The work place has changed a great deal in the last decade. There are important ‘health and hygiene’ issues arising from these trends which all employers have a duty of care to consider.

Technology has enabled the workforce to be more mobile. Pressure of work and the evolution of fast food means people switch work space more often and often eat on the go. Various independent surveys have revealed that eating and drinking at the desk has more than doubled  in the last three years alone.
Shared space and ‘hot desking’ has increased over 60%.

The shared use of desk space means multiple uses of phones and computer keyboards as well as the desk area. A survey in 2002, using samples from 100 offices, found work stations had 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat.

Stale and waste food and drink generate bacterial breeding grounds. Health problems are spread more easily since viruses can survive on desktop surfaces for 72 hours outside a human host. An unpleasant fact found in yet another independent study was that 72% of employees have the unfortunate habit of picking their noses at work.

While desktops are more often superficially cleaned, high risk equipment such as phones were not cleaned by more than half the companies participating in a recent survey (Published May 2008) and less than one in four cleaned keyboards, screens and printers.

Food and drink vending or preparation areas also need extra cleaning vigilance as these locations can act as distribution centres for bacteria and viruses.

Cleaning companies have a role to play here as well. Clean Sweep have a simple policy of colour coding certain items of cleaning equipment. This ensures that cloths used to clean the wash basins in the toilet are not used anywhere in the kitchen area or on desk surfaces.
Use of anti-bacterial sprays and providing hygienic washroom products like liquid soap, paper towels or hand dryers can all help to ensure a healthy workplace and thus a more healthy work force.