The building I work in is definitely sick, and full of sickies. A co-worker and I were talking about this very issue today, between sneezes!
The building is not particularly old, but I think the vents have never been cleaned. Every time the central air system kicks on, people, myself included, start sneezing because of "stuff" that gets blown around. When you're pushing a lot of paper, running a lot of office machinery and computers, tracking who knows what in from the parking lot, and dealing with mold and humidity most of the year, it stands to reason that there would be a lot of junk in the air ducts.
"Sick" ambient air creates and perpetuates a sick office population. I keep antibacterial cleaning wipes and bleach-based "anywhere" spray in a desk drawer to routinely clean my phone, work surfaces and cubicle. I also keep antibacterial gel to clean my hands. But, there's no dealing with the darned overhead vents.
As for people who come to work with contagious conditions, that's another issue. In my workplace, the majority of us are government contractors who aren't paid for the Federal or State holidays, sick days or any other time off. So, it does become an issue for some who can't afford to take sick days. I get really annoyed by State employees who remark that we contractors can afford unpaid days because our pay rate is significantly higher! Who cares - unpaid is still unpaid.
Which brings up another, loosely related issue: teachers subjected to sick kids! Teacher friends complain about how parents send their sick kids to school because they - the parents - either can't afford to take the time off to stay home, or extra care expense to have someone stay home with the child. You parents with young children know what it's like to have one child "share" the ills with the siblings and you.
With all the political talk about nationalized health care, there also needs to be help for parents who have to take time off work to stay home with sick kids. Employers need to develop better social responsibility for their employees, as a company is only as good as the people who work there.
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The building I work in is definitely sick, and full of sickies. A co-worker and I were talking about this very issue today, between sneezes!
The building is not particularly old, but I think the vents have never been cleaned. Every time the central air system kicks on, people, myself included, start sneezing because of "stuff" that gets blown around. When you're pushing a lot of paper, running a lot of office machinery and computers, tracking who knows what in from the parking lot, and dealing with mold and humidity most of the year, it stands to reason that there would be a lot of junk in the air ducts.
"Sick" ambient air creates and perpetuates a sick office population. I keep antibacterial cleaning wipes and bleach-based "anywhere" spray in a desk drawer to routinely clean my phone, work surfaces and cubicle. I also keep antibacterial gel to clean my hands. But, there's no dealing with the darned overhead vents.
As for people who come to work with contagious conditions, that's another issue. In my workplace, the majority of us are government contractors who aren't paid for the Federal or State holidays, sick days or any other time off. So, it does become an issue for some who can't afford to take sick days. I get really annoyed by State employees who remark that we contractors can afford unpaid days because our pay rate is significantly higher! Who cares - unpaid is still unpaid.
Which brings up another, loosely related issue: teachers subjected to sick kids! Teacher friends complain about how parents send their sick kids to school because they - the parents - either can't afford to take the time off to stay home, or extra care expense to have someone stay home with the child. You parents with young children know what it's like to have one child "share" the ills with the siblings and you.
With all the political talk about nationalized health care, there also needs to be help for parents who have to take time off work to stay home with sick kids. Employers need to develop better social responsibility for their employees, as a company is only as good as the people who work there.
OK, I'm off my soap box, lol!
December 17, 2008 - 7:12pmThis Comment
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