It’s estimated that 60% of staff absence can be attributed to an unclean workplace. However, to the naked eye, what looks like a clean environment to work in, may be harbouring hidden bacteria across a wide range of areas.
With the rise of practices such as hotdesking, co-working spaces, and let’s be honest, grabbing a sandwich to eat at your workstation, it wouldn’t be surprising if these figures continue on an upward trajectory; after all, if you’re only sitting at a desk for one afternoon, it’s unlikely you will be undertaking a wipe over of it as you rush off to your next meeting.
So with that in mind, let’s explore the areas of your office that hide the most germs!
Desks
The average work desk is 400 time dirtier than a toilet seat! Yes that’s right – 400 times dirtier! Our desks can take a lot of strain. We eat at them, plonk our bags on them, grab dusty old files and leave them festering of a corner, and loads more besides.
Keyboards and your mouse are particularly prone to being a bed of germs, thanks to the fact that we tend to be pressing our keyboards and clicking our mouse continually for up to 8 hours a day, leaving behind skin cells, food residue, and bacteria generated from sweat – yuck right? In fact, keyboards themselves harbour on average over 2.3million bacteria (20,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat for comparison).
Also – whatever you do – DO NOT CHEW YOUR PENS!! A pen has likely been touched by germy hands which are not your own. Just think about what you are transferring to your mouth.
Kitchens
Ah good old office kitchens, home to many office conflicts such as who’s not tidied the sink, where has someone’s ‘special mug’ gone, and labeling your lunch with your name to avoid the phantom ‘sandwich thief’. To further sully the reputation of the office kitchen, it’s also a hotbed of germs!
We have all seen out of date yoghurts mingling with that left over cheesecake that someone bought in weeks ago for a birthday in the fridge, but the average fridge contains 7850 bacteria colony forming unit per square centimetre, and should ideally be cleaned out every two days.
Microwaves are another place where nasties lurk. With meat and vegetable particles likely to be scattered around, it’s the perfect place for germs to breed – offering exactly what they need- warmth, food and moisture.
Communal Office Areas
Any place that people congregate, the rule follows, so can bacteria. Take your printer/copier. In offices the average printer is touched up to 300 times per day, particularly around the interface and touchpad, leaving dead skin, sweat, and germs behind!
Love to get the gossip around the water cooler? Maybe give the handle a wipe first – there are 2.7 million germs per square inch on the average water cooler spigot according to the Public Health Organisation!
At Cleanest Services, we understand the determinantal effect an unclean office can have staff wellbeing, morale, and health. So we ensure that we go the extra mile to make sure that your office is truly clean – not just on the surface. Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you to get your office spick and span.
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