Expert Office Advice

Indoor air quality is a very important aspect of keeping your office a healthy and pleasant place to work. Poor air quality can cause eye-irritation, skin inflammation and sore throats as well as mental fatigue, headaches and other flu-like symptoms.

Poor air quality in the office is mostly caused from contaminants in the air from both biological and chemical sources. Every office has its share of contaminants, including carbon monoxide from vehicles that gets sucked into the ventilation systems and circulated around the building, while potted plants provide an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. Electrical equipment such as photocopiers can produce ozone, which is highly irritating to humans. Excessive humidity usually stimulates the growth of microbes, while air that is too dry allows static electricity to build up and this can cause skin rashes, nosebleeds or headaches.

This all shows that good air quality and enough air circulation is very important, and all workstations must receive a continuous supply of enough fresh air. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that their workers are in no danger from asbestos or other contaminants that can be hazardous. Even if they are not considered dangerous, without the correct ventilation it is more likely that employees will get sick or have SBS (the effect of poor building air).

There are a number of things that employers can do to improve the air in the office:
• If your staff is experiencing symptoms of poor air quality, check first to see if there are any sources of chemical or other contamination to the building’s ventilation system. Volatile chemicals, automobile exhaust from parking lots or cigarette smoke can be picked up by the air intakes and circulated throughout the building.
• If your office adjoins a machine shop, be aware of contaminants from that source. This is a particular problem in many auto repair places.
• Make sure the building’s ventilation system is cleaned regularly and kept in proper working order.
• Don’t turn off the ventilation system at night or on weekends. It should be left running all the time. The additional cost is small compared to the lowered productivity and increased absenteeism caused by poor air.
• Take the ventilation system design into account when making room for new employees or rearranging the office. Adding heat-generating equipment, such as photocopiers, may also affect air quality. The ventilation system may need to be modified to incorporate the changes.
• Don’t block air intakes or diffusers with furniture or other equipment which will prevent air circulation. To avoid drafts, work stations should not be placed closer than a metre from an air diffuser.
• Keep office temperature in the low to mid 20s C. Relative humidity should not exceed 60 to 70 per cent.
• Eliminate air contaminants at the source.
• Keep lids on containers of solvents. Better yet, use non-solvent based products.
• Photocopiers should be in a separate room, and ideally vented to the outdoors.
• Disinfect dehumidifier trays.