For more than half a year, innumerable offices across America have been sitting empty, or at a significantly reduced capacity. Accordingly, many office workers across the country have faced months of working remotely, away from the usual day-to-day comings and goings of work, and, in turn, from the inherent risks of the modern office.
These risks are not limited to viral transmissions between workers – they are, in reality, far more prevalent than even the common cold, and much more difficult to avoid.
EMF radiation represents a continuous and severe risk to human life, and its ubiquity within the office is far greater than the level (though still exceedingly high) to which we are exposed in our homes. And, while we can adopt certain practices that mitigate our exposure to high-risk devices such as phones and laptops, the benefits will prove negligible when we are once again subjected to around forty hours of continuous Wi-Fi exposure on our return to work.
Offices are already reopening, and just over thirty-percent of those currently closed remain unsure about the prospect. What this means is a mass migration back to the office, and into areas that will once again wreak havoc on our bodies – both in the short- and long-term – unless EMF protection becomes the standard for all.
Why Does the Office Represent Such a Dangerous Environment?
The vast majority of us will, at this moment, be surrounded by devices and objects that emit EMF whenever they are switched on. From the computer to the phone in your pocket, they all pose varying levels of risk throughout the day. This risk is already raised within an office setting, where the one or two computers you have at home are multiplied by hundreds of times over, and one smartphone becomes a roomful.
The difference between these devices and Wi-Fi, however, is that wireless internet signals work by filling every corner and room in which they are placed. These waves are forever moving through the walls and furniture around us – and, of course, our own bodies. The unfortunate by-product of this ultra-fast connectivity is, of course, a high and continuous dose of EMF radiation.
In an office, the space that this Wi-Fi is required to fill will likely be much greater than it is within your home. Additional access points and routers will be required, which will only augment the amount of radiation, and raise the risk level far beyond what could be considered tenable.
How Does Wi-Fi Impact Brain Health?
It has already been well-documented that the EMF radiation caused by Wi-Fi has the potential to significantly impact on our health. For our brains, the highest risk is the potential for cancer – particularly when it is directly absorbed into the brain, as it is via cell phone conversations or direct and prolonged exposure to Wi-Fi. At this point in time, the World Health Organisation has classed wireless technology, including Wi-Fi, as a Class 2B carcinogen – and scientific evidence in support of a more severe classification is ongoing. EMF is also strongly linked to headaches and migraines, as well as a significant disruption to the body’s ability to regulate sleeping patterns.
For our mental health, the story is no better. Stress, depression, mood swings, irritability and a reduced ability to concentrate – even for short spaces of time.
These symptoms are all incredibly insidious in nature. We can easily attribute a low mood to circumstance, or an inability to concentrate to run-of-the-mill boredom at work. Our busy lives make it difficult to notice quite how routinely we feel out of sorts, however, and this only serves to make us less likely to address the root cause of the issue.
How Can We Ensure a Safe Return to the Office?
While we can all afford to sacrifice some technologies that threaten to undermine our health, there is no hope in avoiding Wi-Fi. In many ways, it remains as central to professional spaces as the employees themselves, and any sustainable solution will need to take into account the inevitability of its continued use – in spite of the risks.
Instead, the importance of effective EMF protection must be made common knowledge. The past few months have offered a respite from the office environment – though, of course, we are all exposed to a lesser extent within our homes.
And, while the focus remains squarely on the topic of personal protection against coronavirus, we must not forget what awaits us as we slip back into old habits. The office represents a volatile environment for our health, and only by ensuring that we are educated on the threats – and prepared with the right EMF protection – can we truly feel comfortable with the prospect of more and more employees returning.
David
