased access to water supplies.

See requirements and guidance for safe drinking water in GSA’s Drinking Water Quality Management Policy and Desk Guide for Drinking Water Quality Management [PDF].

For more information regarding the federal law for drinking water standards, see the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Photo of a breakroom in a modern office building, with a workspace at the kitchen counter and another facing the opposite windows.
Photograph by Eric Laignel, courtesy of Perkins+Will
American Society of Interior Designers Headquarters in Washington, DC

Equitable workspace includes access to daylight, views of nature, flexible areas and workspace amenities for all users. Workspaces that simultaneously accommodate different kinds of work reflect the wide variety of interaction that takes place between a diversity of personalities and occupant preferences when designing for occupant comfort and performance. Movement among different work zones also increases fitness and provides greater ergonomic variability and comfort. Organizations that take steps to help employees manage stress can increase job satisfaction, provide a greater sense of job security, improve physical and mental health, reduce levels of job stress and enhance control of the environment. These benefits accrue to both the employee and the employer, including less absenteeism, tardiness and reduced staff turnover. The same technology that allows employees to be mobile tethers them to work at all hours the day. For more information, see this article in Global Government Forum. Note that these spaces should still provide robust technology integration, including docking stations for laptops, wireless connectivity, and mobile phones that allow individuals to work at different locations.

Collaboration and social areas

Conference Rooms provide space for collaboration and engagement with small and large groups. It is critical to provide enough access to meeting space to accommodate the need, and a variety of types along the formal to informal spectrum. Make sure to provide small meeting spaces for two or three, and four to six, people as well as larger spaces for teams. Teaming spaces provide areas where teams can display and share work and differ from conference rooms as these spaces tend to attract regular, repeated use by the same team. Social areas are lounges, cafes, or other spaces which provide areas for casual or solitary informal occupancy which cannot be reserved. Take care when placing collaboration and social areas so they do not disrupt the work of nearby colleagues. Focus spaces are critical “off-stage” quiet areas where occupants can retreat from customer focused work. They might accommodate people who need to work privately or hold a conversation that might distract those in an open office environment. These might include atriums, interior landscaping and access to daylight, quiet space, and natural surroundings. Respite spaces can be an antidote from workplace stressors and provide an appropriate mix of separate but convenient collaboration and focus spaces.

Interior

Photo of an open office at GSA headquarters, full of people, equipment, and personal effects
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A space with good acoustics allows for conversations among collaborating workers without increasing the stress of those engaged in individual, focused work. The acoustically ideal space is not too loud, does not reverberate too much, enhances speech intelligibility in collaboration spaces and decreases it in focused areas or those with privacy concerns, and controls excess noise pollution from both indoor and outdoor sources.

Acoustical comfort means reducing distraction which results in increased focus, ability to concentrate, reduced stress and fatigue, less interruption and greater “flow”. Acoustical comfort can be achieved by mitigating disturbances caused by distracting noises by using both behavioral and design interventions.

Appropriate zoning and source control can be used as a tool to maximize performance while minimizing costs. Additionally, physical treatment strategies follow the ABCs — absorb, block, and cover — of acoustic design as appropriate to provide the appropriate environment for the task at hand and reduce irritants and help employees concentrate in an open environment. Ensure early involvement in design by an acoustician and use the integrative design process throughout the project to harness enhanced acoustic strategies.

Renderings of two open office layouts. The left shows an office where noise carries and the right shows an office where it is mitigated.
Workspace acoustical features before and after mitigation strategies (Source: GSA Sound Matters)
Absorb

Efforts to maximizing daylight penetration to reduce energy use and improve health tend to remove walls and lower partitions, offering fewer opportunities for sound absorption. However, ceiling planes, wall and floor finishes, window treatment and furniture can still provide opportunities to halt the reverberation of sound in open areas.

  • Consider absorptive wall finishes that minimize reverberation in a space. Fabric-wrapped panels and acoustic felt can absorb sound and serve as a tackable surface. Perforated wood or gypsum board panel assemblies can be customized for finish and still assist in quieting a space.
  • Ceiling tiles can be specified in a variety of types for many applications—some, but not all, are optimized for sound absorption and should be carefully specified in a manner appropriate to the function of a space.
  • Soft floor finishes can minimize the sound of footfalls and the movement of delivery carts or furniture casters. Selection of soft floor finishes to promote quality acoustics has to be completed in relationship to the durability, cleaning, and maintenance requirements of a space’s function.
  • Materials with high noise reduction coefficient or NRC values are specifically designed and tested to optimize sound absorption qualities
Block

Blocking sound transference between spaces is another important element in good acoustic design. Sound flows like water through any available openings, but with careful detailing the path of sound can be effectively interrupted. To achieve truly optimal acoustic design, teams should begin with a clear acoustic zoning plan and understanding of occupant acoustic expectations. During programming, clearly delineate the expectations for acoustic privacy or increased noise. Build into the spatial program spaces which respond to the full spectrum of individual and group privacy or open collaboration. When space planning, keep acoustic expectations in mind and attempt to provide adjacencies across a floor plate which provide a gradient of loud to quiet spaces, or where this is not possible carefully note dissimilar acoustic adjacencies so that they may be effectively controlled through physical acoustic design strategies.

  • Providing areas for collaboration in proximity to areas for individual work to ensure disruptive conversations may be quickly moved to more collaboration-appropriate areas.
  • Locating, designing, and arranging work areas so that workers will not be speaking directly “at” each other in areas for focus and concentration.
  • Engage in acoustically-sensitive HVAC design. Don’t locate air supply or return registers close to each other on opposite sides of a partition wall as sound will pass directly from one room to another. Work to right-size and quiet HVAC equipment, including exhaust fans.
  • When work sites are in high noise areas, such as near airports, avoid through-the-wall air conditioners, such as package thermal air conditioner or PTAC units, and evaluate design interventions such as enhanced wall insulation, triple pane insulated windows and doors, building massing and other similar building envelope strategies. Ensure acoustically sensitive building occupancies are not placed adjacent to these sources of noise.
  • Note areas, such as training, recording, or presentation rooms, where speech intelligibility may be important to maximize, rather than minimize.
  • Consider spaces such as phone rooms for personal or more sensitive conversations.
  • Wall and ceiling assemblies should be designed to maintain appropriate sound transmission class or STC performance expectations.
  • Floor finishes with high impact isolation class or IIC values can minimize the transference of impact through floor assemblies to adjacent spaces.
  • Penetrations in walls, floors, and ceilings should be treated to minimize transference. These may occur when mechanical, electrical, plumbing, or audiovisual components penetrate an assembly, or when openings for windows and doors are provided.
  • High workstation partitions which extend above the seated privacy zone, but do not provide an enclosed acoustic area, are ineffective in blocking sound and in reducing sight lines. Awareness of adjacent occupants are now understood to decrease acoustic comfort.
  • Teams may elect to push acoustic design beyond zoning and source control into the realm of psychoacoustics, which is “a branch of science dealing with the perception of sound and the sensations produced by sounds.”
Cover

While HVAC systems and other equipment may provide ambient noise, sound masking is a more effective tool to help occupants concentrate in an open environment. Sometimes referred to as “white” noise, properly engineered sound masking systems are specifically designed to minimize the disruptive quality of human speech patterns. Sound masking systems are most effective when designed to have ubiquitous and universal coverage to reduce awareness of their use and will require commissioning after occupancy by an acoustician or manufacturer’s trained technician to optimize sound levels. To maximize performance, insure early involvement of acoustic professionals or manufacturers to identify acoustic strategies during the integrative design process throughout the project.

Operations

Though acoustic zoning, and the physical interventions of absorbing, blocking, and covering sound sources is important to enable occupant comfort, physical design strategies cannot achieve this in isolation. It is important to consider operations and occupant behavior as part of a holistic acoustic strategy.

Maintenance and construction scheduling:

  • Avoid noisy construction work in quiet spaces during core work hours when possible.
  • Schedule maintenance and daytime cleaning in workstation areas during weekly team meetings or on high telework days when people are away from their desks.
  • Notify occupants of unavoidable loud work so they can plan accordingly.
  • Allow eligible employees to work from home or another location during construction when they have tasks that require intense focus.
Additional resources
  • Health and Wellness Guidance Crosswalk [XLSX - 72 KB]
  • The Facility Guidelines Institute: Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals, Guidelines for Design and Construction of Outpatient Facilities, and Guidelines for Design and Construction of Residential Health, Care, and Support Facilities.
  • WBDG.org | Acoustic Comfort
  • Sound Matters [PDF - 3 MB]

Photo of an open office with a woman sitting at a desk in the foreground and a man standing at a desk in the background.
Photograph by Eric Laignel, courtesy of Perkins+Will
American Society of Interior Designers Headquarters in Washington, DC

An active workstation such as a sit-stand desk, treadmill desk, or cycle desk could be a practical way to decrease sedentary behavior and increase activity to improve health and weight control. Despite having access to a fitness center, some occupants simply do not have the flexibility during their work day to exercise and find themselves stuck at their desk with few opportunities to get up and move around. Adjustable workstations can help.

Standing helps avoid the risks linked to long hours sitting including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer — especially cancers of the colon or breast, and premature death. Prolonged standing may reduce the risk of shoulder and back pain. Standing burns 50 more calories per hour than standing, and sitting for more than 3 hours per day is associated with a 2-year lower life expectancy.

  • Shift to a mix of sitting and standing to avoid back, leg or foot pain.
  • Standing height fixed desks with ergonomic stools can provide a cost-effective way to enable sitting and standing at an otherwise sedentary workstation configuration.
  • Consider experimenting with a mix of sitting, standing, and other postures throughout the day to find what works best for you for any given time or task.

