The 19th PHS Quarterly FM Survey investigated facilities perceptions and current practice in respect of workplace hygiene, given its potential impact on cross-infection, illness and staff absence. The results showed that office cleaning routines and hygiene practice fall short of requirements, given the increase in germ-based risk factors like hot-desking and eating meals at desks.
This was quite surprising, as encouraging levels of general awareness emerged amongst interviewed FMs, about the overall contribution of workplace hygiene to staff health, (and when you consider that the UK loses around 175 million working days to sickness each year, at a cost of £13 billion).
Most FMs (65%), for example, believed that hygiene standards and hygiene practice at work were an important contributory factor in the spread of germs and staff sickness and, correspondingly, 61% said that their organisations were very concerned about maintaining good hygiene standards.
However, the risk factors appear to be multiplying. For example, over half of the sample (57%) believed the number of staff eating and drinking at their desks had increased in the past three years, and 61% reported that the sharing of desk space had also increased, albeit modestly in most cases.
The sample was divided in its opinion of how important these new risk factors are however, leading to inconsistencies and inadequacies in how we treat them. For example, while 48% of respondents believed that hot- desking contributed to the spread of workplace illness, another 45% felt that it made little or no difference. And, perhaps consequently, less than half (47%) said they cleaned their desks daily, while 11% never cleaned them at all.
This is worrying, when you consider that a recent study conducted by the University of Arizona* revealed the average office desktop to have 400 times more bacteria than the average office toilet seat!
To counter this risk, some organisations issue staff with personal supplies of cleaning agents, to sanitise their own workstations. Companies introducing such measures - to reduce the potential impact of threatened pandemic outbreaks, for example - have simultaneously enjoyed a significant drop in staff sickness and absence. This was by no means widespread practice across the survey sample, however. Specialist VDU or keyboard cleaners or wipes were issued to staff by just half (50%) of respondents, for example, and personal supplies of disinfectant or anti- bacterial desk cleaners by a quarter (25%).
The selection of equipment, food and drink vending machines and kitchen worktops treated with anti-bacterial surface agents is also far from standard practice, despite the likely benefits.
We’re more ‘on the ball’ when it comes to washroom hygiene however, with hand washing and drying products emerging as the most popular accessories. Washroom soap dispensers were installed by 96% of respondents, for example, paper towel dispensers by 81% and hand dryers by 76%. Furthermore, 89% believed their staff used these products most or all of the time, and three quarters (74%) reported that the soap in their washrooms was anti- bacterial.
Interestingly, the public sector seems slightly better at office hygiene overall, than the private sector. Public sector FMs reported greater use of desk-cleaning products, noteably disinfectant, anti-bacterial wipes and specialist VDU cleaners; and more of them issued personal supplies of cleaning and sanitising materials to staff members. The public sector also deep cleans its washrooms more frequently.
And finally, though most respondents (62%) said their organisations would encourage staff members showing signs of sickness to stay at home, thus containing the spread of infection to others at work, a significant 18% said their staff would be expected to soldier on regardless.
It appears, then, that there’s still much to be done to improve workplace hygiene, minimise staff sickness and recoup those lost days.
Peter Cohen, chief executive of the PHS Group plc, said: "The PHS Quarterly FM Survey was launched for the benefit of our customers, to reveal interesting and relevant facts for facilities managers about their industry and about the practices and opinions of their peers. We hope the results of this survey will inform and support the business community in reviewing hygiene policy and practice, to the benefit of attendance levels and productivity."
Web: www.phs.co.uk
*In June, July and August 2001 a team, lead by microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba, measured germs in offices in New York, San Francisco, Tucson and Tampa, collecting 7000 samples nationwide, and analysing them at the University of Arizona laboratories.