How clean do you think your office is? If you answered very, you’re probably wrong. Whilst your office might look tidy and clean, it could actually be harbouring thousands of breeding germs. These germs can cause illness amongst your office staff that can spread like wildfire, meaning costly employee absence and a demotivated workforce as everybody feels under the weather. But this can all be avoided through some simple tips and tricks enforced throughout the workplace.
We all remember the campaign from the NHS about “catch it, bin it, kill it”. It’s the ‘kill it’ bit we are interested in. The best way to prevent the spread of germs is to keep hands clean, if you sneeze, wash your hands with warm water and soap to kill any germs you may have caught. This stops the spread of germs from happening and prevents other employees from catching the illness.
As strange as it sounds, there are certain ways hands should be washed that aren’t always known, displaying a poster showing the correct way to wash your hands effectively near wash areas could help your employees ensure they are removing the risk of spreading germs to their colleague.
Often, all that’s needed to make a change is better education. There are many ways to educate employees about how to prevent spreading illness in the workplace.
From simply putting up posters like the ones for handwashing mentioned above or quick bits of information can educate your employees better on how germs are spread, the effects of this and how to stop it.
So, now your employees are killing their germs, it’s time to kill any that have already settled down to cause problems in your office. From work surfaces to kitchens and even floors germs can get just about anywhere. This is the reason it is important to deep clean your office on a regular basis to ensure illness isn’t spread throughout your office.
A deep clean involves more than your regular cleaning ritual, it’s about cleaning places you forgot even existed. Whilst you can do this yourself it’s often easier, cheaper and more efficient to hire a commercial cleaning company. Specialist cleaning companies have the experience and knowledge in deep cleaning, as well as a whole host of powerful and eco-friendly cleaning products that eliminate germs quickly and effectively.
In the workplace, even when you’re employees are ill to work, they sometimes still come to work to stay on top of all those all-important deadlines. Often, employees feel like they need to come into work when in reality it’s one of the worst things they can do.
Employees coming to work when they are unwell means germs can easily be spread to other employees, eventually ending up with everybody being ill. If it’s possible, you should encourage employees to work from home, so they can still be productive but don’t put other employees in the firing line of any rogue sneezes or coughs.
For more information on how we could help keep your workplace germ free, why not get in touch today!
Many of EducationCare’s clients, especially those in corporate environments, are increasingly prioritising sustainability and social responsibility.
The UK education sector could save substantial sums by cutting or eliminating fees paid to procurement companies like ESPO and the Litmus Partnership.
Download our FREE school handwashing poster to display within washrooms, to assist schools in encouraging children to wash their hands properly.
