{"id":221,"date":"2019-02-20T12:00:36","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.initial.ie\/blog\/?p=221"},"modified":"2026-01-19T12:30:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T12:30:58","slug":"office-hygiene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.initial.ie\/blog\/office-hygiene\/","title":{"rendered":"Germ Hotspots in the Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Employees are generally more inclined to work productively and experience improve morale when they feel that employers care for their wellbeing. Identifying germ hotspots in the office premises enable employers to select the right hygiene solutions, hence increase office hygiene and a healthier workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Office Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>8-10 hours spent averagely in office by an employee<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>400 times more bacteria are found on office desk compared to the toilet seat (1)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2 in 3 employees&nbsp;think that the facilities in office washroom&nbsp;are very&nbsp; important (2)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>57% of employees&nbsp;feel more motivated to work when they&nbsp; are provided clean washroom (2)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u20ac2.34 billion medical cost spent annual due to Salmonellosis (3)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u20ac421 million medical costs spent annual due to E.coli&nbsp;bacteria (3)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u20ac4.41 billion expense spent annually due to unhygienic workplaces (4)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1.6 days taken y employees&nbsp;because of workplace sub-standard hygiene (4)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Benefits of Identifying&nbsp;Risk Areas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Employee<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Minimise cross contamination, this reduced illness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increase motivation and morale<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improved focus and productivity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A safer healthier and more enjoyable&nbsp;place to work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Employer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Good reflection of the company&#8217;s image<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduced&nbsp;work lost hours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lower absenteeism rate and medical cost<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Raise productivity, hence improved profitability<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is Structured Hygiene Survey (SHS)?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>SHS is a comprehensive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.initial.ie\/hygiene-survey\/\">assessment of hygiene level<\/a> that allows better identification of<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Risk areas within your premises<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hygiene&nbsp;measures that are required<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Whether the current hygiene provisions are delivering adequate hygiene support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In SHS, luminescence swab tests are utilised&nbsp;to determine the micro count level. Here are 3 most contaminated locations in the office:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Reception area<\/strong>: reception table (1,323)* and reception chair handle (3,788)*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Workstation cubicle:<\/strong> Computer monitor (1,259)*, telephone (25,127)* and workstation chair handle (1,966)*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Washroom area:&nbsp;<\/strong> Female entrance door knob (778)*, Female toilet seat cover (600)*, Male toilet&nbsp;seat cover (510)*<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Raising Hygiene Standards with Initial Hygiene<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Beside placing hygiene units at strategic locations, instilling the place of good personal hygiene among employees will assist in building the foundation&nbsp;for good hygiene etiquette and help businesses to thrive in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the top 3 simple steps you can practice in your office to prevent cross-contamination&nbsp;of contagious bacteria\/ virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.initial.ie\/hand-hygiene\/\">Hand hygiene<\/a> &#8211; practice thorough hand washing with soap for at least 30 seconds can help decrease the bacteria on hands by up to 80%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sanitise hands with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.initial.ie\/hand-hygiene\/automatic-hand-sanitiser-dispenser\/\">anti-bacterial hand sanitiser<\/a>, it can kill up to 99.9% of harmful bacteria and germs effectively<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sanitise toiler seat with anti-bacterial solution before use, it helps to kill germs on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.initial.ie\/cubicle-hygiene\/toilet-seat-cleaner\/\">toilet&nbsp;seat <\/a>surfaces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Are you looking for a fresh hygiene solution? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.initial.ie\/contact-us\/\">Contact us<\/a> today to arrange a free hygiene survey on your premises.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>*Microbe per square inch<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(1)&nbsp;https:\/\/www.mandurahmail.com.au\/story\/2309604\/unhygienic-workplace-study-finds-office-desks-400x-worse-than-a-toilet-seat\/<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(2) Initial Hygiene survey<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(3)&nbsp;https:\/\/www.cheatsheet.com\/life\/feeling-ok-4-of-the-most-expensive-office-illnesses.html\/<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(4)&nbsp;https:\/\/womensagenda.com.au\/leadership\/advice\/where-are-the-germs-hiding-in-your-workplace-the-five-worst-offenders\/<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Employees are generally more inclined to work productively and experience improve morale when they feel that employers care for their wellbeing. Identifying germ hotspots in the office premises enable employers to select the right hygiene solutions, hence increase office hygiene and a healthier workplace. Office Facts Benefits of Identifying&nbsp;Risk Areas Employee Employer What is Structured [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[44,4],"tags":[36,50],"class_list":["post-221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hand-hygiene","category-washroom-services","tag-hand-hygiene","tag-office-hygiene"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Hygiene Germ Hotspots in the Workplace | Initial Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Show employees you care! 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