Who's washed? Hands up....

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.