Gutes Raumklima für ein gutes Betriebsklima im Büro

Healthy indoor climate for greater well-being in the office

If we look at the factors that influence the well-being of employees in the office, the indoor climate - alongside factors such as ergonomics, light, avoidance of harmful substances and much more. - plays a decisive role. In a nutshell, and of course always depending on the respective type of activity and workplace, the ideal indoor climate can be broken down into the following formula: Not too warm and not too cold; not too dry, not too damp; no draughts, no pollutants.

The room temperature

The room temperature has a major influence on well-being in the workplace: employees do not want to freeze in winter or sweat at high temperatures in summer. ASR A3.5 (Technical Rules for Workplaces, ASR) provides formal guidelines for the optimum temperature in workspaces. According to this, the room temperature for light to medium-heavy work should be approx. 20 °C when sitting, and approx. 17-19 °C when standing or walking. For heavy physical work, 12 °C may be sufficient as the ideal temperature. In offices, a room temperature between 21° C and 22° C is usually considered comfortable and is recommended accordingly. At high outside temperatures, values of up to 26° C are permissible in the office, although these high temperatures are detrimental to the ability to concentrate and productivity.

The room temperature is perceived very differently by people and can be influenced by age or state of health, for example, as well as by habits and cultural differences. To make it easier to agree on a temperature that is comfortable for all employees, it helps to adjust your own clothing: While people who shiver easily should also dress warmer in the office, employees who are often too warm in the office will feel more comfortable in thinner clothing.

The air speed

The perception of air velocity at the workplace is equally subjective and also influences the perception of the room temperature. Depending on the degree of turbulence (fluctuation in air velocity), the air temperature and the activity being carried out, the air velocity should be around 0.1 m/s to 0.15 m/s. Short-term values of up to 0.2 m/s are acceptable and do not usually cause draughts. To avoid this, windows that are tilted should be set so that they do not cause draughts, e.g. during continuous free ventilation.

The air quality

In offices, "bad air" is mainly caused by the people working there (e.g. exhalation of carbon dioxide, odorous substances). There may also be outgassing from building materials or furnishings in the form of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Elevated ozone levels can occur as a result of older printers and copiers, for example, but are rarely observed in modern offices.

Incidentally, there is no clear evidence of sick building syndrome. Symptoms such as watery eyes, irritated mucous membranes, headaches, dry and itchy skin, malaise and fatigue suggest that these could also be caused by insufficient humidity.

The air humidity

The symptoms mentioned at the top are particularly common among office workers in winter. In addition, too little humidity increases susceptibility to flu infections. Germs also spread rapidly when the air is too dry, as they are able to float more permanently and therefore remain in the air for longer. In addition, these germs are infectious over a Long period of time, as they dry out in dry air and are literally preserved.

In turn, air that is too humid can lead to mold growth, so here too the healthy middle way applies in the truest sense of the word: for a good indoor climate, a relative humidity of approx. 40-60 % is recommended - at an optimum room temperature. To improve both air quality and humidity, regular ventilation, either as continuous ventilation or as shock ventilation, is particularly helpful. While normal offices should be ventilated approximately once an hour, ASR A3.6 Ventilation recommends ventilating rooms with many people (e.g. meeting rooms) every 20 minutes: for 10 minutes in summer, 5 minutes in spring/autumn and usually 3 minutes in winter. If this so-called free ventilation is not sufficient to meet the air exchange rates, further measures can be recommended - based on an air exchange measurement - other measures include the use of an air handling unit (AHU).