Sick Building Syndrome Study
Millions of people get up each morning feeling tired, but pretty much okay and it may remain that way until they actually get to the office. Once the building looms large in front of them, it begins. They feel sick then, or they begin to feel sick just after they wake up in the morning. What is it?
Over the past few decades, a new word came into our vocabulary: sick building syndrome. Some buildings, true, have architectural design problems that have led to improper venting, poor air circulation or the growth of mold. All of these can make you sick and one very famous building, which shall remain nameless for now, is said to have major problems with their environmental air quality.
But an article published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine (March 2006) details a study of 4,052 Londoners and their relationship to the building in which they work. The researchers included 44 different locations in the London area and what did they find? It's not the building, it's the job and the employees' ability to have some control over their actual workstations. When they did, the symptoms they were experiencing decreased in number. Interestingly, younger workers and women had more symptoms.
Although buildings may have inherent problems that can contribute to illness, the stress of the job appears to play an even greater role in employee health and the researchers believe that has been missed in the attention being paid to the building rather than the workers.
One thing we should also remember is the contagion factor in employee illness. I'm not referring to bacteria or viruses, but to emotional factors. When a worker begins to become sick, they pass it on to other workers, even when it's a stress-related illness. If you listen to conversations in workplaces, you will begin to notice that there may be a common threat in many of them and it's often centered around management and its demands on employees. Once employees feel undervalued or overworked, a different kind of environment is set up and it's not one conducive to health of either the physical or emotional type.
Related Topics: Top 9 Jobs Where Bacteria Thrive, WebMD Health Poll: How Stressful is Your Job?
Over the past few decades, a new word came into our vocabulary: sick building syndrome. Some buildings, true, have architectural design problems that have led to improper venting, poor air circulation or the growth of mold. All of these can make you sick and one very famous building, which shall remain nameless for now, is said to have major problems with their environmental air quality.
But an article published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine (March 2006) details a study of 4,052 Londoners and their relationship to the building in which they work. The researchers included 44 different locations in the London area and what did they find? It's not the building, it's the job and the employees' ability to have some control over their actual workstations. When they did, the symptoms they were experiencing decreased in number. Interestingly, younger workers and women had more symptoms.
Although buildings may have inherent problems that can contribute to illness, the stress of the job appears to play an even greater role in employee health and the researchers believe that has been missed in the attention being paid to the building rather than the workers.
One thing we should also remember is the contagion factor in employee illness. I'm not referring to bacteria or viruses, but to emotional factors. When a worker begins to become sick, they pass it on to other workers, even when it's a stress-related illness. If you listen to conversations in workplaces, you will begin to notice that there may be a common threat in many of them and it's often centered around management and its demands on employees. Once employees feel undervalued or overworked, a different kind of environment is set up and it's not one conducive to health of either the physical or emotional type.
Related Topics: Top 9 Jobs Where Bacteria Thrive, WebMD Health Poll: How Stressful is Your Job?
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