Indoor air problems and experiences of injustice in the workplace: A quantitative and a qualitative study.

This study explores subjective injustice experiences of individuals suffering from suspected or observed indoor air problems in their workplaces in two studies. We focus on injustice experiences because they influence how individuals cope with and recover from health problems. The first study reports associations between the perceived harmfulness of the indoor environment (ie, mold/inadequate ventilation) and subjective injustice experiences in workplaces in a representative sample of Finnish working-aged people (N = 4633). Altogether, 37% of the respondents perceived their workplaces' indoor environments to be harmful. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the risks of reporting subjective injustice experiences (eg, information, attitudes, and remuneration) were significantly higher for those reporting harmful indoor environments compared to those who reported no such problems (OR 1.28-1.95 for different situations). The second study explored injustice experiences more closely by qualitatively analyzing the content of 23 essays. These essays were written by people who suffered from suspected or observed indoor air problems in their workplaces. The respondents reported multidimensional experiences of injustice, which related to conflicts, and moral exclusions. Awareness of these psychosocial effects is important for the prevention of unnecessary escalation of psychosocial problems in workplaces with observed and suspected indoor air problems.

The associations of indoor environment and psychosocial factors on the subjective evaluation of Indoor Air Quality among lower secondary school students: a multilevel analysis.

Subjective evaluation of Indoor Air Quality (subjective IAQ) reflects both building-related and psychosocial factors, but their associations have rarely been studied other than on the individual level in occupational settings and their interactions have not been assessed. Therefore, we studied whether schools' observed indoor air problems and psychosocial factors are associated with subjective IAQ and their potential interactions. The analysis was performed with a nationwide sample (N = 195 schools/26946 students) using multilevel modeling. Two datasets were merged: (i) survey data from students, including information on schools' psychosocial environment and subjective IAQ, and (ii) data from school principals, including information on observed indoor air problems. On the student level, school-related stress, poor teacher-student relationship, and whether the student did not easily receive help from school personnel, were significantly associated with poor subjective IAQ. On the school level, observed indoor air problem (standardized ß = -0.43) and poor teacher-student relationship (standardized ß = -0.22) were significant predictors of poor subjective IAQ. In addition, school-related stress was associated with poor subjective IAQ, but only in schools without observed indoor air problem (standardized ß = -0.44).