Many workers don’t like their office buildings — and are willing to quit their jobs over it — a survey has found. They put the blame squarely on their employers — who, too often, focus more on location rather than daily working conditions.
By Scott Flander
As long as the company’s offices are reasonably clean and pleasant, employees are probably happy, right?
Not so fast.
One-third of office employees worry their buildings are unhealthy or unsafe, and 20 percent say conditions in their offices are hurting productivity and motivation, a new survey has found.
And all this is a reflection on the employer. More than three-quarters of those surveyed say the condition of their office buildings affect how they see their companies. And, 17 percent say they’ve left a job because they disliked their building’s conditions or amenities.
The survey results could be a wake-up call to building owners and employers, says Johnny Winton, president of Blumberg Capital Partners, the Coral Gables, Fla.-based commercial real estate investment firm that commissioned the survey.
When choosing office space, employers have been primarily concerned with whether the location is convenient for employees, he says.
But if the detail revealed in the survey “picks up steam,” he says, employers may start choosing offices based on conditions as well as location. “Owners will get hit in the pocketbook,” and so may pay more attention to improving conditions, says Winton.
The most frequent complaint — cited by nearly half (47 percent) of those surveyed — was that their offices are too hot or too cold, because of poor heating, air conditioning and ventilating systems.
Bill Kajola, an industrial hygienist with the AFL-CIO in Washington, agrees that extreme office temperatures are a common complaint, and often leads to problems such as fatigue and headaches.
In addition, many workers are concerned about getting injured at work due to ailments that can develop when work stations are improperly designed. The most common problems are musculoskeletal disorders affecting wrists, arms and other parts of the body, he says.
“Ergonomic hazards continue to be the most common cause of work-related injuries and illnesses in the U.S.,” says Kajola, accounting for one-third of all such problems.
“It’s the 800-pound gorilla in the workplace,” he says.
Federal regulations regarding ergonomic hazards went into effect at the end of the Clinton administration, but were nullified by Congress after President Bush took office, says Kajola.
Meanwhile, there are no federal standards for office temperatures, and no comprehensive standards for air quality, he says.
“The conditions are probably not getting better,” says Kajola. “Most employers and building owners only respond to conditions when there’s a law or regulation that requires them to do so.”
In the absence of such laws, he says, “most employers choose not to do anything.”
Nearly one-third of those surveyed complained of unclean or under-stocked rest rooms. Among other gripes cited by office workers were outdated furniture and decor (28 percent), unexplained odors or foul/unclean air (21 percent), rodents/insects (20 percent), theft/crime (21 percent) and leaky ceilings and windows (21 percent).
According to Winton, as employee attitudes about work have evolved, so have attitudes toward the workplace.
Many workers, he says, want jobs that are meaningful, “not just a paycheck.” And they are also demanding better office conditions.
They’ll say, says Winton, “I want to work in an environment where I feel good, where I want to be here, where I feel productive. If I’m in an environment that’s lousy, I’ll walk around and say, ‘I don’t want to work here today.’ “
Keywords: Philip Blumberg
