Avoid Employee Illness By Fixing Your Work Premises

As a business, you should focus on keeping employees happy and productive. You also want to avoid any financial or legal problems for yourself. However, if your business premises aren’t well maintained, you may be failing at both of these.

There’s a link between a poor working environment and sickness. It’s been identified as sick building syndrome. People can develop illnesses from the poor conditions of a work building. There are many causes of this. While the conditions of the building itself are a major factor, psychological elements such as stress can also come into play.

If you fail to maintain a healthy working environment, you may be shooting yourself in the foot by putting more employees out of work. If the problems with your building are significant enough, you may even find a lawsuit on your hands. Here are some important factors to take care of.

Ventilation

Poor indoor air quality can cause a host of problems for employees. Employees in poorly ventilated buildings may experience headaches, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Those with asthma may experience more severe problems. Inadequate ventilation can also cause some forms of pneumonia.

It’s essential that you keep your premises well ventilated. Having open windows helps, but you also need to ensure your air conditioning is well-maintained. There are services which make sure your HVAC system is producing clean, uncontaminated air. See Academy Air for details.

Poor ventilation can also lead to problems such as mold. If you notice mold building up on walls, you should remove it immediately, as it can cause illness for people inside.

Computer Usage

A lot of work environments require employees to spend long amounts of time sitting at a desk staring at a computer screen. It’s important to allow for regular breaks so as not to cause eye strain. A survey by Eyecare Trust found 63% of people claimed their health had been affected by computer usage at work.

It’s not just eyes that can be affected. Bad workstation setups can also cause backaches, joint pains, and fatigue. Ensure that your office is equipped with ergonomic chairs. Computers should also be at eye level to avoid any neck strain for employees. See Peninsula Group for more advice.

Asbestos

Asbestos refers to a range of minerals that were widely used in building construction before 2000. It may be present in a range of common building products such as pipes, walls, ceilings, and boilers.

If asbestos becomes airborne, inhalation can cause lung disease and even cancer. Due to the severe consequences, many businesses are sued for asbestos exposure. The Environmental Protection Agency can give you advice on how to identify and deal with asbestos.

Workplace Stress

It’s not just physical aspects of a work environment that can cause employee illness. Build up of stress is a major cause of making employees unwell.

As well as making employees unhappy with their workplace, stress can lower the immune system and lead to physical illnesses. It’s also linked to high levels of employee absence and turnover.

It’s best to promote a more stress-free work environment. Be open and communicate with your employees, and allow them to speak up if their workload is too high. Make sure you also allow a fair amount of holiday and sick time.

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