The Journal Times Online - Racine, Wisconsin

Los Angeles Times

The office building a company inhabits may play a large role in how happy employees are on the job, according to a new survey by Blumberg Capital Partners, a Coral Gables, Fla.-based company that develops and manages high-end commercial office buildings in Florida and Texas.

According to the survey, one in three workers have accepted a job or quit a job because of the conditions of the office. The biggest complaint? Temperature. Respondents frequently complained about either hot-as-the-tropics heating or Antarctic air conditioning.

More than 75 percent of survey respondents said the overall condition of their offices affected how they viewed their employer and whether they were likely to stay in their jobs. The most commonly cited problems in the survey:

• extreme temperatures

• filthy bathrooms

• outdated furniture or decor

• persistent foul smells

• leaky ceilings or windows

• worn carpeting

• rodents or insects

Survey results suggest companies should pay more attention to the basics. Like vermin. Julie Buckner, 40, of Los Angeles , has few fond memories of the down-at-the-heels San Francisco building where she worked in 1996. Much of the building was vacant, or so she thought, until she heard rats scurrying above the acoustic ceiling tiles.

"The tiles were always slightly askew," she recalled, "and every once in a while you could see their foot or tails come through." Her first rat sighting was quite alarming, she said, "but like all things, you get used to it."