Shocking Facts About Hygiene in the Workplace

Shocking Facts About Hygiene in the Workplace

Alliance Cleaning Advice

The Covid-19 pandemic caused major disruption throughout 2020 and most of 2021, leaving many offices closed and employees encouraged to work from home. Most businesses have only just begun re-introducing employees back into the office after a year and a half of uncertainty.

Since Covid-19, good hygiene and cleanliness in the workplace has never been as important as it is today and many business owners and staff are unaware of some of the shocking facts behind poor hygiene and cleanliness in the office. So, in this blog we’ve highlighted some key facts that everyone should know before stepping back into the office.

The importance of hygiene in the workplace

It’s rumoured that by simply disinfecting electrical equipment frequently, you can reduce sick days in the office by at least 30% and, with the emergence of Covid-19 this percentage could now be much higher. Having a good standard of hygiene and cleanliness in the workplace such as frequent hand washing & regular office deep cleans can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses.

4 interesting office hygiene facts:

1. Shared working environments can cause outbreaks

With a lot of people working more flexibly with split days in the office and at home, shared working environments have now become the standard across many businesses. It’s believed that people are now increasingly coming into contact with colleagues in shared spaces such as meeting rooms, breakout rooms and hot-desking areas. Many of these rooms contain computer monitors, terminals and other shared electrical hardware which can easily become breeding grounds for bacteria and germs, especially if good hygiene and cleanliness practices such as regular hand washing and sanitising are not enforced.

2. Electrical equipment can become a breeding ground for bacteria and germs

With many people spending the best part of a year working from home, most people have slipped into bad habits that can quickly allow germs and bacteria to spread. This is especially true if a lot of people are eating meals at their desks and aren’t putting a focus on their hygiene and cleanliness in the workplace. When crumbs get stuck or fall between the keys of keyboards, it can lead to a build-up of germs and bacteria. Keeping desks and electrical equipment clean is essential to keeping a good standard of hygiene and cleanliness in the workplace. It’s also deemed good practice for equipment to be fully cleaned at least once a week.

3. Poor hand hygiene is one of the main ways germs and bacteria spread in an office

It’s thought that typical office workers’ hands come in contact with around 10 million bacteria per day. Which makes good hand hygiene important to ensure germs and bacteria aren’t spread around the office. The best way to ensure employees are following good hand hygiene is to have hand sanitisers around the office and encourage employees to use them when coming into the office and moving around different meeting rooms.

4. Air quality in an office is a lot worse than you think it is

It’s said that air quality inside an office can be five times worse than outside which means Airborne Diseases such as Covid-19, The Common Cold, and The Flu are much more likely to spread. To limit the risk of Airborne diseases spreading throughout the office it’s important to ensure areas are well ventilated and to open windows when possible.

How Can Alliance cleaning help improve hygiene and cleanliness in the workplace?

We provide deep cleaning services that include full deep clean & sanitation, dust extraction with the use of hepa filtration, elimination and destruction of any potentially harmful particles & germs on surfaces and electrostatic disinfection killing 99.999% of all pathogens, bugs, & viruses in the workplace and continuing to do so for 28 days after application. For more information on how to improve hygiene and cleanliness in the workplace and to obtain a no-obligation quote, get in touch with our team today.