For additional information see the WELL Building Standard and Fitwel. It is also important to note that active workstations shouldn’t serve a substitute for regular aerobic exercise.

*Note: Please see the daylight access section for additional information on circadian rhythms and their importance to health.

General tips for circadian-effective lighting
Green Proving Ground
Federal Center South

In order to ensure appropriate levels of circadian stimulation throughout the day there are certain steps we can take to provide optimal lighting:

  • Morning: In the morning, receiving relatively high circadian stimulation helps us synchronize with the local time, and also promotes alertness which is useful for starting daily activities. This is done by increasing the amount of light reaching the eye, or by using cooler spectra or blue light. A simple solution would be to open blinds or move to an area with lots of daylight exposure for at least 30 minutes.
  • Afternoon: It is common to feel tired in the afternoon, especially after lunch, so to maintain alertness, consider using the same lighting as the morning while ensuring to reduce exposure by early afternoon so as not to impact sleep at night.
  • Evening: Exposure to circadian-effective lighting in the evening just before bed-time can result in the disruption of the production of melatonin, the hormone that indicates darkness and as a result our signal to sleep. To avoid this disruption, use warm lighting and lower light levels at least two hours before bedtime, preferably longer.
Interior design

As mentioned in the daylight access section, daylight provides the ideal source of light for circadian photoentrainment. Therefore, in spatial planning and interior design, efforts should be made to maximize the equitable and appropriate access to lighting sources for all occupants. The workspace should provide sufficient spatial choices to enable occupants to move during the day to achieve the recommended levels of circadian stimulation at work.

Space planning

  • Create areas where people can work or take breaks that offer high levels of morning light, also known as lumen showers. Assess the current or proposed circulation system to identify changes that could improve daylight access.
  • Conduct a spatial assessment to identify appropriate spaces for people vs other needs, such as technology and storage, and create an overall spatial strategy.

Design

  • Differentiate workspace from circulation and other spaces and provide different solutions for daylight enhancements. Move private offices and enclosed spaces to the interior of the building to assure maximum amount of daylight reaches the interior core of the building. Modulate workstation height to provide seated privacy but permit daylight to pass over or through workstation partitions.
  • Provide light shelves, clerestory windows, skylights, or similar applications to bring daylight deeper into the space, especially for deep core buildings or in below grade spaces.
  • Provide external shading strategies that minimize the need for internal shading devices.
  • Select materials and furnishings that will reflect light without contributing to glare and do not strip out the circadian resource. Warmer colors reflect more warm spectrum, which is less circadian active, and cooler or neutral colors reflect more cool or circadian active light. Encourage the lighting designer, analyst and interior design team to collaborate to optimize the light-material relationships for task as well as circadian resource.
  • Increased daylighting access also increases the possibility of being exposed to glare. Deploy shades where needed, but allow sun beams to enter interior spaces where people are not working regularly. Raise shades when no longer needed and consider assigning a floor warden who opens window treatments at the beginning of each day.
  • Design work stations to promote view and daylight access
    • Path A — no partitions
    • Path B — low panels with seated visual privacy but views out above panels
    • Path C — high cubicle partitions incorporate clear glazed panels
  • Select furnishings that enable occupants to change their orientation with respect to the windows or atria, especially the computer orientation.

If daylighting is inadequate, provide supplemental lighting to optimize potential for synchronization of circadian functioning.

Education and behavior
Photo of a woman working at a computer with a large lightbar above the monitor.
Photograph by Lighting Research Center

Light has an immensely powerful effect and consequently, it is important to optimize exposure in the workplace in a thoughtful manner. Even with proper placement of a light source, the effectiveness of circadian light depends on human behavior. Where and how a person is seated relative to a light source impacts the optimization of potential benefits. A person sitting near a window may not receive the daylight needed for circadian stimulus if they are looking down or away, and not directly towards the window.

Having the right tools and design strategy are a good start for a successful, integrated lighting strategy. However, a successful solution that enhances human health benefits also depends on occupant education and behavior. The entire organization should be familiar with the visual and physiological benefits of light, and that insufficient circadian stimulus disrupts sleep patterns and impacts overall health.

Both decision-makers and employees should be educated, through training sessions and reference manuals, on the benefits of light and how to operate the lighting systems in their workplace. Educational materials should also include workplace etiquette and guidance on how to successfully reduce or eliminate glare. For example, individuals may use window treatments to eliminate glare or discomfort but should keep treatments open when the light is not causing visual impairment. Content should also cover instructions for installed lighting solutions. Without such education methods, building occupants may not use lighting solutions to their full potential or in frustration, could simply turn them off.

Occupant behavior and engagement guidance:

  • Work with occupants to use shades for glare control as needed, with shades open when glare potential is reduced. Where many occupants occupy a shared space or manual shade controls cannot be designed in an accessible manner, consider providing automated shade systems.
  • Inform occupants, facility managers, workplace specialists and others about why circadian stimulation is important. Identify how sufficient stimulation can be achieved over the daytime hours indoors.
  • Promote the use and value of social or gathering spaces with high circadian potential.

Ergonomic workspaces are designed to facilitate work while minimizing stress and strain on the body. They also accommodate user preferences and comfort. They include height-adjustable desks that can be easily moved around on casters, fully adjustable chairs, monitor arms, keyboard trays, footrests and document holders. These elements are advisable for all workstations, but especially for those who are less enabled through technology or job function to be able to move to different work locations in the office.

Attention to workstation set up and practices can help avoid common symptoms associated with poor design or habits including back, neck and shoulder pain, hand and wrist discomfort, headaches and eyestrain. An estimated 31 million Americans suffer from musculoskeletal skeletal disorders.

Design

Adjustable chairs: Chairs for all workstations should include a stable chair base, as well as a seat which is adjustable in height, depth, tilt and possessed of a rounded or “waterfall” edge to reduce pressure and improve circulation. Chair backrests should also include adjustable lumbar support to ease pressure on the lower back and accommodate a variety of body shapes and types. Arm rests are optional, but when provided should be adjustable as it is important to be at the right height and not too wide to avoid pressure, strain and fatigue.

Accessories and more: A wide variety of other accessory tools are available to increase occupant comfort and address a range of issues. These might include anti-glare screens in areas where sun shading is insufficient, or electric lighting creates veiling reflections. Phone headsets may reduce the tendency to cradle the phone at the joint of the neck. Even the provision of mobile technology can be of assistance, as it enables occupants to take walking meetings or find a new position in an accessory workspace that may relieve strain.

Training: An estimated 31 million Americans suffer from musculoskeletal skeletal disorders. Attention to workstation adjustability, support and training in proper use can help avoid common symptoms associated with poor design or habits including back, neck and shoulder pain, hand and wrist discomfort, headaches and eyestrain. To get the full benefit of ergonomic planning, it is important to train employees on how to adjust their workspaces to maximize comfort and health. Many furniture and ergonomic accessory manufacturers can provide training on the furniture and tools provided, or an independent ergonomist may be engaged to educate occupants on both proper posture and adjusting to alleviate individual concerns. Consider recording any training provided to enable new employees to benefit from this training during onboarding.

Additional resources
  • AIA.org | Health
  • BIFMA | ANSI/BIFMA e3-2014: Business and Institutional Furniture Sustainability Standard and Level® Sustainability Certification Program for Furniture
  • Creasy, S.A., R.J. Rogers, T.D. Byard, R.J. Kowalsky, and J.M. Jakicic. 2016. Energy Expenditure During Acute Periods of Sitting Standing, and Walking. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 13(6): 573-8.
  • EHSToday.com | Prolonged Standing on the Job = Greater Risk of Heart Disease
  • Harvard | The truth behind standing desks
  • HumanScale.com | Return on Investment for Ergonomics Interventions
  • OSHA.gov | Computer Workstations eTool
  • University of North Carolina | Office Ergonomics
  • Washington Post | Don’t just sit there
  • WELL Building Standard | Active Furnishings

Americans spend 90% of their time indoors, so the quality of our indoor air is critical to our health, comfort and performance. Building systems help keep indoor air clean so that we do not get sick from exposure to toxins but more than that should help us stay well, energized, and productive. Recent studies suggest that improving indoor air quality beyond what conventional design requires could reduce rates of absenteeism, inflammation, infection and other symptoms of sick building syndrome by over a third and improve cognitive performance by as much as half. Perhaps there is an opportunity to help people feel healthier and perform better for having been in our buildings.

Learn how to improve indoor air using four key levers.

Indoor environmental quality factors like temperature, humidity, lighting, sound, CO2, etc. vary over time and space, requiring a range of techniques to measure them. Visit the enhancing health with indoor air page to learn more about indoor air factors and how they affect health. Visit the Wellbuilt for Wellbeing page for more information on lighting and acoustics.

IEQ monitoring in real-time or over more frequent sampling periods is a strategy to address these growing health concerns, and the accuracy and affordability of sensing devices have improved in recent years.

It is not enough to just deploy IEQ sensors. Building operators and designers need to define an operational strategy focused on specific IEQ factors, develop measurable outcomes or metrics to evaluate success while understanding that many indoor contaminants lack established metrics, and have sufficient control over the situation to affect those outcomes. Check out the IEQ page for more considerations in designing a sensing strategy and controlling other IEQ parameters for occupant comfort, health, and performance

Integrated pest management or IPM protects occupant health by utilizing preventative measures, monitoring, and maintenance to reduce pests, minimizing the overuse of toxic chemicals. Many IPM solutions involve pest prevention through physical barriers and cleaning. When pesticides are required, IPM uses the least-toxic chemicals in targeted areas for a targeted species.

