Twenty years or so ago, one of these articles started off with a sort of tongue-in-cheek - but actually very serious - question.
"What's the fastest growing high-risk occupation? Astronaut? Nuclear plant janitor? Junk food tester?"
The answer then--and now--is none of the above. In terms of the number of people involved, and in the dizzying range of hazards they are exposed to, office workers today probably make up the fastest growing high-risk occupational group.
Ironically, the dangers have increased due to technologies that were supposed to make clerical work easier, cleaner, more attractive. In a word, healthier.
Easier, cleaner, more attractive -- yes, perhaps, but at a price.
But healthier? On the whole, questionable.
Public concern rises
In a report on Indoor Environmental Quality 2000, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says requests for the agency's assistance have risen dramatically as public concern over this problem continues to increase.
The problem goes beyond "sick building syndrome," a term used to convey a wide range of symptoms people associated with the building itself. Workers typically blamed the workplace environment because their symptoms were alleviated when they left they left the office.
The principal villain was air quality, caused by airtight buildings designed to conserve energy, and keep out dust, fumes and annoying street noises. But since then, NIOSH has found complaints coming from more than air contamination.
Range of symptoms
Here's a typical range of symptoms: Headaches, unusual fatigue, varying degrees of burning, itching eyes, nasal congestion, dry or irritated throats, skin irritation and nausea.
The range and diversity of these symptoms do not point to any specific diagnosis. However, they do suggest a connection between two events that occurred about the same time--the tightening of ventilation requirements to conserve fossil fuels coupled with the emergence of virtually airtight buildings, and a revolution in office work.
Computers and new work technologies forced a change in office procedures and productivity. It is reasonable to ponder that, as a result, ergonomic and organizational stress problems increased.
NIOSH has found comfort problems due to improper temperature and relative humidity conditions, poor lighting, unacceptable noise levels and adverse ergonomic conditions.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is a field that needs special vigilance. Hard-won protections for workers are again under assault.
History can be a good teacher. When VDTs--video display terminals as computer monitors were once called--began showing up almost everywhere, this column called attention to a heartening example of union effectiveness. Several unions in California, representing large numbers of women, formed the "VDT Coalition."
This organization was instrumental in successfully urging NIOSH to evaluate the health risks of these then-new machines. As a result, the agency developed recommendations for redesign of work stations, screen-glare control, mandatory rest breaks and eye tests.
The same tactic of unions getting together for coordinated effort to address a critical work issue can be used again, if necessary, as new potential indoor environmental problems arise -- including efforts to weaken ergonomic standards.
Copyright 2001 by Dr. Phillip L. Polakoff and medical writer Jack Tucker / PAI. Used with permission.
Twenty years or so ago, one of these articles started off with a sort of tongue-in-cheek – but actually very serious – question.
“What’s the fastest growing high-risk occupation? Astronaut? Nuclear plant janitor? Junk food tester?”
The answer then–and now–is none of the above. In terms of the number of people involved, and in the dizzying range of hazards they are exposed to, office workers today probably make up the fastest growing high-risk occupational group.
Ironically, the dangers have increased due to technologies that were supposed to make clerical work easier, cleaner, more attractive. In a word, healthier.
Easier, cleaner, more attractive — yes, perhaps, but at a price.
But healthier? On the whole, questionable.
Public concern rises
In a report on Indoor Environmental Quality 2000, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says requests for the agency’s assistance have risen dramatically as public concern over this problem continues to increase.
The problem goes beyond “sick building syndrome,” a term used to convey a wide range of symptoms people associated with the building itself. Workers typically blamed the workplace environment because their symptoms were alleviated when they left they left the office.
The principal villain was air quality, caused by airtight buildings designed to conserve energy, and keep out dust, fumes and annoying street noises. But since then, NIOSH has found complaints coming from more than air contamination.
Range of symptoms
Here’s a typical range of symptoms: Headaches, unusual fatigue, varying degrees of burning, itching eyes, nasal congestion, dry or irritated throats, skin irritation and nausea.
The range and diversity of these symptoms do not point to any specific diagnosis. However, they do suggest a connection between two events that occurred about the same time–the tightening of ventilation requirements to conserve fossil fuels coupled with the emergence of virtually airtight buildings, and a revolution in office work.
Computers and new work technologies forced a change in office procedures and productivity. It is reasonable to ponder that, as a result, ergonomic and organizational stress problems increased.
NIOSH has found comfort problems due to improper temperature and relative humidity conditions, poor lighting, unacceptable noise levels and adverse ergonomic conditions.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is a field that needs special vigilance. Hard-won protections for workers are again under assault.
History can be a good teacher. When VDTs–video display terminals as computer monitors were once called–began showing up almost everywhere, this column called attention to a heartening example of union effectiveness. Several unions in California, representing large numbers of women, formed the “VDT Coalition.”
This organization was instrumental in successfully urging NIOSH to evaluate the health risks of these then-new machines. As a result, the agency developed recommendations for redesign of work stations, screen-glare control, mandatory rest breaks and eye tests.
The same tactic of unions getting together for coordinated effort to address a critical work issue can be used again, if necessary, as new potential indoor environmental problems arise — including efforts to weaken ergonomic standards.
Copyright 2001 by Dr. Phillip L. Polakoff and medical writer Jack Tucker / PAI. Used with permission.