The Top Unhygienic Workplace Habits

The Top Unhygienic Workplace Habits

Most of us are aware of the risks associated with an unclean workplace, but do you know what causes these germs to fester and travel around your business?

A recent survey conducted by a global hygiene company, SCA, examined 1000 U.K workers and their attitudes towards hygiene in the workplace. The results revealed that almost two-thirds of Brits wished their place of work was cleaner and more hygienic, with only one-quarter of workers rating it as very hygienic.

Despite this, and quite shockingly, only 16% of employers provide training and education regarding workplace hygiene.

Whilst all workplaces should endeavour to meet high standards of cleaning by hiring a quality commercial cleaning service,  educating employees on hygiene could also be beneficial.

More than 1 in 10 workers felt their health had been compromised as a result of poor hygiene standards. Additionally, these workers have been forced to take sick days which subsequently affect the day to day running of the business – and it’s bottom line.

• 40% have taken up to a week off sick during the last month
• One third experienced diarrhoea
• 15% experienced food poisoning
• One in ten contracted a skin condition at work

The Top Unhygienic Workplace Habits

Most of us are aware of the risks associated with an unclean workplace

The extent of the issue doesn’t stop there – nearly half of the workers affected by hygiene related illnesses have passed it on to their family and friends.

So, what are the worst hygiene habits?

The survey delved deeper to discover some of the worst culprits for poor hygiene. Two-thirds of women aspire to a cleaner workplace, compared to only half of men. Women are also more ‘hands on’ when it comes to tackling hygiene with 61% participating in some kind of workplace cleaning.

It turns out that Women care so much about hygiene at work that they would be willing to change jobs if the hygiene of their workplace wasn’t up to scratch – only 5% of men would.

But the most disturbing fact of the survey was that almost half of the workers caught some kind of illness or sickness bug due to their colleagues bad hygiene habits.

The most unhygienic workplace habits:

• Sneezing without using a tissue – 42%
• Leaving dirty dishes around the communal area – 36%
• Not washing their hands after using the bathroom – 36%
• Not flushing the loo – 33%
• Cluttered desks covered in rubbish – 23%
• Not emptying full bins – 18%
• Eating at a their desk – 14%
• People not disposing of sanitary protection products properly – 13%
• Biting their ails – 12%

Are your employees demonstrating poor hygiene habits? Is your workplace lacking the ‘tlc’ it needs to fend off harmful bacteria? Can your business afford for employees to get sick and take time off work?

Get a FREE no obligation quote today from award-winning cleaning service, Mrs Bucket…