Exterior IPM practices also minimize the use of pesticides and herbicides to protect pollinators that benefit human health and well-being. For more information, see the National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey bees and Other Pollinators [PDF] and the USDA Forest Service’s Conservation and Management of North American Bumble Bees [PDF].

A critical component to improving employee health and well-being at the office is by ensuring workers have access to nutritional foods to power them through their workday, whether through cafeterias, vending machines, local stores and restaurants or farmers’ markets. At the workplace, personal diet and eating behavior is influenced by many decisions at the individual, team, organization, and national level. The company can empower employees to make long-lasting improvements to personal health through building design, education, and healthy choice promotion.

The USDA’s MyPlate.gov tool provides a series of resources to help the individual make informed, nutritious decisions on what to eat, and Federal Occupational Health provides nutrition and health coaching. Health-focused building certification systems like WELL and Fitwel offer a framework for how building design and operation are linked to and further aid building workers in making healthy decisions. Example strategies that encourage healthy eating habits include:

  • Adopt and implement a healthy food and beverage standard for the entire organization.
  • Use prominent, appealing signage and advertising in cafeterias, break areas, etc. that only feature healthy food options or discourage consumption of processed or additive-heavy foods and beverages.
  • Avoid having unhealthy foods such as candy dishes in high traffic areas, prominently displayed, or close to occupant workstations.
  • Establish regular, on-site sale of local produce such as through establishment of a weekly farmer’s market.
  • Provide break areas to encourage employees to eat away from their desks, which can increase the likelihood of workers making healthier food and beverage choices. Additionally, promote the practice of “mindful eating”, such as eating during a break rather than while working, to improve nutrition and strengthen community ties.
  • Providing easy access to clean drinking water in cafeterias, kitchens, vending and break rooms.
  • Incentivize workers to select healthier foods through pricing strategies and choice architecture, the practice of influencing choice by changing the way options are presented to people.

For additional information, see the federal Food Service Guidelines.

Sustainable product characteristics include durability, clean-ability and maintenance, desired building service life, appropriate product application, IAQ effects, material transparency, and positive health and well-being outcomes of building users.

Hazardous materials

Completion and implementation of a hazard materials management policy is recommended for all settings based upon the chemicals and hazardous materials that are anticipated within a specific setting for a specific function. Within the policy, include the utilization and placement of Sharps containers and other collection methods that protect building users based upon space use. The policy is to include waste management information for hazard materials, including spill prevention and recovery methods and access to electronic or hard copies of safety data sheets, or SDSs.

Risk

Evaluation and utilize products that include a Screening-Level Product Risk Assessment based upon exposure and risk and not hazard only. Product manufacturers should provide a screening-level product risk assessment report that includes certification that their full product formulation underwent a risk assessment, including each constituent chemical identified by applicable Chemical Abstract Service or CAS number and the percentage of each constituent chemical in the formulation; this should ensure de minimis of 0.1% for carcinogens and 1% for other hazardous ingredients. Each screening-level product risk assessment for human health, safety, and ecological impacts to be based upon the NSF/GCI/ANSI-355 Chemical Characteristics.

Emissions and VOC content

Evaluation of products and the impact of emissions and volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, have a direct impact on indoor air quality. Emissions requirements should be determined according to CDPH/EHLB/Standard Method V1.1 — commonly known as California Section 01350 — and should comply with the limit requirements for either office or classroom spaces, regardless of the space type. The VOC content requirements should be determined and limited in accordance with SCAQMD Rule 1168.

Product life cycle assessment

Evaluating products from a life cycle assessment, or LCA, perspective is the most comprehensive way of reviewing products from an environmental footprint and healthy building perspective. Selection of products that have completed environmental product declarations, or EPDs, multiple attribute standards, and third-party product life cycle assessments is recommended.

Resources for product selection
  • The International EPD® System
  • UL SPOT database information
  • CSA Group EPD Listing
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology | Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability program and BEES tool.
  • The utilization of multiple attribute standards for product selection is based upon evaluation of life cycle. Use products that have been third-party certified utilizing multiple attribute standard criteria. These include the following:
    • NSF/ANSI 140-2015 Sustainability Assessment for Carpet
    • NSF/ANSI 332-2015 Sustainability Assessment for Resilient Flooring
    • NSF/ANSI 336-2011 Sustainability Assessment for Commercial Furnishings Fabric
    • NSF/ANSI 342-2014 Sustainability Assessment for Wallcovering Products
    • NSF/ANSI 347-2012 Sustainability Assessment for Single Ply Roof Membranes
    • ANSI/NSC 373-2014 Sustainability Assessment for Natural Dimension Stone
    • ANSI/BIFMA e3-2014: Business and Institutional Furniture Sustainability Standard and Level® Sustainability Certification Program for Furniture
    • Tile Council of North America’s Green Squared Certification ANSI A138.1-2011
    • UL 102: Sustainability of Swinging Door Leafs
Cleaning and disinfection

Environmental purchasing policies are developed to encourage the elimination or reduction of chemicals used within an existing setting. Typically, this includes reduction or right sizing the amount of chemical used for cleaning; and in some settings, disinfection. Training and education on touch point cleaning methods are important for environmental services staff to provide consistency and minimizing chemical usage while still reaching the required efficacy for the intended built environment and functional use. Typically healthcare environments are the main focus; however, from a public health perspective the application of recommended cleaning methods is applicable to most building interiors. Indoor environmental quality is impacted, in addition to meeting OSHA requirements on cleaning chemicals is necessary to protect the environmental services staff. See CDC’s Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities [PDF] and summary updates of Guideline

People experience thermal comfort differently in response to the same set of environmental conditions: air temperature, air movement, radiant temperature, and humidity. Several personal conditions also contribute, including: metabolic rate and general level of activity and the amount of clothing worn. We can best address thermal comfort by using the full range of factors which contribute to it, and we would benefit from decoupling thermal conditioning from the systems that provide fresh air indoors. Most buildings’ systems do not provide control and adaptability across the full range of thermal comfort factors. Unfortunately, as a UC Center for the Built Environment study showed, in only 11% of buildings are more than 80% of occupants satisfyingly comfortable.23 IFMA’s research has shown that spaces being “too hot” or “too cold” are quite frequent—and frustratingly, about equal.24

Air temperature, zoning, and control

Most mechanical systems simply deliver conditioned air at a set temperature. This approach, however, does not always create reliably consistent conditions. Even when it does, it frequently results in an environment with which some people will be satisfied, and the rest must adapt. Designs using advanced approaches to psychrometrics account for more of the environmental conditions, and often create more variability within a space. Strategies which address comfort through this more holistic view may also help improve health and possibly reduce energy consumption at the same time.25

Visit the enhancing health with indoor air page to learn more about air temperature.

Air movement

Air speed or movement is an important component of our satisfaction with the indoor environment, but it may also have health and energy savings implications. Current design approaches generally seek a specific range of air speed inside buildings. These conditions are not always well maintained.

Visit the enhancing health with indoor air page to learn more about air movement.

Radiant heating and cooling

Radiant heating and cooling are dynamic elements found in all buildings. They can be important elements of new design approaches. Current design and operations approaches address radiant effects like imbalanced natural heating and cooling by ensuring proper insulation, high-quality glazing,26 window blinds and tinting, and perimeter cooling systems. However, active radiant systems can be added to provide increased thermal comfort beyond what those strategies can yield.

Visit the enhancing health with indoor air page to learn more about radiant heating and cooling.

Sensing and occupant satisfaction monitoring

While the empirical data which sensors provide is important to maintaining occupant satisfaction, some aspects of satisfaction are better measured through occupant comfort surveys. There are several existing tools that provide great resources to help gauge comfort in the indoor environment. Most surveys are “global” in nature and ask respondents to consider how they felt over a previous period typically the past year. Newer approaches are considering shorter, ongoing surveys, seasonally provided to account for a variety of environmental variables, to allow occupants to provide regular feedback directly to building operators. This information can be combined with analysis of building automation data and used to provide more rapid response, as well as a deeper understanding of the issue to be addressed.

Organizations expend significant effort on occupant comfort surveys and there are several that provide great resources to help understand the indoor environment. Most surveys are “global” in nature. They ask respondents to consider how they felt over a previous period, typically the past year. Newer approaches are considering shorter, ongoing surveys, or, allow occupants to provide regular feedback directly to building operators. This information can be combined with analysis of building automation data and used to provide more rapid response as discussed in this paper from the Wellbuilt for Wellbeing project team. Some examples of surveys to consider:

  • UC Berkeley | Occupant Survey
  • U.S. Army Construction and Environmental Research Laboratory ongoing survey
Humidity

When specifying or modifying building systems, provide systems which will enable the modulation of humidity levels in occupant comfort zones to both increase and decrease relative humidity. Humidity, if it is measured at all, is typically measured only in the return air — the air that is removed from a space by the ventilation and cooling system. Most systems are not designed to maintain relative humidity levels, and those that do are only designed to reduce relative humidity below 60% at the given setpoint temperature, not to increase it. Humidity is something that humans perceive indirectly: while we tend to recognize high humidity as “stuffy,” we rarely notice small changes in the amount of water in the air. Despite this lack of perception, humidity levels affect more than comfort.

Additional resources
  • Carnegie Mellon University | Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics
  • Wellbuilt for Wellbeing
  • Taylor, S. 2017. The Essential Role of Indoor Air Quality in Patient Outcomes [PDF]. Presentation to ASHRAE NM Chapter.
  • UC Berkeley | Center for the Built Environment
  • Wolkoff, P. and S.K. Kjaergaard. 2007. The dichotomy of relative humidity on indoor air quality. Environment International, 33(6), 850-857.
  • Wolkoff, P. 2018. Indoor air humidity, air quality, and health — An overview. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 221(3): 376-390.

