Abstract According to the World Health Organization, up to 30 per cent of new and remodeled buildings worldwide contain enough pollutants to make workers ill (Brown, 1976, p. 1032). Indoor pollutants can reach levels 100 times higher than outdoors (Rice, 1990, p. 86), prompting employers and employees to take action. The impact of poor indoor air quality on employee relations is not easily quantifiable, yet one will deduce that with hampered productivity and jeopardized well-being triggered by bad air (Employer Health Management eNews, 2002), human capital value stands to be greatly diminished .
The questions that arise include: Are today’s companies testing new buildings for toxins before occupancy? Is management providing health & wellness programs for its employees? Some case studies point to the affirmative. With employers’ strategic intervention paving the way to better indoor air quality, the pattern of illnesses may be curbed and good employee relations fostered. The Impact of Indoor Air Quality on Employee Health & Relations Introduction/Statement of the Problem.
In the modern age, many office environments have become veritable chemical and bacterial war zones, aswirl with contaminants like paint, cleaning compounds, laser printers, personal computers, photographic equipment, fiberglass, and carpeting that give off irritating chemicals resulting to allergy-like symptoms. Pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and bioaerosols–airborne particles emitted by fungi and bacteria–may be causing equally hazardous illnesses (Brown, 1997).
Where there is poor indoor air quality, the transmission of airborne infectious diseases is greatly increased, moreso for susceptible or environmentally-sensitive employees (“Indoor Air Pollution,” 1994, p. 11). The problem that the research paper seeks to address is how management addresses the issue of poor indoor air quality which compromises workers’ health and well-being. The research aims to highlight the impact of indoor air quality on employee health and relations. It is very significant to determine what vital steps companies are taking to curb the debilitating impact of indoor toxins on employee health and functioning.
Because these indoor toxins can be hidden energy zappers and “a single exposure to a toxic substance can be all it takes to push the body into a state of fatigue or lethargy” (Gregory, 2004, p. 66), they pose grave effects on workers’ concentration, normal functioning and interaction at the workplace and beyond. How company heads devise ways and means to fight bad indoor air reflects how they value their employee force and put emphasis on strengthening employee relations. Review of Related Literature.
A press release of The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) cited positive employer perceptions and attitudes toward employee health. More and more employers are realizing that it is their duty to keep their human resources safe and well (Lloyd, 2005). An article in Fortune magazine pointed to the growing vigilance over indoor toxins and cited how building safeguards are established by using low-toxicity materials (Rice, 1990, p. 88). Employers are also urged to utilize research that is being vigorously pursued to improve public understanding of the risks associated with the indoor air environment (Brown, 1976, p.1032).
The head of the US Sustainable Practice Advisory Group has noted that “improved indoor air quality could result in significant reductions in illness and absenteeism associated with respiratory disease, asthma and allergies, and sick building symptoms” (Mark, 2005, p. 7). Employers must assume the role of enabler – providing access to information and tools, while educating and coaching employees on the importance of informed lifestyle/health decisions (Hall, 2006, pp. 2-4), thereby enhancing relations with co-workers.
As also noted by the US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration, employers today need to take responsibility for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. In the first place, they are mandated by law to comply with hazard-specific safety and health standards (“Preventing Mold-related problems in the indoor workplace,” 2006). Methodology. A compilation of position papers, journal articles and case studies will point to how today’s employers ensure that the air workers breathe is clean, and consequently foster good human relations.
References Brown, K. S. (1976, October). Sick days at work. Environmental Health Perspectives, 104 (10), 1032. Employer health management e-news…news & insights for managing employee health and productivity. (2002).
Retrieved March 17, 2008, from http://www. dmaa. org/pdf/EmployerHealth. pdf Gregory, C. S. (2004). Hidden energy zappers. Healthsmart Today, p. 66. Hall, B. (2006). Health care consumerism: an employer’s perspective. Insightout. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from http://www. buckconsultants.
com/buckconsultants/Portals/0/Documents/PUBLICATIONS/white_papers/WP_Health_and_Welfare/wp_insight_healthcare_consumerism. pdf Lloyd, B. (2005, May 17). Employer-based research: wellness in the workplace crucial to business success, [Press release]. Atlanta: AAOHN. Mark, S. (2005, February 17). Green employment practices: using sustainability to improve your bottom-line employment roundtable. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from http://www. aterwynne. com/files/ERT_%20Green%20Employment%20Practices. PDF Rice, F. (1990, July 2). Do you work in a sick building? Fortune, 122 (1), 86-88.
The American Lung Association, The Environmental Protection Agency, The Consumer Product Safety Commission & The American Medical Association. (1994). Indoor air pollution: an introduction for health professionals. Retrieved March 19, 2008, from http://www. sharetheair. com/indoor/indoor_air_pollution. pdf US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2006). Preventing Mold-related problems in the indoor workplace, a guide for building owners, managers and occupants. Retrieved March 21, 2008, from http://www. osha. gov/Publications/preventing_mold. pdf.