I felt like a stranger in my own office because I worked for such a large company.
But the break room was where I felt the most isolated.
Nobody seemed concerned about how bad the air quality was. The idea to begin a revolution came to me one day. I prepared a report on the state of indoor air quality and gave it to my boss. Yet, nothing changed. My frustration led me to consider taking extreme action. Perhaps I required surgery to correct whatever it was that made me super sensitive to the atmosphere. But then I recalled my friend’s advice about an air filter. It was supposed to be a game-changer. After much thought, I decided on buying the premium air filter that promised to improve the air quality of indoor air by as much as 99%. Although it was pricey, it was worth the investment. The air filter for the break room was ordered and it was installed. The situation felt great. I felt like I could finally take a deep breath of cleaner air. I felt very accomplished after I made a positive change at work. But this great feeling was brief. The air quality returned to its previous terrible state a few days later. I was confused. I spent a lot of money on the air filter, and it doesn’t seem to be working. An HVAC expert was called in for an inspection. A new filter didn’t help the broken HVAC system in the building. The air quality was restored as soon as the HVAC technician made the required adjustments. I was frustrated that we needed HVAC tech to find the cause of the problem. Nonetheless, I was happy with the results of my attempt but glad the HVAC expert solved the issue.