Stress and the physical environment

Health must also address how people adapt successfully and manage themselves in the face of physical, mental or social challenges or stressors. These challenges range from macro-level threats such as those associated with extreme weather events and resilience9 or socioeconomic factors to micro-level threats linked to the physical environment — such as acoustic challenges, ergonomic discomforts, or material pathogens. These stressors may be encountered at home, en route to and from work, within the workplace, in settings away from home when traveling, in social and community spaces, and more. The ability to recover from these stressors relies on access to spaces and tools for recovery.27,28 Specifically, this page addresses the physical spaces and ambient conditions that can support positive health and wellness outcomes through building and site design, maintenance, and operation. Supporting personal adaptation through choice and behavioral encouragement, provision of personal control of workspaces, and access to a variety of social, psychological and physical supports enables building inhabitants to actively manage stressors to promote well-being.

Systems thinking and the community at large

Current design for health and wellness includes a larger view of design that not only focuses on the individual building or space and its occupants but requires the evaluation of benefits to the community at large. For example, identifying the connection to available parks and biking opportunities in the overall community assists with the design of building entry locations, storage facilities at point of service, staff areas to accommodate cyclists, and operationally providing a graphic cyclist map that encourages engagement for the building’s users and visitors. The integration of design with operations and training provides a stronger well-being integration than either might achieve in isolation.

Integrative design

The goal is to promote healthy habits through good design and provide operational support and communication that potentially furthers positive behaviors by building occupants. This is achieved through the utilization of an integrative design process — a process that includes the active participation of a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders relevant to a specific project from project conceptualization through operations. The group extends beyond the design team and includes operational staff, users, and administrative staff.

Site selection and construction

Site selection

Selecting a building site is one of the most important decisions in designing a building, as the wrong choice could result in negative health and environmental impacts and substantial economic loss.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative provides guidelines that apply to any landscape and outlines clear objectives to meet in selecting and designing building sites. Two goals of the initiative include: Elevating the value of landscapes by outlining the economic, environmental and human well-being benefits of sustainable sites, and connecting building and landscapes to contribute to environmental and community health.

The former Partnership for Sustainable Communities outlined a series of “livability principles” with several relating to the selection of a building site and ways to protect the environment. Some of the strategies included providing more reliable, safe, and economic transportation choices, promoting public health, improving total air quality, access to nature, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and investing in the creation of healthy, safe, walkable communities.

Site considerations might include:

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Creating a walkable environment should be a primary goal in campus setup. A walkable environment is characterized by safe, well-lit pedestrian paths that connect people to workplaces, basic needs and services, green spaces, and transportation options. Most measures of walkability look at certain proximity levels to a project — evaluate the pedestrian experience for short walks of five- to ten minutes or less than one-half mile. Orienting a building entrance to pedestrian traffic supports a walkable environment. Additionally, open spaces and context-appropriate lighting on campuses increase visibility and reduce opportunity for crime, thereby increasing the likelihood of physical activity and decreasing stress levels.29

Proximity and easy access to outdoor space and biophilia is being recognized as an important component in designing sustainable facilities. Studies have demonstrated that including outdoor space amenities such as paths, tables, benches or gardens may improve health by increasing levels of physical activity, reducing general stress, and exposing occupants to daylight. When selecting a site for new construction or an existing building for relocation, consider a site’s Walk Score® as a measure of connectedness to the community, and study locations of existing outdoor green spaces that are walkable. If existing parks or vegetative areas do not exist, consider whether the relocation will allow for creation of such spaces. Creating restorative gardens, adding planted roofs, or providing outdoor fitness equipment may reduce absenteeism resulting in increased productivity and instill feelings of well-being.30

Another important consideration in sustainable site selection is easy access to a dedicated fitness facility. Consider whether there is a public or private gym within walking distance of a project. Such a facility would include a range of cardiovascular and strength training options as well as dedicated shower and changing facilities. Some facilities may offer group exercise classes, indoor sport courts, and swimming pools. In the absence of a nearby commercial gym, other measures can be taken to ensure sufficient physical activity. Providing a multi-purpose room that can be scheduled for wellness activities or on-site exercise is one option. Similarly, procuring active workstations, such as sit-stand workstations and treadmill desks, will aid in keeping occupants physically active, as well as reduce morbidity and absenteeism and instill feelings of well-being as addressed in Fitwel and WELL.

In urban, high-density locations, access to mass transit or public transportation is a central tenet to sustainable site selection. Public transit use is associated with an increase in improved outdoor air quality, stress reduction, injury prevention, physical activity, community health, and accessibility for those who cannot drive or afford private vehicle use. A direct, accessible pedestrian route from transit to the building entrance can increase safety for transit users and improve the convenience and appeal of using transit. An additional benefit to mass transit use is an increase in daily physical activity that may not otherwise occur.

However, mere access to mass transit or public transportation may be falling short of practical goals. Further considerations, such as proximity, building access and connectivity must be taken into account when addressing site selection as it relates to access to public transportation.

A useful resource in gauging idyllic proximity to mass transportation and other amenities is a site’s Walk Score® . Walk Score® is a large-scale public access walkability index that assigns a numerical value to every address in the United States on a 0-100 scale. A high walk score reflects a more walkable location, which has been shown to influence physical activity.31 Consider selection of a site that includes proximity to diverse needs that can be accessed via easy walks — eateries, banks, convenience stores, service providers such as barbers and drycleaners.

Construction

There are several precautions a contractor can take during construction to protect existing and future occupant health. Construction activities used to create a space can have a significant impact on indoor environmental quality. Construction activities and close out, including inspections and an integrated team approach to hand off to the operations team, can also greatly impact future building and occupant performance. More information on indoor air quality guidelines can be found in the ASHRAE Indoor Air Quality Guide.

Many construction activities create airborne contaminants that can compromise the health of occupants of the space. Much of the debris created on a construction site is “dust” related to the cutting of materials such as drywall, metal, and plaster. Introducing these particulates into the air can compromise respiratory, cardiovascular, optical, and immune health.

In addition, proper care must be taken during construction to ensure the safety and well-being of construction workers, building occupants, and visitors. Measures may include fall prevention; personal protective gear such as hard hats, safety glasses, reflective vests, enclosed footwear, and gloves being required in active construction areas; and temporary barriers around dangerous equipment.

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A building’s mechanical systems are often the primary or only conveyance of outdoor air to building occupants. These systems have several components that arrive on a project site and need to be assembled. These components, such as ductwork, mechanical intake units, and fans, should be protected while on the construction site before being installed. Openings in mechanical components need to be covered to prevent dust and debris from entering occupant space. Filtration media should be in place when the components are installed and replaced immediately prior to occupancy. The system should not be run during construction unless all filtration media is in place. Mechanical system components should also not be stored directly on an unfinished floor while construction is still underway to minimize potential of standing water, cleaning agents, and swept debris from entering the components. Pollutants inadvertently introduced in the building’s mechanical systems during construction can increase respiratory irritation and impact immune and cardiovascular health. Both LEED and WELL certification systems have credits related to construction phase air quality.

Once mechanical systems are installed, the building’s exterior envelope should be made as air-tight as possible. For a thorough inspection of these conditions, third-party consultants can conduct an envelope commissioning review.

Vehicles should be prohibited from idling on a construction site to minimize the pollution created from fuel combustion. If possible, vehicular circulation should be located away from building air intakes both during construction and after occupancy.

Smoking — both tobacco and electronic cigarettes — must be prohibited inside a construction site for both health and safety. Designated smoking areas, if required, should be located remote from building air intakes, building entries, and window openings.

Some construction materials and products may “off-gas” or emit volatile organic compounds or VOCs and other known toxins during installation and subsequently once the building is occupied, requiring adequate ventilation to protect workers as well as current and future occupants. For example, this is often a concern with poured epoxy flooring, concrete stains, and some paints and adhesives. Furniture, fixtures, and equipment, materials, sealants, adhesives, paints, and coatings should be specified with low, or preferably no, emissions of VOCs. Ventilation can be provided through free area openings such as windows and doors as well as mechanical means such as fans and ducted systems.

Keeping a construction site clean can also contribute to better indoor environmental quality. At minimum spaces should be broom-swept daily to contain dirt and debris. If an exterior construction site is dusty due to activities or lack of rainfall, water can be used to minimize dust being picked up in the wind and blown into a building. Building entrances should be protected with cleanable walk-off mats or sticky mats to trap dirt on shoes. Cleaning products should be appropriate to the application and setting and should not off-gas.

When construction is complete but prior to occupancy, the mechanical system should be flushed out to remove remaining dust and airborne contaminants from the system and the space. A flush out replaces all air by volume in an interior space and is calculated based on the total area of the space and the designed air change rate of the system. Air quality can be tested for specific airborne contaminants at this time, and corrective actions taken if levels are above acceptable thresholds.

Financial benefits

Financial benefits of proactively improving health outcomes and reducing health risks can include:

  • Less absenteeism
  • Better staff retention
  • Reduced insurance costs
  • Fewer workers’ compensation claims
  • Enhanced organizational effectiveness
  • Positive impact on work quality and cognitive function

There is increasing evidence that making workplaces more conducive to occupant health and well-being can yield significant financial benefits to both employers and employees. These benefits can include minimizing absenteeism and presenteeism, lowering health care costs, and improving individual and organizational performance.

