Script image posted November 24, 2014; text on page last updated December 07, 2014

Workers can spend so much time at the office their homes remain unoccupied for much of the day.  In that case rental / mortgage expenses are better off saved towards a future purchase or invested elsewhere.  Likewise, office buildings are usually unused after-hours and therefore go to waste during this time.  Adverse effects occur from daily commuting, including the risk of automobile accidents, exposure to pollution, and monetary costs.  Given these factors, more employees should be enabled to sleep in their office / place of work.  If living standards therein are unsatisfactory, i.e., harmful to one’s health, then doubt is raised if an individual should be in the place for any amount of time at all.

Modern working environments contain additional health hazards beyond standard housing, outlined in our respective presentation (nonprofitwebinar.org/housing); such concerns include:
– Ink aerosols from printers and copiers, which spread across upwards of a 10-meter radius, absorbed through the skin and membranes, containing chemicals which cause respiratory and other physical problems.  All such equipment, along with lamination / melted plastic (i.e., “3d printing”), should be kept isolated, in a separate room, with ventilation directing impacted air outside to an uninhabited area.  On a side note this is unfortunately a common source of exposure in public schools, where copy-room and lamination attendants suffer from chronic illness after working in such rooms; also, students’ desks are often well within range of exposure from laser printers, which is unacceptable.
– Electric radiation caused by wireless networks & mobile devices, known as “Electromagnetic Fields” or EMF, dangers from which are becoming more widely acknowledged, notably from power lines, wireless networks, cell towers, and “smart meters.”  Until further studies take place, workers should use a direct Ethernet connection whenever possible and the office administration consider having “wireless free” zones for those who don’t require “wi-fi” for any reason, or at least install the most powerful shielding and barriers available.  Unfortunately this is now a concern in most residential areas, especially apartments, where dozens of wireless networks are commonly within range of one unit, to which developing children are to be considered more at risk / susceptible.
– Fluorescent bulbs also emit electric radiation in use and carry the risk of mercury contamination when the bulb breaks.  Strict protocol must be followed to prevent mercury from spreading via HVAC, if one of these or a “plasma” / LCD screen breaks in the building; there are also red flags concerning “computer dust,” which contains traces of harmful metals.  Fluorescent bulbs should be replaced with the LED equivalent, if at all possible.
– Petroleum fumes from automobiles in the parking lot and nearby roads, with a cumulative effect of numerous vehicles, it has been determined air quality is even worse inside the building than outside.  Nearby roads and parking lots need to leave sufficient space away from the building, with natural remediation areas if possible.
– Lab work, involving chemical and biological agents, needs to be isolated in a separate building, with a remediation barrier outside.  Any worker involved in producing / utilizing said materials should receive the maximum appropriate protective equipment.  Any such labs and / or manufacturing must be sectioned off from residential facilities and IT / clerical staff, with an appropriate distance between the buildings.  Calculations are requested to determine the distances necessary for different materials, taking into account various substances and quantities.
– Custodial chemicals, often stronger than household cleaners; steam-based sanitization should be used instead whenever possible, along with UV / “flash” disinfectant, otherwise adequate air circulation and ventilation built in.  Custodians frequently work in close-quarters with chemical fumes, and it is regretful they are not always provided with respirators / hazard suits for their jobs.
– Unauthorized activity, such as smoking in the building, tenants who set up “meth labs;” policies must stipulate workers are not to perform any activity which will contaminate the building.  Detectors should be installed which alert their presence or upon being powered down without notice.

Amenities needed to facilitate the home office:
– Individual units / rooms with locks, electricity, lighting, climate control, cable internet access
– Sleeping accommodations in the rooms, potentially including a foldout bed, cot, recliner, air mattress, “business hammocks”
– Storage to hold hygiene products; closet space for clothing, shoes, ironing board
– Kitchen area, access to an oven, stove / range / hot plate, toaster, food “3d printer,” faculty fridge, pantry, dishwasher
– Laundry machines / washer & dryer, wash basin
– Bathroom and showering facilities, including privacy walls between stalls, bug / camera detectors available
– Trash / recycling disposal and pickup
– Tornado shelter / adverse weather protection
– Medical room / first aid station

Optional offerings to be included as needed / if possible:
– Lobby / reception / visitors’ center, conference rooms
– Cafeteria / restaurant, convenience store / grocer, vending machines
– Transportation / trolley service back to town / central locations
– Gym / fitness center; recreation rooms including video screens, table games
– Outdoor recreation – athletic fields / courts, grills / smoking section, trails / wilderness zones
– Camping / sleeping outside, weather permitting, secured / sectioned off with breach detection
– Daycare / child supervision, playground / activity areas
– Access control & audit trails for secure / high clearance sections, vault for valuables / sensitive documents
– Perimeter guard tower / watch post, surveillance, motion detectors, alarms
– Self contained water purification, backup power, landline phone / shortwave radio communication
– Gardening / greenhouse / aquaponics, long term volume food storage
– Religious quarters, church, temple, mosque
– Pet accommodations, fenced in outdoor section with shelter / “dog house”
– Docks / boathouse for those located along waterlines; flood protection, in that case
– Data backup warehouse, built in protection from electromagnetic discharge (i.e., faraday cage)
– Panic room, underground escape access, helicopter landing pad

