Germs, Electronics and Your Office
Improving office hygiene can enhance business success.
In a busy office environment, it’s common to see illnesses spread among employees. According to a survey, 80% of employees admit they would still come to work when they’re sick [1]. Additionally, research shows that one sick employee can increase the likelihood of others getting sick by five times within the same week.
With 145 million workdays lost to sickness each year[2], it’s important to remember that hygiene products have been proven to reduce the risk of infection within office spaces by 77%[3].
So here’s how to create efficient and effective hygiene within your office spaces.
Limit Office Germs With These Simple Steps
Cleaning and disinfecting is a useful step in helping to protect people against illness causing pathogens. Performing these tasks reduce the bacteria and viruses that can be found around the office.
Office Equipment
Identify communal switches and other equipment as these will be prime transmission points for germs between people.
Perform an initial wipe down clean to remove any contaminants, dust and grime. Wiping with a cloth that has been slightly dampened with soapy water provides a basic level of clean.
Elevate clean to hygienic by applying disinfect using wipes like Dettol Surface Cleansing Wipes or a cloth dampened with disinfectant spray.
Hand Hygiene
In washrooms, germs can build up due to frequent use. Alongside routine cleaning of floors and surfaces with disinfectants like Dettol Power & Pure Bathroom Spray, it’s important to provide hand sanitiser. Dispensers with effective hand wash offer an extra defence against bacteria. Antibacterial hand washes, such as Dettol Pro Cleanse Hand Soap, are designed to combat germs and include moisturisers to prevent dry skin.
Throughout the workplace, strategically placing hand sanitiser gel pumps, like those from Dettol, helps ensure employees maintain clean hands.
Surfaces, Handles and Furniture
On harder surfaces utilise antibacterial cleansing surface wipes or sprays for an efficient and effective way to clean after spills or to apply a coat of disinfectant periodically.
Soft surfaces are more appropriate for sprays such as Dettol All-in-One Disinfectant Spray that target viruses and bacteria efficiently, reducing their presence on frequently touched surfaces.
Personal Devices
In addition to shared office equipment, personal devices such as smartphones and tablets as well as keyboards and mice can harbour germs.
- Turn off and unplug any device before you stat to clean and sanitise them.
- As with shared equipment, a first pass clean is essential but additionally with desktop devices like keyboards and mice, dust, grit and other matter can accumulate and should be removed.
- A first pass with a soapy damp cloth lifts surface contaminants
- Take this a step further and disinfect the surface using disinfectant wipes.
Keep Safe
- Around any electrical device or conduit (such as switches or plugs) take care with containers and liquids. Make sure you know what to do in case of spillages on surfaces, or on electronics.
- Always read the label before cleaning commences. This applies to both disinfectants to make sure they are suitable for use and equipment to ensure the selected cleaning method is not potentially damaging.
Enhance your business environment and improve your staff’s well-being by ensuring a hygienically clean workspace. Providing the necessary tools and products for cleanliness contributes to a healthier, more robust business.
[1] University of Arizona Study, 2013 Hovi, 2015
[2] Bramley et al., 2002; Fendrick et al., 2003
[3] Reynolds 2016 (Healthy Workplace Project)