The research in this field has not advanced to the point that quantitative return on investment or ROI calculations can be made as easily as is the case with, say, energy-efficient technologies. Making such calculations requires comparing the amount of investment required to establish healthier built environments with the returns or savings from such investments. The costs of healthier workplaces vary widely with the broad array of strategies discussed here — although many of the most effective strategies tend to be low cost, such as making stairways more attractive and accessible.

Savings from healthier workplaces within the federal building portfolio could be substantial, considering that the federal government employs about 2.2 million civilian workers, on which it spends $215 billion in FY2016 on compensation, including pay and benefits.32 Through the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, the government pays an average of 70% of the cost of health insurance premiums. The federal employee absenteeism rate due to illness or injury is 2.6%.33 These large numbers indicate that even small percentage improvements in employee health, through health-focused interventions, can have dramatic effects.

Research to date has identified a wide variety of measurable benefits associated with healthier workplaces including:

  • Benefits of improved indoor air quality: One review and analysis of existing studies estimated that the U.S. could save $1-4 billion by reducing absenteeism and illness associated with asthma and allergies from unhealthy building conditions, and $10-20 billion by reducing absenteeism and illness associated with sick building syndrome, among other potential savings.34 Ventilation above standard levels in particular has been associated with health and performance gains. Recent studies have found the health benefits of enhanced ventilation to exceed the per occupant costs of implementing them;35 they have also identified increases of worker cognitive performance of 61-101% under conditions of enhanced ventilation.36
  • Benefits of daylighting and circadian stimulation: A GSA project on circadian light found that office workers who received the most circadian stimulation at work, during the daytime, slept on average 30 minutes longer at night.15 A 2016 RAND study on sleep estimated that the U.S. loses an equivalent of about 1.23 million working days per year due to sleep loss, translating to an economic cost of $9.9 million per year.37 These data could support a business case for investing in circadian effective light in daytime work environments.
  • Benefits of workplace wellness programs: The American Institute for Preventive Medicine estimated, based on numerous studies, that every dollar companies spent on worksite wellness programs returned around $3.48 due to reduced medical costs and $5.82 due to reduced absenteeism.38
  • Benefits of overall healthy building programs: Several case studies documenting the benefits of healthy building programs have shown promising results. The American Society of Interior Designers found it was on track to recoup its investment in the redesign of its leased office space to meet WELL Building Standard Platinum levels within one year.39 Skanska UK, achieving BREEAM Outstanding level in an office renovation with improved daylighting, thermal comfort and IAQ, saved $36,000 in personnel costs, and reduced the payback period of an office move from 11 to 8 years by achieving 3.5 fewer building-related sick days.40

Considering all of the above, what we can say with confidence about the ROI of healthier buildings is that:

  • Employees represent an enormous investment
  • Health and well-being can impact their performance
  • Workplace conditions can negatively or positively affect employees’ physical and mental conditions.

Therefore, investments in healthier workplaces can pay off handsomely even if precise calculations of this payback remain elusive.

In order to make more definitive links from building strategies to specific health and financial outcomes, more research is needed on issues including:

  • While many studies have focused on the benefits and costs of individual risks or strategies – e.g., improvements in worker performance correlated with increased ventilation rates – more research is needed to evaluate the combined impact of the multiple factors, positive and negative, to which one is exposed in the workplace.
  • Research and improved methodologies are needed to better establish the pathway of evidence from presence of a risk or toxin, to exposure of an individual to that risk, to manifestation of symptoms to diagnosis of a health condition – after screening out other factors that may have led to the condition in question. Variations of individual reaction based on factors like genetics, environment, age and stress level also need to be better understood.
  • Strategies that rely on occupant behavior – e.g., improving stairway access to increase occupant exercise – require approaches to actually influence those behaviors, and study the effectiveness of such interventions. They also need to take into account that relevant behaviors occur both inside and outside one’s workplace.
  • Employee performance is harder to measure for knowledge workers, although research on the impacts of built environment factors on cognitive performance shows promise.41

Operations and maintenance

IAQ policy

The development of an indoor air quality policy is part of establishing and maintaining healthy indoor environmental quality. During any construction, vehicle idling and large equipment use can burn fossil fuels, increasing irritant levels and creating negative health impacts in the air. Pollutant emissions may also be created from construction machinery use.

Cycle renovations

Providing health and well-being criteria to facility management and operational teams creates an opportunity for renovations and scheduled maintenance, or cycle renovations, to be programmed and planned utilizing an additional lens of supporting occupant well-being. When completing cycle renovations, complete a conditions assessment process and checklist to evaluate the following areas of the applicable project scope.

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  • Exterior
    • Evaluate community accessible pathways between buildings and various types of transit and pedestrian walkways.
    • Evaluate adequacy and types of lighting at pedestrian walkways, parking areas, and building entrances including sensors.
    • Evaluate accessible green space for occupants and possible ways to increase or improve usable green spaces.
    • If windows are being added or replaced as part of a cycle renovation or regularly scheduled maintenance, evaluate glazing for energy efficiency and operable shading options utilizing sensors in context of the building envelope.
  • Interior
    • Use walk-off mats at all entrances to trap particulate and are universally designed to provide easy access and reduce risk of slips and falls.
    • Evaluate access to existing stairwells by building occupants and encourage occupant usage through wayfinding.
    • Require specification and utilization of low emission and low VOC products throughout all cycle renovations.
    • If adding any spaces for environmental services or other areas that include chemical use and storage, provide separate exhaust and ventilation for these spaces.
    • If space planning of office layouts is being completed, include evaluation of access to natural daylight and views of nature for all work areas and spaces being designed.
    • Evaluate the quality of daylight to avoid glare.
    • If bathrooms are being renovated, include hand-washing signs to encourage positive behavior that reduces the spread of infection.
    • Evaluate existing square footage when doing annual planning and programming for cycle renovations to identify potential spaces that could be used as a dedicated exercise or fitness area for equipment or classes.
    • Evaluate and verify water refilling station access in conjunction with ADA compliant drinking fountain that is conveniently accessible to all building occupants.
    • Verify all building emergency equipment is operational and supplies are located at point of service.
    • Development of product standards for cycle renovations that include one or more of the following:
      • Third-party verified multiple attribute standard certifications
      • Environmental Product Declarations
      • Listed in NIST’s BEES database
      • Third-party sustainable forestry certifications
      • Health Product Declarations
      • Reused, refurbished, or salvaged materials used in lieu of new materials

  • Policies, procedures, and plans
    • Evaluate integrated pest management plan based on changes made to the physical plant.
    • Evaluate smoke-free policy if building entrances and outdoor spaces are being changed.
    • Evaluate development of a policy to encourage the use of existing stairwells as a means of exercise, and improvements needed to promote such use.
    • Evaluate development of an indoor air quality policy for the building.
    • Evaluate development of a sustainable purchasing policy for procurement of products for cycle renovations.
    • Evaluate regularly, emergency procedures and disaster preparedness plan.
    • Development of a construction, renovation, and demolition waste management policy, procedure, and plan for cycle renovations.
  • Regular assessments
    • Evaluate occupant commuting needs through survey or similar method. Results provide an opportunity to support and right size for commuter needs; such as bicycle storage and support spaces, shower and changing areas, car or van pooling, ride-sharing locations, and public transit access.
    • Evaluate opportunities for access to healthy food and beverages on-site, including vending machine options, and nearby off-site locations. Include information in marketing and communication policy and procedures and post for use by all building users.

Occupant engagement

Health and safety committee

Executive Order 12196, Occupational Safety and Health Programs for Federal Employees, directs agencies to operate occupational safety and health programs to improve workplace safety and reduce employee injury or illness. This includes the development of health and safety committees under CFR 1960.36 to open and maintain communication channels between employees and their leadership to improve workplace conditions. These committees, now standard in federal agencies, model practical options for other public institutions and private companies, including those that look at opportunities beyond the basics of hazard prevention. Organizations with a higher percentage of employees actively engaged in these programs report lower rates of workplace incidents.

Though less obvious than heavy industry settings, the typical office workplace setting has its own set of hazards, and in 2016 alone, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 3.2 incidents or illnesses occurred out of every 100 full-time workers in the office or administration industries.42 The top office injuries typically reported include falls, employees struck or caught by an object, ergonomics injuries, and vision problems.43 Health and Safety programs are an effective strategy to reduce injuries and illness in any industry.

There are a number of resources available for organizations on starting and maintaining an effective health and safety program and encouraging employees to become engaged, active participants and safety practitioners. Health and safety programs should include these basic elements:

  • Health and safety surveys or some reporting mechanism to document workplace inspections, identification, and correction of unsafe or unhealthy workplace conditions.
  • Health and safety committees should be open to all employees. See OSHA’s 3-part series on creating and maintaining an effective health and safety committee: Part 1 [PPTX], Part 2 [PPTX], Part 3 [PPTX].
  • Mechanism for accident or incident investigation and reporting
  • Continual occupational safety and health training for all employees

A safe and healthy workplace is not just achieved by preventing accidents and injury, but by also encouraging and empowering employees to take control of their personal health and well-being. Building design, operation, leadership support, and organizational culture all play key roles in employee health, well-being, and performance.

Health promotion and campaign programs

Establishing employee wellness programs that promote personal health can reduce absenteeism, improve work performance,44 lower health care costs, reduce workers’ compensation and disability-related expenses, reduce workplace injuries, and improve employee morale and loyalty.45 The workplace is an integral part of a health and wellness program; effective workplaces that reflect an organization’s culture around health and well-being improve and increase employee engagement, quality teamwork interactions, and empower employees to make decisions that support personal health and well-being. In using the workplace to promote personal health and well-being, does your workspace:

  • Encourage activity and collaboration?
  • Provide workplace choice inclusive of all occupants’ work styles, individuality, project needs, and personality traits?
  • Include areas that rejuvenate and restore occupants to stay focused through the workday when accomplishing tasks?
  • Inspire employees to want to work there?
  • Include access to healthy food options?
  • Provide ease of access to clean drinking water?

