It's unlikely to be the cold air but more likely the air-conditioning which is the problem. In our hermetically sealed environments the chances of spreading air-borne diseases, such as colds and flu, are greatly increased.
Air-conditioning systems vary considerably, but the common element is that they must be regularly cleaned and maintained. Ask about your employer's air-conditioning cleaning procedures and when it was last maintained. It should be a minimum of once a year, but the more often the better. And is the system appropriate for the work being carried out? You may have more people now, or the nature of the work may have changed (more PCs etc) but it's still the same air-conditioning as twenty years ago.
Poor ventilation and air quality are thought to be contributing factors to 'sick building syndrome', which produces many cold-like symptoms in workers. The main feature is that symptoms worsen with time spent in the building. For further information see the London Hazards Centre Guide Sick Building Syndrome: Causes, Effects and Control.
There are also minimum standards in place for workplace temperature. Employers must ensure that the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings is “reasonable” during working hours. This means providing reasonable comfort without the need for special clothing. The Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) on temperature produced by the HSE, available on the HSE workplace temperature web pages, says workrooms should normally be at least 16 degrees C for most types of work (although we would recommend 20 degrees C for office work) and at least 13 degrees C for work involving considerable physical effort.
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