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Hidden Health Dangers in Your Office

Offices are safe places to work – particularly compared with other types of work premises. But there are possible health hazards lurking and it’s your job as an employer to be aware of them. Let’s take a look.
Picture of Elizabeth Gration

Elizabeth Gration

Office jobs are not considered particularly dangerous. Compared with construction sites, warehouses or fishing boats, offices are remarkably safe places to work. But that doesn’t mean they are free of any risks. We all know about the risks of slips, trips and electrical hazards. So let’s take those accident risks out of the equation for the moment and look at health risks.

Are the possible health risks in your office? Here are some common ones you might not have considered before.

Mould

Black mould is common. Conditions such as asthma and bronchitis can be worsened by its presence and it can cause a number of respiratory conditions.

If you spot mould in your office and your lease it, speak to your landlord immediately. If you own it, you should address the issues that cause it.

Stress and Burnout

Stress and burnout are increasingly common. Although not a health risk associated with your premises, if you’re finding staff taking on too much, working too long and not getting downtime, you need to address it.

Stress causes serious physical health conditions too including high blood pressure.

Watch for signs of stress in your team including being withdrawn, seeming unmotivated or emotional.

Address stress quickly.

Poor Office Hygiene

We learned through Covid how easily infections and viruses can spread in offices. And just because the pandemic is over does not mean we should be letting up on our healthy habits.

Keep hand sanitiser handy, give team members sufficient space and actively discourage people from coming to the office when they are unwell.

If they’re well enough to work they can work from home – but let’s not encourage being in the office when people are carrying potentially contagious viruses!

Asbestos

Asbestos is linked with a number of serious respiratory illnesses and cancers. It’s still lingering in many older buildings across the country. It was banned in 1999 and so hasn’t been used in the UK in any buildings constructed in 2000 or later. But if your office building is an older one, it’s possible that it contains asbestos.

Under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, all workplaces must manage the risks associated with asbestos. This means you (or your landlord if you do not not own the building) need to find out where asbestos is located in the building, check its condition, and take steps to ensure it doesn’t pose a danger to anyone working in or using the building.

Undamaged and undisturbed asbestos is not in itself dangerous. But when damaged or disturbed the loose fibres can be inhaled and become a health hazard.

So be sure to inspect asbestos areas of your office regularly to ensure no damage and either deal with or report any damage to your landlord.

Offices are Safe

For the most part. But as employers, we are responsible for ensuring that our office spaces aren’t a health risk for our teams. So it’s always worth being aware of the risks.

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