Promoting hand hygiene in the workplace is very important to minimise the spread of germs. Germs can easily be carried on the hands and transferred to other surfaces such as door handles and office equipment such as phones and computer keyboards. This means it is very important to provide hand washing facilities in your washroom and to encourage staff to wash their hands regularly, especially after using the washroom.
Washing hands with soap and water is a very effective way to remove germs from hands but it isn’t always practical. For situations where water and soap facilities are not available, hand sanitiser can be an effective alternative hand hygiene solution.
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Hand sanitiser in the workplace
Providing the facilities to promote a healthy workplace environment can help to reduce staff sick days and increase productivity in a business. An Office for National Statistics report found that an estimated 137.3 million working days were lost due to illness or injury in the UK in 2016. This is the equivalent of 4.3 days per worker. The most common cause of sickness was due to coughs and colds accounting for almost 25% of the total days lost to sickness.1 Coughs and colds can be easily spread around an office environment, especially if hygiene is not prioritised.
Ensuring that staff are taking hygiene seriously can help to combat the spread of germs and subsequently reduce illness, such as coughs and colds. A healthier workforce will be more productive and happier, which will support business goals. This means that investing in hygiene solutions such as hand sanitiser can be very cost effective for a business, as it could help to significantly reduce workplace sickness.
Benefits of hand sanitiser spray
Hand sanitiser spray provides a convenient hand hygiene solution, which can kill up to 99.9% of bacteria. Sanitiser can be placed in dispensers around a building to encourage staff to sanitise their hands.
Hand sanitiser dispenser
A hand sanitiser dispenser is one of the most convenient and hygienic ways to supply hand sanitiser spray or gel. Citron Hygiene provide a compact, hand sanitiser dispenser that can be wall mounted around your building. It can be filled with either alcohol free or sanitiser containing alcohol.
The hand sanitiser is fast drying and continues to combat bacteria for up to 4 hours after use. When hand sanitiser dispensers are installed make sure to promote their use and provide a hand cleaning technique with sanitiser poster, so staff are educated on how to use hand sanitiser properly.
Bacteria in the workplace
Desk and office equipment can harbour germs. Microbiologist Dr Charles Gerba carried out research into bacteria levels on office equipment and his results were quite worrying! Dr Gerba found that the average desk was up to 400 times dirtier than the average toilet seat and a computer keyboard could have up to 3,295 bacteria per surface.
Telephones are one of the most popular homes for germs. If your staff regularly share phones this can lead to multiple staff members coming into contact with germs that could potentially cause illness. Dr Gerba recommends regularly cleaning your personal space with disinfecting wipes. This will help to kill bacteria and ensure a more hygienic environment.
Hand sanitiser will help to reduce the spread of germs on the hands, but it is also important to actively take the time to clean office equipment with desk and equipment wipes.
Provide a healthy workplace environment
Providing hand sanitiser to staff really can make a difference by improving hand hygiene and reducing the spread of germs. Citron Hygiene can install hand sanitiser dispenses in your workplace with minimum disruption.
If you would like to find out more about our hand sanitiser solutions, then please contact our team who will be happy to help.
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