FM puzzle: sick building and Sydney’s open‐plan offices

Abstract

Presents analytical findings of sick building situations in Sydney’s open‐plan offices. Aims to ascertain facilities managers’ perceptions of sick building impacts on discrete aspects of workspace management, with a view to raising general awareness. A total of 100 open‐plan offices in the Sydney CBD were studied, and collated data analysed using partial correlation. Significant associations were found between sick building syndrome and certain aspects. However, management control played moderating roles in some of the associations. Concludes that, with management control, sick building syndrome may be perceived as critical to only a limited workspace aspect. The implication is for sick building syndrome to be largely generalised as inconsequential to many aspects of work environment in Sydney, probably following the Hawthorne management ideology.

Penilaian elemen kualiti udara dalaman dan kaitannya terhadap simptom kesihatan pekerja di pejabat kerajaan sekitar Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya

“…Menurut Silberman (1999), sindrom bangunan sakit boleh berlaku daripada pelbagai punca dan tiada penyebab khusus. Thac et al (2019) dan Ilozor et al (2001) menambah bahawa sindrom bangunan sakit adalah istilah yang merujuk kepada keadaan yang mana kombinasi pelbagai faktor seperti bahan kimia, asap dan komponen lain dari bahan binaan bangunan yang menyebabkan kualiti udara dalaman yang rendah menjurus kepada pelbagai masalah kesihatan. Keadaan sebegini telah menyebabkan Shaharuddin (1998) membezakan simptom-simptom bangunan sakit kepada empat kumpulan iaitu simptom kering (kering tekak dan mata, hidung tersumbat, kering kulit, sukar memakai lensa konteks mata), simptom alergi (hidung tersumbat, lelehan hidung, hidung terasa gatal, mata terasa gatal dan berair), simptom asma (ketegangan dada, nafas terengah-engah, susah bernafas) dan simptom berpunca dari sebab yang tak pasti (lemah dan lesu, sakit kepala).…”

The Impact of Sick Building Syndrome on Call Centre Agents’ Effectiveness

“…Other factors that have been implicated include noise, artificial lighting, static electricity, ions, electromagnetic fields and psychological effects (Thomas-Mobley, Roper & Oberle, 2005). Ilozor et al (2001) found that volatile organic compounds (VOC's), synthetic compounds, biological bacteria, fungi, molds and viruses are readily found in emissions from office equipment, building materials, dust, cigarettes and office supplies such as solvents, glues and cleaning agents for interior workspaces. Many large offices are air-conditioned but these installations rarely work well making it either too hot or too cold.…”

“…The many symptoms of SBS include tired or strained eyes (Aerias Air Quality Sciences, 2010), unusual tiredness (Pitt, 2008;Rooley, 1995), fatigue or drowsiness (National Safety Council, 2010), headaches (Boykin & Sauer, 1996;Muzi, Abbritti, Accattoli & dell' Omo, 1997), tension (Yu et al, 2009), irritability or nervousness (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2012), sinus congestion (Bachmann, Turck & Myers, 1995), chest tightness (Aerias Air Quality Sciences, 2010; Muzi et al, 1997), wheezing (Global Healing Centre, 2012), skin dryness Muzi et al, 1997) and gastrointestinal complaints (Pitt, 2008). These symptoms were summarized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its June 1982 report (Brown, 2004;Boykin & Sauer, 1996;Fernberg, 1989;Ilozor et al, 2001;Rooley, 1995). SBS occurs in a workspace where a significant number of occupants complain of sickness and/or discomfort.…”

“…The term sick building syndrome (SBS) is applied to conditions where a combination of factors such as chemicals, smoke, fumes and other components of building materials create poor indoor air quality causing various health complaints (Ilozor, Treloar, Olomolaiye & Okoroh, 2001). Indoor air quality is influenced by over 900 different organic compounds.…”

“…Indoor air quality is influenced by over 900 different organic compounds. SBS can occur in all offices to varying degrees but it has the most notable impact in open-plan type offices where the majority of employees are most likely to be working (Ilozor et al, 2001). Typically, the majority of customer call centers operate out of open-plan offices making them very susceptible to this phenomenon.…”