POLICIES & RECORDS - 30.01.2006

Keeping your office staff productive

Reducing sickness absence

Offices are often dismissed by managers as being low-risk and not worthy of much attention. However, a survey carried out by Norwich Union Healthcare in 1999 estimated that in the decade up to 2009, ill-health caused by working in offices would soar. This prediction has already been fulfilled, e.g. by the steady rise in workstation-related problems and stress. If you’re concerned about short-term sickness absence in your offices, look at our occupational health checklist; it’s divided into four parts.

1. Sick Building Syndrome

The first part of our checklist deals with Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). This refers to ill-health symptoms, such as itchy eyes and wheezing which are attributable to poor indoor air quality caused by inadequate ventilation. To combat this, our checklist asks questions to help you establish if your ventilation system provides sufficient air flow and is cleaned and maintained regularly. It also asks about other causes of SBS, such as old carpets (which give off pollutants), the frequency of cleaning (including damp dusting of surfaces) as well as the adequacy of your office lighting.

Tip. One easy way of seeing if ventilation is doing its job is to check the return air vent. If you can see evidence of dust collecting around it, then review your maintenance frequency. Also ensure that any filters, e.g. in air conditioning systems, are changed regularly.

2. Noise

Whilst noise isn’t a problem usually associated with offices, it can cause headaches in open-plan areas. To assist you, our checklist asks questions to identify if your staff are affected by loud and irritating ring tones and noisy electrical equipment, such as photocopiers. These factors are often overlooked in causing a decline in productivity, but can easily be dealt with, e.g. by placing screens around noisy office equipment and instructing staff to reduce the volume of their ring tones.

3. Stress

As stress causes 12.8 million lost working days a year, the third part of our checklist focuses on its main triggers. These include questions which ask about your working culture, e.g. whether it revolves around long hours and/or working to last minute deadlines. It also asks about the level of support which staff are given and whether job roles are clearly defined. Candid answers to these questions will at least indicate whether any stress-related problems are likely.

4. Workstation problems

The last section focuses on identifying some of the most common problems which can arise from the use of computers. For example, neck-ache is not only caused by an employee cradling a telephone in his neck, but also from having a monitor set too low. Equally, having a computer mouse positioned too far towards the back of the desk can lead to shoulder-ache from continual overreaching.

Tip. Maximise the benefit from this section and give staff a copy. It will help ensure that their workstations are properly set up.

See the free sample office occupational health checklist included with this advice letter or download it from http://healthandsafety.indicator.co.uk (HS 04.09.05).