Don’t let your workforce’s hygiene go down the toilet…
We all know the importance of maintaining our own personal hygiene, but did you realise how crucial it could also be for your business?
Preventing the spread of germs is essential to keep your workforce free from infection, developing illnesses and creating bad odours. It goes without saying that ensuring that your business is in line with government regulations is a must. Regulations state that businesses must provide adequate and clean washroom facilities for staff, which include a sufficient number of toilets and sinks, soap and washing agents, means for drying hands and sanitary disposal units.
Not only does good hygiene support good physical wellbeing, it also promotes a more positive working environment. Nobody likes to use unclean, grotty toilets. We all dread having to wash our hands with freezing cold water, or no soap, or there being nothing to dry your hands with. It may not seem like a direct correlation, but making sure that your washroom facilities are brightly lit, clean and above standards will have a positive impact on your employees’ productivity in the workplace.
Although hygiene regulations are obligatory and businesses try to make the best of the space they have, many work washrooms can still be breeding grounds for germs and infections due to poor design issues. Unfortunately, not everybody washes their hands after going to the toilet and one of the biggest pitfalls is that people have to touch unclean parts of the washroom with their clean hands, which then pick up germs again. For example, many washrooms have taps that you have to manually turn off, so even if you’ve washed your hands you will still have to touch the tap again. Many washrooms also use doors that you have to pull inside to exit, which means your clean hands will come into contact with the door handle.
However, with a few simple design tweaks you can instantly make your washroom more hygienic.
One-touch soap dispensers
Using a no-contact or automatic soap dispenser that detects your hand under it, such as one like this, instantly eliminates germs. Soap kills 99% of bacteria so you can guarantee that your workforce will be germ-free after washing their hands.
No-contact hand dryers
Germs thrive in damp, moist areas so ensuring that people properly dry their hands is vital to stop infections from spreading. Using a high-powered automatic hand dryer, such as the ones on this page, will make sure that you not only eliminate germs but save money through conserving energy as they are also very efficient to use.
Automatic flushes
The flush handle is one of the most germ-ridden places of the entire washroom. Eliminate the need to touch it by installing a button that senses your finger so that it flushes automatically without contact.
Putting hand sanitisers on desks and in communal areas
Like soap, hand sanitisers kill 99% of germs and are a great option if water isn’t accessible. While usually reserved for healthcare practises, having them around the office and in the kitchen is an easy way to prevent spreading germs.
You can’t underestimate how important these measures are. By keeping your premises germ-free, you significantly lower the chances of your staff missing work through illness, which will save you a huge amount of money in the long term.
Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg293.pdf
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