In every office, the company values their employees in one way or another – they are after all the main reason why the company still exists. There will be a lot of solutions they present whenever the company is in a tight spot and you can rely on them to shift the numbers to something better. While your value for them is palpable, it can only go so far until they get sick.
As a leader of the company, you always tell your employees to stay at home if they catch a cold or fever to avoid the spread of germs and bacteria. You then realise that people still get sick even after your strict implementation of health issues rules. You might be thinking why this is a common occurrence in the office even with the best care provided, employees still tend to get sick.
There has been a study done about people who usually get sick in the same building and eventually almost everyone complain about health problems. This has been dubbed as the Sick Building Syndrome – it is the feeling of ill health and the main cause of absenteeism and has jeopardised a lot of careers over the years. But this can be combated by knowing the culprits that cause this.
Common Reasons Why Employees Get Sick:
- Bad Ventilation. This is usually a culprit to people who are working in an older building, and has been a source of breathing problems. There’s a long term build up of carbon monoxide and other harmful compounds. It will circulate eventually and most likely develop breathing and respiratory illnesses, and worsen it for people who already has this. As the CEO or the owner of the company, you should ensure that your employees are healthy – meaning you should check the condition of the building you are in now.
- Stress. This is a common culprit as to why people refuse to go to work at most times and would rather curl up in bed and sleep. While those numbers are important, you should also consider how it affects your employees. When stress piles up, you can expect them to experience physical health problems as well as mental health as well. Building up good and trusting relationships with your employees will hopefully lessen the amount of stress in the workplace.
- Dirty Floors. You are peacefully eating lunch, and then you saw that huge patch of dark entity on the floor – of course it will dampen your appetite. Aside from the grotesque image, this is actually a source of diseases that would make your employees ill for a long period of time. The best way to remedy this is to hire professional cleaning services to ensure that the floors are clean and presentable.
- Overcrowded. While it is indeed a nice way to get tasks done on time, hiring more people in a tiny room will make them feel sick and suffocated. While your reason for this is to save money on getting a larger space, you will eventually lose these people and maybe experience a dent in productivity due to absences. Overcrowded rooms mean that the spread of bacteria is faster and more dangerous than usual.
- No Natural Light. A small room with the harsh fluorescent light will be a source of headaches and sleeplessness. They will likely fall asleep in the office and possibly neglect their tasks. Research shows that offices with natural light filtering in means they have better sleep quality, longer sleep duration, and are basically happier and more productive than those who are always exposed to artificial light. You might consider drawing the curtains and blinds back!
