With the hazardous and increasing smog levels in Beijing, employees seem to no longer chase after high compensation, promotions or career growth. Many are now opting out of the office, thus forcing employers to allocate budget to install air filtering systems.

With the air pollution blanketing the northern and eastern parts of China, including its two major cities Beijing and Shanghai, multinationals are left with nothing but to shell out big sums of money to install air-purifying systems to lure and keep their employees.

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Multinational marketing company JD Power has already installed air-filtering units in some of its offices in Beijing and Shanghai. Ttwo other establishments, British advertising giant WPP Plc and auditing firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers, are doing the same within the area.

"If a company is willing to reduce pollution inside, it shows it is responsible and will have good growth," said Yao Hui, a Shanghai resident who has decided to leave her job because of the toxic air pollution level in her office. "I'd still have to look for something in marketing, but a clean air environment is an important factor," she added.

According to a survey by the European Chamber of Commerce, the employee turnover rate in these multinational establishment has been high, and air pollution has accounted for such turnover increase.

Approximately 90 percent of the offices in Beijing are unsuccessfully reducing the air particulate matter with their filtering system, according to a study by realtor Jones Lang LaSalle and indoor solutions firm PureLiving. 

Even property developers Kerry Properties and Jiaming Investment Co have upgraded their air-filtering system to attract tenants with a better indoor air quality.

"The last thing we want is for someone to worry about the air they're breathing, so it's a great selling point for us," said Geoff Broderick, vice president of Asia-Pacific Automotive Operations at JD Power.

This month alone, the city of Beijing has issued two red alert warnings following the hazardous levels of smog that engulfed the place.

The highest level of the four-tier index is triggered when air particulate levels reach 200 and above. On Tuesday, it went as high as above 500, according to the US Embassy in Beijing.

In an effort to reduce pollution, the Chinese government had ordered more than 2000 companies to stop or slow down production. 

TagsChina PM2.5 air pollution, air index, US Embassy