What you can't see may be harming you
There is limited awareness these days of the dangers that may be connected with intelligent building management systems and poorly planned office space. Workers in both older and modern office buildings are becoming increasingly aware of sick building syndrome (SBS), an umbrella term for a series of physical ailments that may include fatigue, headaches, dry and itchy skin, dizziness, and irritation of the eyes, nose and throat.
"This phenomenon has been recognized in Western countries but it's hard to prove scientifically," said Maria Konarska, head of the department of ergonomics at the Central Institute for Labor Protection in Warsaw. She said the syndrome has not been identified with any specific medical condition and no research has been conducted in this field in Poland, but in the United States this phenomenon has been studied since the mid-1970s. She added that there was little awareness of SBS in Poland as the modern office market is only just beginning to mature.
According to Konarska problems occur when a building is operated or maintained in a way that is inconsistent with its original design or operating procedures, for instance when filters in fan-coil air-circulation systems are not cleaned correctly. Other causes include poor design, inadequate temperature, humidity and lighting.
"Both sides are responsible: the owner of a building and the tenant," said Stefan Dratwa, a safety-at-work instructor at Seka, a Warsaw health and safety consulting firm. Prolonged disregard for proper working conditions can have serious effects, such as chronic headaches, repetitive strain injury and Sicca syndrome (reduced eyelid movement caused by prolonged computer usage, which results in the drying of the pupils and long-term eye damage). "Sometimes working conditions in an office are like a silent killer," Dratwa said.
Theoretically, all technical specifications in most recently completed buildings meet the requirements," said Bartlomiej Hoffman, senior property negotiator at U.K-based real estate agency Knight Frank Nieruchomosci. However, he said that in practice many building managers want to maximize profit by reducing energy expenses, which can mean cutting back on air conditioning. "FIM Tower and Reform Plaza are not particularly tenant-friendly with their questionable usage of intelligent systems," he said. Piotr Taras, the technical manager of Reform Co., responsible for Reform Plaza, said there are no perfect buildings, but he wouldn't confirm whether Reform economized in this way.
Defining the parameters
The minister of labor and social policy has issued directives governing working conditions in offices. General conditions for safety at work are contained in the September 1997 ministerial directive, while conditions for work safety regarding computer monitors were issued in December 1998.
The law states that an employee using a computer workstation should have 20 cubic meters of fresh air every hour and light intensity of 500 lux. Optimum humidity level is 40-60%, while room temperature should be around 20 degrees in the winter and up to five degrees higher in the summer.
"All these parameters can be adjusted to a tenant's needs," Taras said. "For instance, the volume of air pumped into the room can be increased." He added that the building management system used in Reform Plaza provides good monitoring of technical equipment. Nevertheless, he said the building's humidity level is only 30% and that the building's lighting system was designed for 300 lux, before the 1998 directive imposed a standard of 500 lux for work with computer monitors. Taras said that lighting levels in the building would only be increased to Polish standards at the tenants' expense.
According to Dratwa, air conditioning systems are a considerable source of problems. "People don't feel well when it's hot and dry," he said. He added that the microclimate of an office is closely connected to the quality and quantity of work produced by staff. If the office is too hot, employees are tired, sleepy and work less efficiently.
Konarska emphasized the need for regular maintenance of air-conditioning systems. "Failure to replace filters regularly is a great hazard to human health, it's a habitat for legionella bacteria" she said. The presence of bacteria, fungi and viruses in ventilation pipes can cause fever, chills, coughs, tightness in the chest and allergic reactions.
"You can find more bacteria in normal air than in artificial air-conditioning systems," Taras said. He expressed the opinion that the dangers of modern office buildings are more akin to a witch hunt than a real issue. He also said that intelligent buildings are safe to work in.
Daylight access is also a key issue. If a building is designed with a large space between windows and corridors, or in many cases, the reception area is right in the middle of the office with no windows, people working there will be deprived of sufficient natural light throughout their working day. "(Lack of natural light) is inconsistent with health regulations and employers must have special permission for it," Dratwa said.
Employers and the syndrome
No research has been conducted into absenteeism caused by SBS in Poland, but figures from Germany quoted by Professor Ewa Nowak, Director of Science at the Institute of Industrial Design, show that a sizeable 30% of sick leave was related to illnesses connected with office work.
Nowak is convinced that proper ergonomic conditions for employees could reduce costs for employers. "Many employers are either unaware of it, or simply neglect it," she said. She added that employers should provide work stations that meet ergonomic standards and provide instruction on how to use them. "It is their business to adapt the workplace to the employee's psycho-physiological conditions because it increases effectiveness and limits absenteeism," she said.
According to Nowak, when a company first moves into a modern office building, it should create an appropriate spatial plan adapted to the needs of particular departments and the number of people employed. "Some employers consider it to be a minor issue as they want to get maximum gain while putting in minimum effort," she said. It often means squeezing as many employees and computers as possible into one area. "Too many people in one place with no private space causes aggression," Konarska added.
In open-plan solutions, spatial layouts, including partition walls, could interfere with air circulation. Nowak said the employee's sense of privacy is very important, but partitions should not be too numerous.
Marianna Jeffrey, office manager at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), based in the Atrium Tower in Warsaw, said that employees are not in favor of open-plan offices but certain types of work force employers to use them.
The personal computer, the standard workhorse of the modern office, is becoming an acknowledged source of health problems. Repetitive strain injury, which can cause permanent tissue damage and disability and results from repetitive motions and excessive force, is currently an increasing source of concern. Back problems, muscular tension, allergies and cardio-vascular disorders can also originate from computer-centered work. "Remaining static is very dangerous for people," Nowak said.
The labor minister's directives are explicit in defining what makes a safe computer environment. All computers must have ultraviolet filters, chairs must be movable, and regulated height and back support, with a variable angle for the back. An employee should face a computer straight on and shouldn't be closer to the screen than 50 centimeters, and computers must be at least 60 centimeters apart. The distance between an employee and the back of a computer should be at least 80 centimeters. The keyboard and mouse should provide support for wrists and forearms.
"We are becoming more and more homo sedens (a sitting humans) and it's very important for our bones, muscles and eyes to sit properly in front of the screen," Nowak said. Building-related diseases do not strike suddenly, they develop over a period of years.
"Healthy staff means more money for the company," Dratwa said. He added that forward-looking employers do not try to save money on creating a well-equipped working environment. The effects of sick-building syndrome can be limited by providing good conditions. "In the long run it works for the benefit of the employer," he said.
Nevertheless, no matter how clear the regulations and how obvious these statements, experts believe that attitudes are changing too slowly. "Both building owner and employer want to maximize their profits, which is often mirrored in working conditions," Hoffman said.
"Employees can't change much and have to agree to the working conditions they are offered, otherwise, they would have to leave." This is perhaps why sick building syndrome and building-related sickness do not deter potential job candidates from working in high-rises.
According to Jeffrey of JLL, people in Warsaw do complain about air conditioning and open-plan layouts, but these are simply a sign of the times. "We can't change much," she said. "We do our best to provide our employees with the best possible solution."