Health promotion campaigns are an effective way to demonstrate an organization’s commitment to health and well-being and they provide opportunities for direct engagement with occupants. Effective health promotion campaign keeps occupants empowered, engaged, and incentivized to participate.

  • Management Support — Health programs and campaigns will stall without the buy-in from leadership. Management support goes a long way towards improving the overall organizational culture around health and well-being. Leadership provides funding, approves and communicates new policies and processes, and improves the overall organizational culture around health and well-being by making it a part of their business practice — linking health promotion objectives to business outcomes.
  • Health and Wellness Committee — Establish an internal, occupant-driven team that lays the foundation from which health and well-being is sustained throughout the organization. This committee could have a range of responsibilities such as evaluating current programs and behavioral change frameworks, assessing occupant needs through focus groups and surveys, developing clear and measurable goals and objectives, and monitoring the implementation outcomes of the program. Goals should be quantifiable with set deadlines for completion and evaluation. For example:
    • “10% reduction in employees who smoke by XX/20XX based upon ‘Y’ initiative.”
    • “15% reduction in absenteeism over next 2 years based upon ‘Z’ being implemented.”
  • Funding and Incentives: Successful health promotion within an organization will require funding for program development, design, marketing, and execution. Through employee incentives such as monetary compensation, prizes, and other direct benefits such as free health screenings or monitoring devices such as pedometers and fitness trackers, occupants will actually want to participate, stay engaged, and feel valued by their organization, all while making improvements to their personal health and well-being. Funding may also cover compensation for key committee members such as major stakeholders and organizational representatives, including human resources, unions, administrative services, and company leadership, and other costs that are associated with execution of specific health campaigns like launch events or celebrations to reward company-wide and individual achievements.
  • Assessment: Use employee surveys, health risk assessments, and organizational assessments to understand the current health of the organization and its employees and their willingness to improve. Ensure clear communication between all stakeholders, track performance and program success to foster continual improvement, and re-tune strategies that are not working.

Health enhancing workplace policies

Establish policies, operations and communications that align with Health Promotion Programs and Campaigns, and active design upgrades to the built environment to glean the best outcomes.

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  • Provide regular training, written materials, working groups, and presentations to educate occupants on the benefits building design, behaviors, and operational policy can have on well-being.
  • Engagement can also be supported through apps, wearables and automated reminders to keep building occupants aware of health and wellness applications and informational postings, which could include updates on where to purchase nutritional foods, health and wellness discounts available, classes available, etc.
  • Ensure access to well-being support programs, such as those for stress and addiction treatment, are easily and anonymously accessible.

  • Policies that promote flexibility including vacation, flexible schedules, telework, and job sharing, are generally associated with promoting a healthy work-life balance.
  • Remote employees may find it more difficult to acculturate with an organization without regular, in-person contact, leading to feelings of isolation rather than balance. Ensure communication methods, meeting norms, and teaming activities are designed for inclusion.
  • To ensure healthy balance and the opportunity for respite, clearly communicate expectations around working hours and communication response times. This will be of heightened import for teams distributed widely across time zones.
  • When scheduling travel, encourage employees to ensure they continue to balance work and well-being. Discourage red-eye travel and communicate the ability to shift hours to recover from such travel, discourage trips where travel time extends beyond operational hours, and encourage employees to book accommodations at facilities with fitness facilities.
  • Altruistic or other community activities may also strengthen team dynamics and provide opportunities for fitness or mental health support.

  • Senior staff can encourage and “model” active behavior, such as taking advantage of multiple working zones, taking walking and stretching breaks, or using stairs and interior and exterior active circulation paths, so employees view it as permissible.
  • Wayfinding, as through signage and landmarks, can help occupants find opportunities for exercise, such as stairways, as well as other health and fitness resources.

Additional resources

  • Wellbuilt for Wellbeing
  • OPM.gov | Work-Life
  • See Federal Occupational Health resources including onsite health promotion programming, virtual fitness classes, nutrition and health coaching, and a wellness portal.

Personal control, choice, and workplace customization

Today, many employees have the option to work in a variety of locations. Individuals can incorporate aspects of workplace health and well-being recommendations on their own at the workplace, at home, or at “third-party places” such as coffee shops, hotels, and airports.

Photo of a home office, with the desk facing a window.

Light

  • Prioritize access to daylight and views
  • Deploy glare reduction strategies
  • Use a well-positioned task light to illuminate specific activities

Thermal comfort

  • Choose well-ventilated, thermally comfortable spaces.
    • Understand how heating and cooling may affect home energy use and consider discrete spaces that remain comfortable without conditioning the whole house.
  • Consider cost-effective solutions including natural ventilation through operable windows, fans, and dressing in layered clothing.

Activity

  • Stand and move around
  • Walk and stretch

Acoustics

  • Separate yourself from unwanted distractions
    • Move away from outside noise and high traffic areas if others share the home or “third-party” spaces.
    • At home, consider a door for privacy from daily distractions

Technology

  • Use mobile devices, including notebook computers, wifi, and cell phones, to connect to the office and work.
    • Manage technology and understand how to connect to teleconference and audio conference services. Educate colleagues to foster seamless connectivity for all people in an organization and clients being served.
    • Balance using of technology and knowing when to “turn off work”. Without a physical commute to separate work from non-work hours it is easy to overwork, resulting in burnout.
  • Limit device use at night
    • Bright blue light from digital devices can disrupt our circadian rhythms. Avoid using screens before bed and consider using settings like “night shift” that dim and avoid blue spectrum light in the evening. Amber light settings are the most conducive to not interrupting circadian rhythms.

Nutrition

  • Place healthy eating options within reach and avoid keeping unhealthy foods nearby.
  • Eat mindfully by eating during a break rather than while working to reduce the tendency of “eating for eating sake”.

Ergonomics

  • Follow ergonomic guidelines
    • Consider using an external screen to achieve the recommended distance and angle between eyes and Monitor.
    • Choose a stable desk chair with adjustable seat, height, depth, tilt and a rounded or “waterfall” edge combine to reduce pressure points and improve circulation.

View home office tip sheets from GSA’s Workplace 2030:

  • Promote health, comfort, and performance while working from home [PDF - 274 KB]
  • Solid waste management in the home office [PDF - 308 KB]
  • Improving energy efficiency of the home office [PDF - 262 KB]

Health and wellness standards and rating systems

Meet federal requirements and establish operational health and wellness goals by exploring an interactive crosswalk [XLSX - 72 KB] of how the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings relate to standards, guidelines, and building rating systems. Choose the criteria that best suit your project to promote health and wellness as optimally as possible.

Resources

  • Home office tip sheets from GSA Workplace 2030:
    • Promote health, comfort, and performance while working from home [PDF - 274 KB]
    • Solid waste management in the home office [PDF - 308 KB]
    • Improving energy efficiency of the home office [PDF - 262 KB]
  • Wellbuilt for Wellbeing
  • ForHealth.org | 9 Foundations for Health
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Lighting Research Center
  • Transamerica Center for Health Studies | “From Evidence to Practice: Workplace Wellness the Works” 2015 [PDF]
  • Harvard | The truth behind standing desks
  • Creasy, S., R.J. Rogers, T.D. Byard, R.J. Kowalsky, and J.M. Jakicic. 2016. Energy Expenditure During Acute Periods of Sitting, Standing, and Walking. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 13(6): 573-8.
  • AIA.org | Health
  • Fitwel rating system
  • WELL Building Standard
  • Perkins+Will | Precautionary List
  • University of California, Berkeley | Center for the Built Environment
  • Carnegie Mellon University | Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics

Case studies

  • ASID | ASID HQ Office Research: Pre-/Post-Occupancy Analysis
  • Center for Active Design — features additional case studies, including Fitwel certified projects
  • The International WELL Building Institute

1 World Health Organization | Constitution

2 Kelly, T. (2013), Environmental Health Resilience, Environmental Health Insight, 7:29-31.

3 Santorias, N. (2006). The Meanings of Health and Its Promotion. Croation Medical Journal, 47(4) 662-664.

4 Corbin, C.B., R.P. Pangrazi, and B.D. Franks. (2000). Definitions: Health, Fitness, and Physical Activity. President’s Council of Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest, Series 3 n9 Mar 2000.

5 Study.com | What is Physical Fitness?

6 OK.gov | Mental and Emotional Well-being [PDF]

7 Seligman, M.E.P. (1991). Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. New York, NY: Pocket Books.

8 Forgeard, M.J.C., E. Jayawickreme, M.L. Kern, and M. E.P. Seligman. (2011). Doing the Right Thing: Measuring Well Being for Public Policy. International Journal of Wellbeing 1(1).

9 The Lancet. (2009). What is health? The ability to adapt [PDF]. Editorial, 373.

10 Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. (2015). The Essentials of Bike Parking [PDF]. Revision 1. September 2015.

11 World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer. (2010). IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Volume 98 Painting, Firefighting, and Shiftwork [PDF].

12 Elsevier. (2015). Rotating Night Shift Work Can Be Hazardous to Your Health.

13 National Cancer Institute. (2018). New Cancer Treatment Approach Targets Circadian Clock.

14 Blakeman V, Williams JL, Meng QJ, Streuli CH. (2016). Circadian clocks and breast cancer. Breast Cancer Research.

15 Figueiro M.G. (2017). The impact of daytime light exposures on sleep and mood in office workers. Sleep Health. 2017 Jun;3(3):204-215.

