Does this happen to you? You walk to work in the morning feeling fresh and cheery, then you enter the office and suddenly you feel an anxious, draining feeling, like you could go straight back to bed but your day has only just begun…in other words, is the building you work in making you feel sick? Probably not, but your job might be.

Job stress is a more likely cause of the cluster of symptoms known as "sick building syndrome" than physical environment, according to a large study of 4,052 civil service workers in London. These symptoms can include headaches, itchy eyes, dry throat, dry and itchy skin, fatigue, and even dizziness and nausea.

In the study, workers were asked questions about the physical properties of the offices they worked in and the stresses associated with their jobs. Women tended to have more symptoms associated with sick building syndrome than men. Younger workers had more of the symptoms than older workers.

Researchers found little association between physical work environment and the symptoms; however, there was a strong association between the symptoms and feelings of having high job demands and little support in the workplace. Inadequate ventilation within office buildings is often blamed for the symptoms, but researchers failed to identify consistent associations with air quality and other physical properties of most work environments.

So "sick building syndrome" may better be termed "sick job syndrome." Now that you can no longer put blame on the building, maybe a job change is in store for you?