The summer months might be full of light and warmth, but they can also bring a few added annoyances, namely allergies. If you’re working in a large office, it can be very difficult to avoid being affected by a certain allergen whilst sat at your office desk, e.g. pollen when windows are open, but there are a few tricks you can try.
- Use laminate or wooden flooring instead of carpets – Dust particles and other allergens can collect in carpets
- Clean carpets regularly if you can’t avoid them – If you do need to have a carpet in your office, make sure it is cleaned on a regular basis
- Use natural elements – Plants and other green items can help to improve the air quality in an office, but be careful to avoid flowers or other plants which contain pollen
- Ensure air conditioning units are cleaned regularly – air conditioning can help to remove certain allergens from the air, but the unit itself needs to be cleaned and maintained regularly
- Try using an air purifier – large offices may install their own air filtration system, but if that’s not an option, try an individual air purifier on your desk instead
- Ask staff to avoid wearing strong perfumes – these can aggravate allergies for certain people
Having regular breaks and perhaps heading to sit on the breakout furniture for a short while may help. The dawn of open air offices is a great way to fresh air but if it’s the outdoors that is causing your allergies, that won’t help much! In that case, you need to speak to your doctor about allergy medication and management, to help avoid flare ups.
Having an office table design and layout which places allergy sufferers away from allergen hotspots is also a good idea.
Do you have any other tips for avoiding allergies at work?