A state-of-the-art, systematic review of indoor environmental quality studies in work-from-home settings

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in working from home worldwide, making the work-from-home (WFH) setting a crucial context for studying the influence of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) on workers’ well-being and productivity. A narrative and visual synthesis of 41 research articles on IEQ in WFH settings was conducted to identify the IEQ factors being measured and their correlations with perceived productivity and well-being. This review shows that the IEQ conditions at home were mainly within the recommended international standards. However, some high maxima were recorded, particularly for metrics related to quality of indoor air partly due to wider availability of evidence, which raised concerns regarding the suitability of indoor conditions while working from home. Despite the presence of these high maxima, workers generally rated all environmental factors highly. This could possibly reflect their lack of awareness of changes in environmental conditions, suggesting that monitoring environmental conditions might be necessary when working from home. Compared with traditional offices, workers seemed to be more satisfied with the environmental conditions at home although some WFH settings were found to be deficient in sound insulation, ergonomic and technological support, leading to multiple health complaints. Several studies have also demonstrated significant correlations between assessments of IEQ and ergonomics and those of productivity, physical and mental well-being. Future IEQ studies in WFH settings should consider using a longitudinal study design and including more representative samples, different seasons, multi-domain analyses, and multicountry and multicultural settings.