References (Last Updated November 17, 2015):

– The Office – BBC
– Office Space by Mike Judge (First Revision)
– The Official Dilbert Website with Scott Adams
– See Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks Deal with the Hassles of a Modern Office
– The One That Got Away – With ‘Doug,’ Nickelodeon’s Loss May Be Disney’s Gain
– Lucy Kellaway’s History of Office Life
– Employees who Work, Eat, and Sleep at the California Campus
– Workers Lived in Campus Parking Lots with Free Food, Amenities
– Forbes – Is Yahoo Right to Ban Working From Home?
– Working from Home Ban? Marissa Mayer’s Policy Becomes Industry Narrative
– Tent Cities Rise Across the Country – NBC News
– Thousands of Homeless People Live in Shantytowns at the Epicenter of High-Tech Silicon Valley
– World Health Organization – Occupational Health
– Occupational Safety and Health Administration
– Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
– CDC – Workplace Safety and Health Topics
– National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences – Occupational Health
– EPA – Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
– European Network for Workplace Health Promotion
– NHS Choices – Workplace Health
– Health & Safety Authority – Workplace Health
– American Industrial Hygiene Association
– Workplace Health Without Borders
– SHRM – Common Office Hazards
– Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
– Home Office Hazards and How to Avoid Them
– Environmental Health Administration – Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response Office
– Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
– OSHA – Indoor Air Quality
– The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality
– CDC – Indoor Air Pollutants and Toxic Materials
– NACHI – Air Quality in the Home
– Outdoor, Indoor, and Personal Exposure to VOCs in Children
– Your Indoor Air Quality Could Be Worse than Outdoor Air
– Your Kitchen Could Have Worse Air Pollution than a City Centre Street
– Hazardous Flame Retardants Ubiquitous in Preschools
– The Lead Hazard In Schools That Won’t Go Away
– Healthy Schools Network, Inc.
– EPA – Creating Healthy Indoor Environments in Schools
– HUD – Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes
– NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
– Environmental Health Trust
– CDC – EMF (Electric and Magnetic Fields)
– Magnetic Field Exposure and Cancer
– A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields
– Wired Child – Protecting our Children from Wireless Technology
– Electric Sense – EMF Protection
– Microwave News – A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation
– EPRI – Electric and Magnetic Fields Research
– EMF Safety Network
– 5 Often Overlooked Cellphone Health Threats
– Prevention – Is Dirty Electricity Making you Sick?
– Is Wi-Fi Safe for Children? Beware of Health Risks
– The Healthy Home Economist – Reducing Exposure to Dirty Electricity
– AntennaSearch – Search for Cell Towers, Cell Reception, Hidden Antennas and More
– Citizens For A Radiation Free Community
– Mast Victims
– Mobile Phones Blamed for Sparrow Deaths
– Urbanization, Trace Metal Pollution, and Malaria Prevalence in the House Sparrow
– Interference Technology – RF Emissions of Compact Fluorescent Lights
– Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: A New Cancer Risk in Your Home
– Ultraviolet Radiation Emissions from Compact Fluorescent Lights
– Energy-Efficient Lightbulbs May Have Dark Side When It Comes To Health
– Energy Efficient Light Bulbs can Cause Cancer
– A New Method of Poisoning Us With Radiation: ‘High Efficiency’ Light Bulbs
– Office Lightbulbs May Increase Skin Cancer Risk
– Are Your Office Lights Giving You Skin Cancer?
– What IT Pros Should Know about Exposure to Hazardous Materials
– Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycling (WEEE)
– Warning: Laser Printers Could Be a Health Hazard
– Particle Emissions from Laser Printers Could Pose Health Concerns
– CBS News – Are Laser Printers A Health Hazard?
– Big Health Risk Seen in Some Laser Printers
– Time – Is Your Printer Making You Sick?
– Men’s Health – How Safe is your Laser Printer?
– Office Printers Emit Hazardous Particles
– Office Printers Emit Dust Particles which are ‘As Bad For You As Smoking’
– 3D Printing at Home Could Have Health Risks, Says Study
– 3D Printing Indoors Is as Bad for You as Smoking a Cigarette Inside
– Nanoparticles Emitted from 3D Printers Could Pose a Risk
– 3D Printers Shown to Emit Potentially Harmful Nanosized Particles
– Ultrafine Particles and the Potential Risks of Printing without Ventilation
– What Are the Dangers of Commercial Laminating Machines & Poor Ventilation?
