A NEW study has found the average office desk contain about 400 times more bacteria than a typical toilet seat.
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The findings are highlighted in the Initial Hygiene report which found unhygienic workplaces are costing businesses $5.4 billion in lost earnings.
In addition, employees are spending a further 2.2 days on average avoiding unhygienic areas, by doing things like queuing for the cleanest toilet cubicle instead of actually working, which is costing businesses $66 a year.
Initial’s research has shown that one in four office workers fail to wash their hands after using the toilet.
Other unhygienic practices areas include the washroom door handle – toilet sneeze fills an entire washroom within 60 seconds and quickly spreads onto handles, doors and surfaces, while the report found the office phone was the most contaminated object on a desktop, with 25,127 microbes per square inch
Initial Hygiene spokesperson Natalie Howard said the report was a real wake up call for Australian businesses.
“It may surprise businesses to realise just how significant the impact of hygiene is to employees,” she said.
Two in five employees said they would find greater satisfaction at work if workplace hygiene improved while most employees said they would be willing to sacrifice an average of $240 per year in exchange for a more hygienic office environment.
Initial Hygiene’s Germ Guide & Hygiene Enhancement Tips:
1. Washrooms: Risk hotspots in the washroom include toilets, flush handles and cubicle handles. Salmonella and Campylobacter can be found in these areas, and both can cause Gastroenteritis when germs are transferred from surface to hand. The spread of infection can be minimised with toilet sanitisers and toilet seat cleaners within the cubicle and hand soap and drying facilities in the washing areas.
2. Reception / entrance area: Door handles are a risk hotspot in reception and entrance areas, housing bacteria which can be transferred by surface to hand and from hand to hand. It can cause skin infections, food poisoning and respiratory diseases. Easily accessible hand sanitisers will kill germs and help prevent the spread of infection.
3. Corridors / common areas: High footfall makes corridors and common areas germ hotspots. Clean air sanitisers eliminate malodour-producing bacteria and hand sanitisers will help prevent the spread of infection.
4. Desks / meeting rooms: Door handles and desk surfaces are risk hotspots in meeting rooms, housing Rhinovirus. It is transferred from surface to hands and causes the common cold. Hand sanitisers from Initial can help minimise the spread of germs.
5. Kitchen area: Food preparation surfaces in kitchens can be home to pathenogenic strains of E. coli. It can be transmitted from surface to hand, hand to mouth or by infected food and can cause Gastroenteritis and urinary tract infections. Good hand washing and drying products as well as hand sanitisers will help to minimise the risk of infection.
