Guidance
Symptoms of Poor Office Air Quality
A practical guide to the symptom cluster UK office occupants report when their workplace air is failing — and what each symptom indicates about the building.
The pattern
Symptoms cluster — that's the diagnostic
Single complaints are noise. Symptom patterns are signal. When a meaningful proportion of occupants in one part of a building report headache, fatigue, dry eyes, blocked nose, dry throat and difficulty concentrating — and those symptoms improve at weekends or on leaving the building — the building itself becomes the leading hypothesis.
Persistent end-of-day tiredness in a sedentary role usually traces back to elevated CO₂ — a tracer for inadequate fresh-air-per-person. Eye and throat irritation, especially in winter, points to low relative humidity, formaldehyde or VOC emissions from new furniture or finishes. Headaches concentrated in specific zones often correlate with thermal asymmetry, draught, or CO₂ excursions during heavy meeting-room occupancy.
Symptom → cause
What each symptom typically indicates
| Symptom | Most likely environmental driver | First investigation step |
|---|---|---|
| End-of-day fatigue | Elevated CO₂ (under-ventilation) | Continuous CO₂ logging |
| Persistent headache | CO₂, thermal discomfort, VOCs | Multi-parameter monitoring + survey |
| Dry, gritty eyes | Low RH, formaldehyde, fine particulates | RH, HCHO, PM2.5 measurement |
| Blocked / runny nose | Particulates, mould spores, VOCs | PM, microbial sampling |
| Dry / sore throat | Low RH, particulates, VOC mixtures | RH, PM, VOC speciation |
| Concentration loss | CO₂, thermal discomfort | CO₂ + thermal comfort assessment |
FAQ
Office air quality symptoms
Symptom cluster in your office?
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