– The Children who Make a Living in the Toxic World of Discarded Electronics
– Iowa Fast Food Restaurant Also Served As a Meth Lab
– Meth Lab in Store Bathroom? Not the Oddest Place One Found
– Why You Could Suffer from More Pollution While Driving a Car than Walking on the Street
– Confirmed: Air Quality Worse Inside Cars
– Effect of Motor Vehicle Emissions on Respiratory Health in an Urban Area
– Taking on the Rising Death Toll from Traffic & Pollution
– Heavy Air Pollution Blankets Northern China, Reaches ‘Hazardous’ Levels
– China’s Toxic Air Pollution Resembles Nuclear Winter, Say Scientists
– As Beijing Air Pollution Worsens, Some American Expats Clear Out
– Inside the Iranian City Where the Air Is Three Times Worse Than Beijing’s
– India’s ‘Airpocalypse’ Could Kill 229,000 People Every Year
– BBC – Air Pollution ‘Causing Deadly Public Health Crisis’
– Healthy Air – American Lung Association
– Monitoring Urban Heavy Metal Pollution Using the House Sparrow
– Pet Care Tips – Canaries in the Coal Mines
– Risk of Death and Transportation
– DOT – Distribution of Transportation Fatalities by Mode
– Transportation: Motor Vehicle Accidents and Fatalities
– Drowsy Driving – Stay Alert, Arrive Alive
– Drowsy Driving: Symptoms & Solutions – National Sleep Foundation
– Drowsy Drivers Pose Major Risks
– Distracted Driving – National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
– Tips For Staying Safe In A Parking Deck
– Parking Lot Safety for Women
– The Hidden Reason Why Rent Is So Expensive In Cities: Parking Spaces
– Over 11 Million Americans Spend More Than Half Their Income On Rent
– 7 Things the Middle Class Can’t Afford Anymore
– Harvard Study Finds: The Rent Is Too Damn High
– Start Saving Now: Day Care Costs More Than College in 31 States
– Map: In 31 States, Daycare Is More Expensive Than College
– More Employers Should Provide Care for their Workers’ Children. Pro or Con?
– The Advantages & Disadvantages of Child Day Care at a Workplace
– Is Your Child Care Center Secure?
– How to Make Your Child Care Center a Safer Place for Children – Self-Assessment
– USA Today – Day Care Centers Turn to Biometrics
– FEMA – Small Business Toolkit: Tools and Resources to Plan, Prepare, and Protect
– How to Plan for Workplace Emergencies and Evacuations
– Business Continuity Plan – Ready.gov
– Public Safety Canada – A Guide to Business Continuity Planning
– Emergency and Evacuation Planning Guide for Employers
– The BCI – Business Continuity Resources
– FINRA – Business Continuity
– Business Continuity And Disaster Recovery Best Practices
– Small Business Fire Safety
– NFPA – Employee Fire and Life Safety
– Business Fire Safety Planning Information
– Global Incident Map Displaying Terrorist Acts, Suspicious Activity
– USGS – Earthquake Map
– EMSC – Latest Earthquakes in the World
– National Weather Service
– NOAA / NWS – Storm Prediction Center
– NFIP – Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
– Smelters Across US at Risk from Tornadoes, Floods, Quakes
– Library of Congress Business Reference Services – Year 2000 Y2K
– Department of Defense – Confronting Y2K
– Solar SuperStorm 1859 – It Can Happen Again
– New Data Center Protects Against Solar Storms and Nuclear EMPs
– Computerworld – Five Doomsday Scenarios for IT
– Ham Radio – Best Disaster Communication
– Power Blackout Management Research Could Benefit Renewable Energy Integration
– 25 Things That You Should Do To Get Prepared For The Coming Economic Collapse
– How to Detect Hidden Cameras and Microphones
– How to Detect Bugs & Listening Devices
– The Secrets to Finding Hidden Cameras
– International Association of Privacy Professionals
– PSD Concepts: How to Detect Surveillance and Counter
– 9 Counter Surveillance Tools You Can Legally Use
– Technical Surveillance Counter Measures, TSCM-101
– Electronic Frontier Foundation – Counter-Surveillance Success Stories
– The Surveillance-Free Day (Part I)
– ACLU – Workplace Privacy
– Electronic Privacy Information Center – Workplace Privacy
– Fact Sheet: Privacy in the Workplace
– Privacy Rights Clearinghouse –  Workplace Privacy and Employee Monitoring
– Anti-Drone Camouflage: What to Wear in Total Surveillance
– Corner Shower Stall: DYI Installation
– How I Survived Communal Dorm Showers
– There’s Nothing Awkward About A Bunch Of Athletes Showering Together
– Gym Shower Etiquette Goes Down the Drain
– Keep Your Gym Showers Clean
– College 101: Communal Showers and Your Feet
– Do I Really Need to Wear Shower Shoes?
– Protect Your Foot Health at College
– What Nasties Can You Pick Up at the Gym?
– Be Sure Exercise Is All You Get at the Gym
– Top 10 Shower Tent or Privacy Shelter when Camping
– Hammock Camping Basics Illustration
– List of Homer’s Jobs – Simpsons Wiki