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It’s easy to believe that sitting in a cozy and climate-controlled workplace is safe and secure. However, there are a lot of office health hazards of which you may not be aware. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that thousands of employees in the US get sick due to office hazards like eye issues, electrical hazards, lighting, mold, junk, etc.
But are these the only office hazards? No. In fact, we haven’t even discussed the bigger ones. If you are a business owner, we invite you to take a look at some of the common office health hazards that impact your employee productivity.
Your Guide To The Most Common Office Health Hazards
1. Bacteria and viruses.
Bacteria and viruses harm employees by causing illnesses and numerous sick days. The unclean workplace becomes home to harmful organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Helicobacter pylori, or Escherichia coli.
2. Building mold.
Employees are much more likely to get sick from the mold around them. Mold is most common in areas with high moisture and exposure to water. The most common symptoms are mental fatigue, skin irritation, and dizziness. If you come across such a situation, then consider checking your office’s surroundings!
3. Mental health.
Clutter around your employees causes stress, anxiety, and depression. It is because unclean workplaces contribute to stress and low energy levels. Of course, this naturally reduces productivity.
Additionally, clutter-free and soothing surroundings are essential for positive mental health. According to research, employees in messy surroundings develop mental health concerns and an increase in their cortisol levels.
⎆ Clutter and junk removal tips.
- Consider hiring professionals to declutter your space.
- Implement a cleaning schedule regularly.
- Restrict the eating areas to avoid the mess around the workstations.
- Replace the trash containers once a month.
- Organize donation drives and donate the unused junk from your office.
4. Weight gain.
An office environment with no organization destroys the motivation of employees. So does hours of sitting in the same place in addition to casually munching snacks. To curb this, make sure the employees are physically active in the office. You can organize fun events for 5-10 minutes towards the day’s end for this purpose. Moreover, you can also incentivize the ones who are physically active in the office. This will motivate others to change their sedentary office habits as well.
5. Eye strain.
Spending a majority of your time in front of a computer causes eye strain. Moreover, the eyes get dry, and employees experience difficulty focusing on their tasks. For example, the manual work of a tool detail requires higher lighting levels than working on a computer.
Reduce the glare from your windows by closing the blinds and dimming the overhead lighting. Placing monitors at a slightly lower eye level minimizes the glare on screens. Also, increasing the size of computer fonts can also help ease the strain on the eyes.
Moreover, to help reduce the strain on your eyes and fatigue, OSHA suggests taking a 10-minute break for each hour you’re watching the screen of your computer.
6. Implementing procedures.
As a business owner, instruct your HR to implement procedures to detect risks and address issues. This includes implementing safety walkthroughs, a reporting system for unsafe conditions, and arranging workshops on removing security hazards.
However, if your office has a lot of clutter, consider hiring a Junk Garbage Removal company like Pro Junk Dispatch to eliminate unwanted items from your office space.
In conclusion.
If you have any further questions or suggestions, we always love to hear from you in the comments below. Also below are links to more useful and productive articles about ALL things DESIGN for your home or business.
Images Courtesy of Canva.
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About the Author: Ashley Edwards
