Sick building syndrome
Employers responsibilities
The HSE recommends that employers take the steps outlined below to investigate the possible causes of SBS.
- Carry out an employee survey to find out whethersymptoms are occurring more oftenthan expected. It may also help to identify any obvious causes that can easily be fixed, such as adjusting the office temperature. See below for more information.
- Check the general cleanliness of the building, including checking that the vacuum cleaners are working properly and are regularly emptied and their filters are clean.
- Check that cleaning materials are being used properly and stored correctly.
- Check the operation of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. In particular, the system that supplies fresh air should be checked.
- Check the condition and cleanliness of air filters, humidifiers, de-humidifiers and cooling towers. The HSE recommends humidity of40-70%should be maintained in office environments.
- Check heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system maintenance schedules. Make sure they're being followed properly.
Once the above steps have been completed and any necessary actions have been taken, employers should carry out another employee survey at a later date to find out whether employees are still experiencing the symptoms of SBS.
If the SBS symptoms are still present, a more detailed investigation will be needed. This can be carried out by a building services engineer or another similarly qualified consultant.
Employee surveys
Therecan beadvantages in employers being proactive about SBS and asking individual workers informally whether they have any concerns about their working environment.
If there are credible reports of symptoms, a survey should be arranged in a way that tries to avoid employee discussion, which can distort the findings.
A simple survey should cover the frequency of symptoms and whether they improve outside of the building.
Conducting this type of survey can help identify any issues which can then be dealt with before they become more serious problems.
Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018
Definition
Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a poorly understood phenomenon where people have symptoms related to a certain building, most often a workplace.
SBS symptoms
The symptoms of SBS may include: Headaches and dizziness nausea (feeling sick) aches and pains fatigue (extreme tiredness) poorconcentration shortness of breath or chest tightness eye and throat irri
Who's affected by SBS?
Anyone can be affected by SBS, but office workers in modern buildings without opening windows and with mechanical ventilation or air conditioning systems are most at risk. The likelihood of experienci
SBS environments
SBS seems to be associated with certain types of buildings. Most cases occur in open plan offices, butpeople sometimes develop the symptoms while in other buildings that are occupied by lots of people
Advice for employees
If you think your working environment is making you ill, talk to your colleagues to see whether they have similar symptoms. If SBS appears to be a workplace issue, you should raise it with your line m
Employers responsibilities
The HSE recommends that employers take the steps outlined below to investigate the possible causes of SBS. Carry out an employee survey to find out whethersymptoms are occurring more oftenthan expect
Workplace health
There are a number of measures you can take at work to help prevent the symptoms of sick building syndrome. For example, you can: open windows to avoid getting too hot organise and prioritise your wo
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