The buildings where we spend a majority of our time can impact our health, wellness, comfort and performance in numerous ways. Workspace factors that can impact occupants negatively or positively include air quality, thermal comfort, lighting and daylighting, ergonomics, acoustics and access to exercise, healthy food and clean water. The Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings investigates and promotes innovative strategies to ensure that federal workplaces provide increasingly healthy environments for employees and visitors.
The following resources provide more information
- SF Tool: buildings and health module: A broad look at issues related to how buildings can impact occupant health, as well as practices and technologies to improve those impacts.
- Health and Wellness Guidance Crosswalk: A guide to relevant standards, guidelines, and building rating systems to meet federal healthy building goals.
- SF Tool: health case studies: Examples and checklists for enhancing the healthy features of buildings.
- Circadian light for your health: GSA’s research on circadian light at Federal buildings and its impact on occupants, with case studies for four buildings.
- SFTool: indoor environmental quality: A comprehensive guide to IEQ topics with links to many resources for more information.
- SFTool: IEQ system overview: A systems-level look at IEQ issues in buildings, including behavioral, financial, operational and regulatory components, case studies and links to additional resources.
- PBS health and wellness: What GSA’s Public Buildings Service is doing to make federal buildings healthier environments, including employing the Fitwel system and promoting the use of stairways, farmer’s markets, and lactation rooms.
- Well built for wellbeing: Research project to help GSA better understand the influence of the office environment on human health, comfort and performance.
U.S. General Services Administration