16 Figueiro MG, Kalsher M, Steverson BC, et al. (2018). Circadian-effective light and its impact on alertness in office workers. Lighting Research & Technology.

17 Pachito DV, Eckeli AL, Desouky AS, Corbett MA, Partonen T, Rajaratnam SMW, and Riera R. (2018). Workplace lighting for improving alertness and mood in daytime workers. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD012243.

18 Coulson, J.C., J. McKenna, and M. Field. 2008. Exercising at work and self-reported work performance. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 1(3): 176-197

19 Hogan, C.L., J. Mata, and L.L. Cartensen. 2013. Exercise holds immediate benefits for affect and cognition in younger and older adults. Psychol Aging, 28(2): 587-94.

20 U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. Frequently Asked Questions — Break Time for Nursing Mothers.

21 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Drinking Water: Water & Nutrition.

22 Adan, A. (2012). Cognitive performance and dehydration. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 31.2 (2012): 71-78.

23 Huizenga, C., S. Abbaszadeh, L. Zagreus, and E. Arens. (2006). Air Quality and Thermal Comfort in Office Buildings: Results of a Large Indoor Environmental Quality Survey. Proceeding of Healthy Buildings 2006, 3, 393-397.

24 NEREJ.com | IFMA releases study: “Temperature Wars: Savings vs.Comfort”

25 Teitelbaum, E. and F. Meggers. 2017. Expanded Psychrometric Landscape for Radiant Cooling and Natural Ventilation System Design and Optimization. Energy Procedia, 122: 1129-1134

26 Carnegie Mellon University | Are Humans Good Sensors? Using Occupants as Sensors for Indoor Environmental Quality Assessment and for Developing Thresholds that Matter

27 Sluiter, J.K. (2010). The influence of work characteristics on the need for recovery and experienced health: a study on coach drivers, Ergonomics, 42:4, 573-583.

28 F. R. H. Zijlstra, M. Cropley, and L. W. Rydstedt. (2014). From Recovery to Regulation: An Attempt to Reconceptualize ‘Recovery from Work’, Published online in Wiley Online Library.

29 Craig, C.L, R.C. Brownson, S.E. Cragg, and A.L. Dunn. (2002). Exploring the effect of the environment on physical activity: A study examining walking to work. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 23(2), 36-43.

30 Rose, E. (2012). Encountering place: a psychoanalytic approach for understanding how therapeutic landscapes benefit health and wellbeing. Health Place 18(6): 1381-1387.

31 Carr, L. J., S.I. Dunsinger, and B.H. Marcus. (2011). Validation of Walk Score for estimating access to walkable amenities. Br J Sports Med 45(14): 1144-1148

32 U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO). (2017). Testimony on the Costs of Federal Civilian Personnel: A Comparison with Private-Sector Employees. (Excludes: 2.2 million uniformed personnel, about 1 million of whom are reservists; 700,000 employees of USPS and other enterprises not compensated through tax revenues; and contract and grant workers.)

33 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2017). Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages, 47. Absences from work of employed full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and industry.

34 Fisk, W.J. and A. H. Rosenfeld. (1997). Estimates of Improved Productivity and Health from Better Indoor Environments [PDF]. Indoor Air, 7:158-172.

35 MacNaughton, P., J. Pegues, U. Satish, S. Santanam, J. Spengler, and J. Allen. (2015). Economic, Environmental and Health Implications of Enhanced Ventilation in Office Buildings. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

36 Allen, J.G., P. MacNaughton, U. Satish, S. Santanam, J. Vallarino, and J.D. Spengler. (2016). Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers: A Controlled Exposure Study of Green and Conventional Office Environments. Environmental Health Perspectives; DOI:10.1289/ehp.1510037.

37 RAND Corporation. (2016). Why Sleep Matters: The Economic Costs of Insufficient Sleep.

38 American Institute for Preventive Medicine. The Health and Economic Implications of Worksite Wellness Programs [PDF]. Wellness White Paper.

39 American Society of Interior Designers. (2017). ASID HQ Office Research: Pre-/Post-Occupancy Analysis 2017.

40 World Green Building Council. (2016). Building the Business Case: Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Green Offices.

41 United Technologies. The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function: Study 1 and Study 2.

42 Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Injuries/Illnesses and Fatal Injuries Profiles.

43 Claussen, L. (2011). Recognizing hidden dangers: 25 steps to a safer office. Safety and Health Magazine

44 Mills, P.R., R.C. Kessler, J. Cooper, and S. Sullivan. (2007). Impact of a Health Promotion Program on Employee Health Risks and Work Productivity. Am J Health Promot, 22: 45-53.

45 Society of Human Resource Managers

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Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.

Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."

Per diem localities with county definitions shall include"all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."

When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.

Glossary

  • An SBA program that helps provide a level playing field for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people or entities that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business
    • Not already have participated in the 8(a) program
    • Be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens who are economically and socially disadvantaged
    • Be owned by someone whose personal net worth is $750,000 or less.
    • Be owned by someone whose average adjusted gross income for three years is $350,000 or less
    • Be owned by someone with $6 million or less in assets
    • Have the owner manage day-to-day operations and also make long-term decisions
    • Have all its principals demonstrate good character
    • Show potential for success and be able to perform successfully on contracts

    See Title 13 Part 124 of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • A multiple-award IDIQ governmentwide acquisition contract offering complete and flexible IT solutions worldwide. A best-in-class GWAC and preferred governmentwide solution, Alliant 2 offers:

    • Artificial intelligence
    • Distributed ledger technology
    • Robotic process automation
    • Other types of emerging technologies

    It provides best-value IT solutions to federal agencies, while strengthening chances in federal contracting for small businesses through subcontracting.

  • A contract identified through a collaborative interagency process by acquisition category experts within the government as offering the best pricing and terms and conditions within the federal marketplace and reflecting the strongest contract management practices. A BIC contract is designated by the Office of Management and Budget as a preferred governmentwide solution that:

    • Allows acquisition experts to take advantage of pre-vetted, governmentwide contract solutions
    • Supports a governmentwide migration to solutions that are mature and market-proven
    • Assists in the optimization of spend, within the governmentwide category management framework
    • Increases the transactional data available for agency level and governmentwide analysis of buying behavior

    Get more info.

  • An agreement established by a government buyer with a Multiple Award Schedule contractor to fill repetitive needs for supplies or services.

  • Types of funds to use on specific expenses.

    • BA51 is for new construction
    • BA53 is for rental of space
    • BA54 is for repairs and alterations below the prospectus level
    • BA55 is for repairs and alterations above the prospectus level
    • BA61 is for operations, except salaries, cleaning, utilities, etc.
  • The work done to make a structure or system ready for use or to bring a construction or development project to a completed state.

  • A GSA SmartPay card that is a centrally billed account. The agency is invoiced for purchases and the federal government pays contractor banks directly. Examples include purchase, fleet, and some travel cards or accounts. See more on how to recognize card types.

  • Negotiated firm-fixed pricing on airline seats for official government travel. The locked-in ticket prices for the fiscal year save federal agencies time and money. Federal employees enjoy flexibility to change their plans without incurring penalties or additional costs. All negotiated rates have:

    • Flexibility to book one-way, multi-leg, and round-trip tickets
    • Lenient refund policies
    • Ability to adjust or cancel flights at no additional cost
    • Unrestricted time limits on ticketing
    • No advance purchase requirements
    • No blackout periods

    Use the CPP search tool to find current fares.

  • A space where individuals work independently or co-work collaboratively in a shared office. The work environment is similar to a typical office, usually inclusive of office equipment and amenities. Typical features of co-working facilities include work spaces, wireless internet, communal printer/copier/fax, shared kitchens, restrooms and open seating areas. May also be referred to as a “shared office.”

  • A system that is bought from a commercial vendor to solve a particular problem, as opposed to one that a vendor custom builds.

  • From 5 USC 5701(6), "continental United States" means the several states and the District of Columbia, but does not include Alaska or Hawaii.

  • An employee who negotiates and awards contracts with vendors and who has the sole authority to change, alter or modify a contract.

  • An employee whose duties are to develop proper requirements and ensure contractors meet the commitments during contract administration, including the timeliness and delivery of quality goods and services as required by the contract.

  • A request of GSA where a federal agency retains and manages all aspects of the procurement process and is able to work with the selected vendor after award.

  • An SBA program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Meet all the requirements of the WOSB Federal Contract program
    • Be owned and controlled by one or more women, each with a personal net worth less than $850,000
    • Be owned and controlled by one or more women, each with $450,000 or less in adjusted gross income averaged over the previous three years
    • Be owned and controlled by one or more women, each $6.5 million or less in personal assets

    See Title 13 Part 127 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • The primary regulation for federal agencies to use when buying supplies and services with funds from Congress.

    Use acquisition.gov to browse FAR parts or subparts or download the full FAR in various formats.

  • The travel and relocation policy for all federal civilian employees and others authorized to travel at government expense.

  • A program that promotes the adoption of secure cloud services across the federal government by providing a standardized approach to security and risk assessment.

  • A GSA business line that provides safe, reliable, low-cost vehicle solutions for federal agency customers and eligible entities. Offerings include:

    • Vehicle purchasing, leasing and short-term rentals
    • Vehicle disposal
    • Maintenance control and accident management
    • Loss prevention and fuel services
    • A fleet management system with detailed, accurate data
  • A charge card for U.S. government personnel to use when paying for fuel and maintenance of GSA Fleet vehicles. Find out where the Fleet card is accepted, how to use it and more.

  • A Department of Homeland Security program that allows members to use expedited lanes at U.S. airports and when crossing international borders by air, land and sea.

