A study of 4000 public employees in the UK found that the symptoms usually ascribed to “sick building syndrome” are actually more strongly correlated to “job stress and lack of support in the workplace” than to physically measurable triggers (i.e. “poor air circulation and unacceptably high levels of CO2, noise, fungus and airborne chemicals”).
On the other hand, if you work in a place that makes you feel awful, it doesn’t much matter why you feel that way, or what the cause is . . .
…except that if someone thinks the cause MIGHT be “sick building sundrome” you have to pay and pay and pay to have sampling done and ducts cleaned and all the rest, when it might just be job stress. Arrgh! (Remember, I’m the HR manager.)
Yes, John, I thought you might be interested in that article!
I feel a lot of sympathy for people who are getting sick, but obviously it doesn’t do anyone any good to solve the wrong problem . . . the costs your company incurs get passed along to your customers, or end up being taken out of your budget somewhere else (like employee health care!)