Illness in the workplace not only affects service delivery and the bottom line, it can also damage customer relationships and employee morale. Suzanne De Maine explains why making hand hygiene a priority throughout a business can reduce the substantial risks posed by the spread of infections
Illness in the workplace not only affects service delivery and the bottom line, it can also damage customer relationships and employee morale. Suzanne De Maine explains why making hand hygiene a priority throughout a business can reduce the substantial risks posed by the spread of infections.
Absenteeism through illness can seriously damage the profitability of a company, because when employees are ill, they can’t work. This reduces productivity, affects the level of service provided, and erodes customer confidence and satisfaction â€" while at the same time putting additional pressure on employees who have to pick up the work of absent colleagues.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 131 million days were lost due to sickness absences in the UK in 2011. It goes on to say that around 27.4 million of the days lost were due to ‘minor illnesses’, which includes things such as coughs, colds and flu, sickness, nausea and diarrhoea.
Opportunities for the spread of bugs and viruses are everywhere. In research conducted to coincide with Global Hand Washing Day, which took place in October 2011, scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London announced an unpalatable and unpleasant research finding â€" namely that one in six mobile phones in Britain is contaminated with faecal matter. Experts said that the most likely reason for the potentially harmful bacteria being present on so many gadgets is people failing to wash their hands properly with soap after using the toilet.
On a more positive note, a report published on the British Medical Journal (BMJ) website at the beginning of May this year showed that the ‘Clean Your Hands’ campaign to improve hand hygiene in hospitals in England and Wales, co-ordinated by the National Patient Safety Association, contributed to a significant fall in the rates of ‘superbug’ infections.
The campaign was introduced in all hospitals in June 2005 and, by 2008, the report revealed that the total amount of soap and alcohol gel purchased by hospitals had trebled â€" and that during the same period rates of MRSA more than halved and C. difficile infections fell by more than 40%.
Studies like these emphasise the importance of good hand hygiene â€" whether at work or at play â€" and to encourage people to practise it, hand hygiene products and dispensers should be accessible, attractive and a pleasure to use.
Encouraging good practice
Dispensers which look good will always be more of a draw for the user. GOJO’s dispenser refills feature GOJO Controlled Collapse bottles â€" a patent-pending innovation, engineered to hold their shape while emptying. The bottles remain flat to the surface of the large sight windows at the front of the units, making it easy to monitor product levels at a glance, but in a more aesthetically pleasing way. Similarly, formulations that not only smell and feel good on the skin â€" while also delivering the highest hygiene standards â€" will mean that people see hand washing as an enjoyable experience rather than a chore, and ultimately encourage use.
Dispensers that deliver soap or hygienic hand rub automatically are also becoming more popular, intuitively sensing the presence of hands and dispensing just the right amount of product every time. The fact that they are ‘touch-free’ â€" like GOJO’s new LTX â€" also increases their hygiene rating, doing away with another surface to touch. GOJO helped to pioneer the use of touch-free dispensers and is now on its ‘third generation’ of designs, using client feedback to continually develop the range.
Hand hygiene doesn’t start and finish in the washroom. Installing hygienic hand rub dispensers in key locations increases visibility and encourages use. GOJO’s Purell Perfect Placement is a concept that optimises the positioning of hand sanitiser dispensers to prevent the spread of germs in buildings. The scientifically-proven theory involves placing dispensers on walls by washroom exit doors between 36†to 46†above the floor â€" the perfect height to trigger proper hand hygiene behaviour and prevent the transmission of germs from door handles.
Businesses and organisations differ greatly, but the importance of maintaining hand hygiene has the same implications for all. By investing in the best hand hygiene solutions, you protect your business and demonstrate your commitment to improving the well-being of your employees and customers.
Suzanne De Maine is European marketing manager for GOJO Europe