  • A charge card for certain U.S. Government employees to use when buying mission-related supplies or services using simplified acquisition procedures, when applicable, and when the total cost does not exceed micro-purchase thresholds.

  • A charge card for U.S. government personnel to use when paying for reimbursable expenses while on official travel. Visit smartpay.gsa.gov for more.

  • A vehicle used to perform an agency’s mission(s), as authorized by the agency.

  • Pre-competed, multiple-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts that agencies can use to buy total IT solutions more efficiently and economically.

  • A ceremony marking the official start of a new construction project, typically involving driving shovels into ground at the site.

  • An online shopping and ordering system at gsaadvantage.gov that provides access for federal government employees and in some cases, state and local entities, to purchase from thousands of contractors offering millions of supplies and services.

  • An online auction site at gsaauctions.gov that allows the general public to bid on and buy excess federal personal property assets such as:

    • Office equipment
    • Furniture
    • Scientific equipment
    • Heavy machinery
    • Airplanes
    • Vessels
    • Vehicles
  • Real property for which GSA is responsible. It can be either federally owned or leased from a public or private property owner.

  • An SBA program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to business that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business
    • Be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, a Community Development Corporation, an agricultural cooperative, a Native Hawaiian organization, or an Indian tribe
    • Have its principal office located in a HUBZone
    • Have at least 35 percent of its employees live in a HUBZone

    See Title 13 Part 126 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • A GSA SmartPay card that is an individually billed account. The cardholder is invoiced for purchases and the cardholder is responsible for payment and then the agency reimburses them. It is the most common for travel cards. See more on how to recognize card types.

  • A type of contract when the quantity of supplies or services, above a specified minimum, the government will require is not known. IDIQs help streamline the contract process and speed service delivery.

  • A fee paid by businesses who are awarded contracts under Multiple Award Schedule to cover GSA’s cost of operating the program. The fee is a fixed percentage of reported sales under MAS contracts that contractors pay within 30 calendar days following the completion of each quarter.

  • An investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness. The law provides funding for LPOE modernization projects that will create new good-paying jobs, bolster safety and security, and make our economy more resilient to supply chain challenges.

  • A written agreement entered into between two federal agencies, or major organizational units within an agency, which specifies the goods to be furnished or tasks to be accomplished by one agency (the servicing agency) in support of the other (the requesting agency).

  • A facility, also known as a border station, that provides controlled entry into or departure from the United States for persons or materials. It houses the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal inspection agencies responsible for the enforcement of federal laws related to entering into or departing from the U.S.

  • An employee who is responsible for preparing, negotiating, awarding and monitoring compliance of lease agreements.

  • Criteria used to select the technically acceptable proposal with the lowest evaluated price. Solicitations must specify that award will be made on the basis of the lowest evaluated price of proposals meeting or exceeding the acceptability standards for non-cost factors.

  • The rate of reimbursement for driving a privately owned vehicle when your agency authorizes it. Current rates are at gsa.gov/mileage.

  • Long-term governmentwide contracts with commercial firms providing federal, state, and local government buyers access to more than 11 million commercial products and services at volume discount pricing. Also called Schedules or Federal Supply Schedules.

  • The standard federal agencies use to classify business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.

  • A family of six separate governmentwide multiple award, IDIQ contracts for management and advisory, facilities, technical and engineering, logistics, intelligence services, research and development, environmental, and enterprise solutions.

  • A formal, signed agreement between GSA’s Public Buildings Service and a federal agency for a specific space assignment.

  • Services performed under a contract with a federal agency that include:

    • Cemetery maintenance
    • Electrical systems and energy management control systems
    • Elevator inspection and maintenance
    • Energy management and audit services
    • Fire alarm and fire suppression system maintenance
    • Janitorial
    • Landscaping and snow removal
    • Marine vessel maintenance and repair services
    • Painting
    • Pest control
    • Plumbing or pipe fitting
    • Refrigeration or heating, cooling, and air conditioning
    • Smart buildings
  • A daily allowance for lodging and meals and incidental expenses, or M&IE, which federal agencies use to reimburse their employees on official travel.

  • An identification card that allows credentialed government personal to access facilities, computers, or information systems. May also be referred to as HSPD-12 card, LincPass, Smart Card, or CAC.

  • Furniture and equipment such as appliances, wall hangings, technological devices, and the relocation expenses for such property.

  • Information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual. Get our agency's privacy policies and practices as they apply to our employees, contractors, and clients.

  • You should only drive a privately owned vehicle for official travel after your agency evaluates the use of:

    • A common carrier
    • A government-furnished vehicle
    • A rental car

    When your agency has determined a POV to be the most advantageous method of transportation, you are authorized reimbursement for mileage and some additional allowances (parking, bridge, road and tunnel fees, etc.).

  • Approvals from GSA’s congressional authorizing committees, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for proposed capital and leasing projects that require funding over an annually established threshold.

  • Region 1 (New England): Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

    Region 2 (Northeast and Caribbean): Northern New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

    Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic): Delaware, parts of Maryland, Southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, parts of Virginia, West Virginia

    Region 4 (Southeast Sunbelt): Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

    Region 5 (Great Lakes): Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin

    Region 6 (Heartland): Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

    Region 7 (Greater Southwest): Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

    Region 8 (Rocky Mountain): Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming

    Region 9 (Pacific Rim): Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada

    Region 10 (Northwest Arctic): Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington

    Region 11 (National Capital): Washington, D.C., area including parts of Maryland and Virginia

  • Formal agreements between GSA and a federal agency customer where GSA agrees to provide goods, services, or both, and the federal agency agrees to reimburse GSA’s direct and indirect costs. The customer portal for RWA information is called eRETA at extportal.pbs.gsa.gov.

  • A document used in negotiated procurements to communicate government requirements to prospective contractors (firms holding Multiple Award Schedule contracts) and to solicit proposals (offers) from them.

  • A document used to communicate government requirements, but which do not solicit binding offers. Quotations submitted in response are not offers. The Multiple Award Schedule order is the offer, and then the contractor can do something to show acceptance, like ordering supplies or contacting subcontractors.

  • An SBA program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business
    • Be at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans
    • Have one or more service-disabled veterans manage day-to-day operations and also make long-term decisions
    • Eligible veterans must have a service-connected disability
    • Permanently and totally disabled veterans who are unable to manage the daily business operations of their business may still qualify if their spouse or appointed, permanent caregiver is assisting in that management

    See Title 13 Part 128 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • An SBA designation for businesses that meet size standards set for each NAICS code. Most manufacturing companies with 500 employees or fewer, and most non-manufacturing businesses with average annual receipts under $7.5 million, will qualify as a small business.

    See Title 13 Part 121.201 of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • To improve and stimulate small business utilization, we award contracts to businesses that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. We have contracting assistance for:

    • 8(a) Business Development contractors
    • Historically underutilized business zone
    • Service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses
    • Small businesses
    • Small disadvantaged businesses
    • Veteran-owned small businesses
    • Women-owned small businesses
  • A Small Business Administration program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to business that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business
    • The firm must be 51% or more owned and controlled by one or more disadvantaged persons
    • The disadvantaged person or persons must be socially disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged

    See Title 13 Section 124.1001 of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.

  • The basis for the lease negotiation process, which becomes part of the lease. SFOs include the information necessary to enable prospective offerors to prepare proposals. See SFO minimum requirements.

  • Specific supply and service subcategories within our Multiple Award Schedule. For the Information Technology Category, a SIN might be new equipment or cloud services.

  • An online system at sam.gov, which the U.S. Government uses to consolidate acquisition and award systems for use by contractors wishing to do business with the federal government. Formerly known as FBO.gov, all contracting opportunities valued over $25,000 are posted at sam.gov.

  • When you use a government purchase card, such as the "GSA SmartPay" travel card for business travel, your lodging and rental car costs may be exempt from state sales tax. Individually billed account travel cards are not tax exempt in all states. Search for exemption status, forms and important information.

  • The finishes and fixtures federal agency tenants select that take a space from a shell condition to a finished, usable condition and compliant with all applicable building codes and standards.

  • A statute that applies to all Multiple Award Schedule contracts, unless otherwise stated in the solicitation or contract, which requires contractors to sell to the U.S. Government only products that are manufactured or “substantially transformed” in the U.S. or a TAA-designated country.

  • Vendors report transactional data — information generated when the government purchases goods or services from a vendor — to help us make federal government buying more effective.

    See our TDR page for which SINs are eligible and which line-item data to submit.

  • A unique number required to do business with the federal government.

  • An indicator of how efficiently a federal agency is currently using space, it is traditionally calculated by dividing the usable square feet of the space, by the number of personnel who occupy the space.

  • A Small Business Administration program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business, as defined by the size standard corresponding to any NAICS code listed in the business’s SAM profile
    • Have no less than 51% of the business owned and controlled by one or more veterans
    • For those veterans who are permanently and totally disabled and unable to manage the daily business operations of their business, their business may still qualify if their spouse or appointed, permanent caregiver is assisting in that management

    Get a full list of eligibility requirements.

  • A governmentwide acquisition contract exclusively for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses to sell IT services such as:

    • Data management
    • Information and communications technology
    • IT operations and maintenance
    • IT security
    • Software development
    • Systems design
    • New and emerging technologies
  • The amount of solid waste, such as trash or garbage, construction and demolition waste, and hazardous waste, that is reused, recycled or composted instead of being put in a landfill or burned.

  • A GSA program designed to promote recycling and reuse of solid waste.

  • A Small Business Administration program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:

    • Be a small business
    • Be at least 51% owned and controlled by women who are U.S. citizens
    • Have women manage day-to-day operations who also make long-term decisions

    See Title 13 Part 127 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.