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CHT December/January 2016

This increasingly active workforce has led to a number of organisations installing showers as a staff facility. Many workers have come to view shower provision as the norm, and companies have had to factor into their costs the initial outlay of installation plus the ongoing costs of hygiene products such as body washes, soaps and shampoos. STANDARDS At the same time, employees’ expectations of washroom standards have increased. Events such as the Loo of the Year Awards – set up in 1987 - have heightened awareness of washroom hygiene and helped to improve standards across the board. Washrooms in smart offices today are often considered to be something of a showcase and their role is to impress visitors and make staff feel appreciated. As a result, the soggy textile roller towels housed in utilitarian metal boxes of yesterday have been replaced with softer paper towels either on a roll or in single-sheet dispensing units. These are not necessarily wall-mounted, either: freestanding dispensers can help to create a smart appearance in upmarket workplaces. Meanwhile luxury soaps housed in sleek dispensers – either wall-mounted or free-standing - have replaced the cracked soap bars that used to be supplied on each washroom sink. And basic grade toilet rolls have been supplanted by soft paper in smart systems that help to streamline the look of the washroom. All these beneficial changes in the workplace are likely to lead to healthier outcomes. However, not all the changes to our working practices have been so positive. For example, the desk-bound lunch hour carries with it certain hygiene risks. Where staff handle a sandwich or wrap while continuing to work on their computers and phones they are potentially contaminating their food with germs spread via their appliances. BACTERIA A study carried out by a hygiene company in 2012 revealed that the average computer mouse at work harboured three times as many bacteria as an office toilet seat. This was attributed to workers eating lunch at their desks while using their other hand to surf the web, a practice claimed to effectively turn workstations into breeding grounds for germs. A second study carried out in 2014 by a Dr Charles Gerba from the University of Arizona revealed that the bacteria count at the office desk tends to rise steadily throughout the day, typically peaking after lunch. Presumably, cleaning the telephones and typewriters at work used to be part of the job for yesterday’s office cleaner. But now 22 DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 CLEANING HYGIENE TODAY that people own their own computers and mobile phones, it has become their personal responsibility to keep these clean. However, according to a 2012 report by Which? around one in ten people never clean their computer keyboard and 20 per cent never clean their computer mouse. This could be a major cause of cross-contamination, particularly in an office where “hot-desking” is the norm or where roles sometimes entail shiftwork or a job share. Standing desks, too, have associated risks. A 2005 Danish study of 10,000 working adults found that those who sat down on the job were 44 per cent less likely to receive hospital treatment for varicose veins. And illnesses may spread more quickly in an open-plan office than in separate work cubicles. A 2013 study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health found that people who work in open-plan offices take 62 per cent more sick days than their counterparts in enclosed offices. However, these few disadvantages of modern office life need to be considered in context. While standing desks might bring a risk of varicose veins, they also potentially lower the risks of diabetes and heart disease - both of which have been linked to prolonged periods sitting down. Also, eating at one’s desks may well facilitate the spread of germs and consequently lead to ill-health. But so will the routine consumption of two or three pints a day down the pub. Another risk to yesterday’s workforce lay in the fact that many offices had asbestos ceilings until the substance was banned in 1999. And let us not forget that the workplace smoking ban only came into effect in 2007. Today’s smokers are expected to step outside and smoke in shelters, whereas they used to simply have an ashtray on their desk and smoke in the office, whether their colleagues minded or not. So it seems that today’s heightened concern with health, safety and hygiene has had a generally positive effect on the office and on hygiene provision. And if this situation continues, it will only spell good news for the workforce of tomorrow. FEATURE WORKPLACE “Meanwhile, the traditional lunch hour has all but disappeared and the pub lunch has become a thing of the past.”


CHT December/January 2016
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