#SickBuildings #SickWorkplaces #SickAtWork #germs
Your work area can be making you sick.
It’s not just the germs from other people.
It’s the building. You may be working in a sick building.
Maurie Backman discussed this syndrome in an article for The Motley Fool. It was also published April 9, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Many office buildings – especially high-rise ones – have pretty poor air quality, (because) windows are perpetually closed and nothing but recycled air circulates,” the article reads.
Also, dust can accumulate in untreated vents, allowing you, and everyone around you, to breathe it in, the article says.
That’s not to mention mold and other allergens festering around your workplace, the article says.
The article recommends that if you believe your office environment is making you sick, speak up. That’s assuming you have a reasonable employer or boss.
If you don’t get satisfaction, look for a new job, the article recommends.
Of course, if you succeed in finding a new job, don’t bet on the air being any better, unless you go from indoor to outdoor work.
Then, there’s the idea of working from home, with windows you can open and, perhaps, an outdoor space from which you can work.
Naturally, not every employer will let you work from home – or from wherever you are.
If the idea of working from wherever you want to be is appealing, there are many ways you can accomplish that without having to look for a W-2 job that will allow you to do it. There are many vehicles out there that allow you to earn money – potentially much more than a regular job will pay you — by working a few part-time hours a week. As a bonus, you can work from wherever you want. No sick building.
To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Working in sick buildings is no good for anyone, particularly, as the article points out, if you have respiratory health issues.
If you can document your health problems, and you tell your employer that the building may be exacerbating those problems, the article says you might consider legal action against your employer.
That would certainly be a lot of hassle for you, even if you are successful.
In summary, sick buildings are a fact of life. If you work in a place that isn’t “sick,” consider yourself lucky.
If you like your job, in spite of your workplace being “sick,” you have to decide whether the long-term effects of working in that environment is worth the enjoyment you get from the job itself.
Working from home would certainly by ideal for some. For others, having the interactions at work may be what they crave. If you’re among the latter group, and your building is sick, you have to decide whether those interactions you crave are worth the price over time.
There are some situations that allow you to have a base at home, but have enough interactions and engagement with others to satisfy you.
Perhaps that situation would be ideal for more people than one might think.
Peter