Do you wash your hands after using the toilet? If you’re anything like 62 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women monitored in a new study of 100,000 people across Europe, the answer to this question is a bacteria-tainted no.
According to the research, only 38 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women wash their hands after going to the toilet, increasing the risk of cross contamination and the spread of illness – especially in the workplace.
Makes you think twice about shaking hands with Jeff from accounts, doesn’t it?
While this is undoubtedly an unpleasant thought, the risks associated with poor hand hygiene cut much deeper than having to wipe your mucky paws on your shirt after clasping the mitt of a grubby colleague.
More explicitly, poor hygiene in any workplace can lead to employees calling in sick with all manner of illnesses and have visitors streaming for the exits screaming to anyone who’ll listen about your apparent disregard for cleanliness.
Fancy avoiding such a scenario? Here’s how your firm can improve its hygiene …
Encourage Proper Hand Washing
Most folk think they do a good job of washing their hands, but the vast majority are not scrubbing those digits properly. To keep you right, always lather up your hands with antibacterial soap or hydrating waterless hand wash and sing two verses of Happy Birthday in your head to ensure you’re washing for the right amount of time.
Afterwards, make sure you dry your mitts properly using the various hand dryers dotted about your washroom, as damp hands can lead to bacteria thriving – and that’s a big no-no in any bustling workplace.
Egg On Your Workers
While it’s easy to slob at your desk stuffing chocolate into your mouth and leaving crumbs all over the keyboard, this type of behaviour is a fast track to germville – and it’s probably contributing to the various bugs you pick up throughout the year.
Most employees will be the same, so make sure these folk are aware of the potential risks and try to encourage – in a friendly rather than an authoritarian manner – people to eat away from their desks and follow the hand washing advice above.
Get Rid Of the Office Junk
It may sound trivial, but slaving away in a workplace that resembles a scrap yard junk shop is unlikely to be conducive to good hygiene. Consequently, it’s important to call a commercial junk removal company to help you clear out all the old junk in your office (who needs a fax machine these days?) to instill a fresh frame of mind.
Hiring junk removal services will not only put a spring in the step of you and your employees, but it’ll ultimately lead to a more productive workforce and give any visitors to your office the right impression of your company and the way it conducts its business. Hire a junk removal service now to clean your office space.
