Who's washed? Hands up....
June 1st 2011 A European study into workplace hygiene by Initial, shows that
hygiene standards across the UK are severely lacking with only one
in three British workers washing their hands after a visit to the
toilet.
The statics showed that 63% of women and 73% of men in
British businesses admit that they don't always wash their hands
after going to the toilet; only one in three Britons always do.
The report also revealed that one in five (22%) workers across
the UK don't have access to a soap dispenser in the toilets and
kitchens at work.
Initial carried out extensive research across Europe, interviewing
more than 6,000 people across seven countries, including 2100 in
the UK.
Peter Barratt, Initial's technical manager, said:"The fact that only
a third of workers in the UK wash their hands after using the toilet
is a cause for concern. Faecal micro-organisms are ejected from
toilets and urinals into the air during flushing and settle on
washroom surfaces.The spread of cross contamination in the
workplace is a real health threat.
"We know from past academic research that the easier it is for
men and women to wash their hands, the more likely they are to
do so. This research shows that businesses can and should do
more to ensure that workers are given proper access to the
facilities they require to maintain hygiene standards. "
Other findings from the poll found that over two-thirds of
people (73% in the UK) would think significantly less of an
employer if it failed to show a serious and responsible approach to
hygiene.At least three quarters (79% in the UK) believe that poor
hygiene standards in the workplace demonstrate that an employer
does not care about the health of its workers.
According to the poll, UK respondents felt that Germany has the
highest standards of hygiene in the workplace (46%), and that
France and the UK had the lowest (30%).
"The surprising results of this poll clearly show that there is a great
deal more to be done to challenge hygiene behaviour to keep
employees happy and healthy. Initial supports businesses by
providing accessible products and services in all the places people
need to make hygiene easy,obvious
and routine,"concluded Peter. More articles from Initial Washroom Hygiene: | 
