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- Lethal Office: Are you dying at work?
- By: CLAIRE STOKOE
Does simply walking into the office make you feel nauseas and sick? Do you sit down at your desk to immediate fatigue; and as work rolls in do you find yourself checking emails every few seconds like an irritating compulsive tick? Does each day draw out longer that the last and as you finally leave the office do you take feelings of depression, inexplicable anger or anxiety with you? Maybe you need to seriously reconsider your choice of career; or maybe you work in the one in four buildings causing Sick Building Syndrome?All jokes aside the syndrome is very dangerous. Fifty possible symptoms are known which include: the appearance of asthma in non-asthmatics; putative cases of bronchitis or pneumonia which will not respond to antibiotics; as well as symptoms resembling Irritable Bowl Syndrome; and personality changes.
The syndrome is recognised by The World Health Organisation who estimates that one in four offices may be affected. Due to the cause of the syndrome being the airborne inside the building itself, more than one member of staff usually suffers and symptoms will subside when sufferers are away from the building.
SBS can be caused by a multitude of problems, from chemicals in the carpets to emissions from the office printer. More often however, it is caused by poor ventilation and badly conditioned air. Carbon-monoxide and other contaminants can be sucked into buildings when air vents over look bad air quality. Also grimy air vents themselves are the perpetrators of all manner of sins clogging up our air ways and making working environments a living nightmare!
So what can you do to make sure your office isn’t killing you? Some companies will offer offices free compliance surveys. Ensure that these companies follow NHS guidelines as well as Health and Safety Commission regulations. Good surveys will discuss your current air hygiene as well as maintenance routines and recommend a tailor-made solution for your building.
One of the main problems with SBS is the massive range of symptoms, of which many are synonymous with general laziness, tiredness and hangovers, but managers must take complaints of sickness seriously. Building managers can face prosecution if the upkeep of vents and air condition are not addressed. Not to mention offices being closed if this results in invalid insurance or a serious health risk.
Once upon a time we thought our offices were safe. Not anymore. Every job has its dangers: Coal mining has ‘Pneumoconiosis'; Plastering has ‘Asbestos Disease’; Lion tamers have lions; and now office workers nationwide beware… of the dreaded Sick Building Syndrome.