When one person in the office gets a cold or a stomach bug it feels inevitable that anyone sitting within close proximity will also get ill. Research from SCAsuggest that one in 10 workers believe their health has been compromised by poor workplace hygiene. Just under half of those surveyed believe they have passed on an illness contracted at work to another member of their family. But offices don’t need to be cold and flu hotbeds. The answer to fewer colds is rather simple and relies on pure common sense.
Professor Sally Bloomfield, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine reveals the office hygiene habits making us ill and what to do about it…
Mistake 1: Not thinking outside the box (read: office)
It might seem like bugs are spread in the office, but the problem doesn’t necessarily start there. Professor Bloomfield explains:
“To get in to the office, people are regularly travelling on crowded public transport, where they’re sharing surfaces – or breathing in the same air. The sheer volume of people coming in close contact with each other allows for easier spread.”
Boost your hygiene: “We tend to get the office and our hands don’t look dirty, but they could be. If you come in from the outside, wash or sanitise your hands.”
Mistake 2: Assuming poor hygiene is about other people
You can’t rely on other people in the office to practice good hygiene. For the most part, practicing good, sensible personal hygiene at work should prevent you from getting sick – and others as a result. Professor Bloomfield says:
“Not understanding that it’s anything to do with you is the biggest mistake you can make when it comes to office hygiene. The germs got on to surfaces somehow, so it’s about taking responsibility.”
Boost your hygiene: “As an individual you can stop germs spreading by being hygienic in the times and places that matter. Practice good respiratory hygiene (catch it, bin it, kill it), making sure hankies or tissues aren’t around for anyone else to pick up and then immediately wash your hands. Practice good toilet hygiene and wash hands thoroughly. Ensure surfaces are kept clean. But most of all, be aware when you’re infected. If you’ve got to come in to the office and you have a cold take responsibility about what you do.”
Mistake 3: Underestimating how resilient viruses are
Viruses and germs are like the Bear Grylls of the office and have developed strategies of how to easily survive in the workplace environment. Professor Bloomfield says:
“Viruses can use all different ways to get from one person to another. We’re talking about very small numbers, particularly with the norovirus. When we vomit we can vomit something of the order of a thousand million particles, and as little as 10 can infect us.”
Boost your hygiene: “If you’ve had the norovirus, you might feel perfectly well but studies have shown people could be excreting the virus in their faeces for up to 2 weeks after. So if you’ve been infected, be very rigorous with hand hygiene around going to the toilet for at least two weeks after.”
Mistake 4: Not spending enough on good hygiene practice
The same SCA survey revealed that 40% of respondents reported taking up to a week off work because of poor hygiene levels in the workplace. Professor Bloomfield says:
“It makes financial sense to make things like hand santiser readily available, particularly in the winter months when bugs are floating around.”
Boost your hygiene: “Office managers should make sure the toilets are pleasant places to use and fully equipped to facilitate good hygiene and handwashing and that hand santiser is available. Having a bottle of hand sanitiser on your desk acts as a prompt. Plus ensuring cleaners take all hand surfaces seriously, not just wiping them but disinfecting them.”
Mistake 5: Not paying attention to the right surfaces
Taking an antibacterial wipe to your keyboard or mouse won’t do any harm, but it won’t necessarily stop you getting ill. Professor Bloomfield says:
“Don’t think about ‘Where do germs lurk?’ as it’s obvious. People worry about keyboards, but if you’re the only one that’s been using it, there shouldn’t be a problem. Viruses do not grow in the environment they only grow in living cells, and use our environment to get from one person to another via hands and surfaces.”
Boost your hygiene: “If it’s a door handle, a tap handle, the buttons on a photocopier. It’s the contact surfaces that we share with the rest of the office.”
[“source=netdoctor”]
