In the past month alone, China's capital city of Beijing has issued two red alerts because of the alarming levels of smog in the air. Ten other cities in the country's north-east have also issued red alerts on Dec. 23.
A blue alert was issued to blanket the whole province of Anhui where 36 cities and counties have issued their own yellow alerts.
The pollution problem has become so bad in China that wearing a mask over the mouth and nose when outdoors has become commonplace. A Canadian company even saw an opportunity to capitalize on China's longing for clean, fresh air by selling compressed canisters of Rocky Mountain air to the smog-engulfed cities.
According to reports, many companies are now facing a new dilemma: how to keep their employees happy. Instead of looking for a workplace that would give bigger financial incentives or fast tracks to promotions, workers are now looking for places to work in that can offer them clean, breathable air.
Multinational corporations are reportedly the hardest hit by the ever-looming dangers of smog-filled air to retaining their employees. While average citizens with enough cash are installing air filters in their homes and carrying portable devices that measure the air quality around them, companies are spending tens of thousands of dollars to install office-wide air filtration systems and real-time pollution monitoring devices.
"If a company is willing to reduce pollution inside, it shows it is responsible and will have good growth," said Yao Hui, a 27-year old marketing professional in Shanghai who left the furniture company she had been working for when she learned that its office measured high on a pollution-detecting device she was using.
The Chinese government issues a red alert when it believes the air quality index will surpass 200, which is deemed to be "very unhealthy" by the U.S. government.
On Dec. 22, the air quality in Beijing was measured at more than 500, and earlier in the week, Shanghai's air pollution levels were above 300.
"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 who works at J.D. Power, a multinational company with offices in China. Like other global firms, it has invested heavily in installing new clear air filtration systems at their Beijing and Shanghai offices.
In order to entice and keep employees and staff, other companies are expected to follow suit and clean up the air inside their offices as an incentive to their workers.
