If the recent worldwide pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that creating healthy environments in public spaces and workplaces needs to be a top priority. However, keeping your office healthy isn’t just about preventing sickness; it’s equally important to promote the right habits for both mental and physical health. When someone in the office gets sick, it’s often only a matter of time until the illness spreads to others. Having multiple employees out sick can be a real inconvenience, so it’s important to do all you can to maintain your office as a germ-free zone. Part of that endeavor involves cleaning these four sneaky places where germs often linger. With that in mind, there are a few steps you can take to keep your workplace a positive and health-conscious environment.
Provide Healthy Snacks
Humans, in general, love snacking. Providing something for your co-workers and/or employees to munch on will be a boost for office morale, and it will also provide everyone with a bit of extra energy to get through the day. Plus, having snacks available will make you and your officemates less likely to gorge on unhealthy food at lunch. Ideally, look for potential snacks that offer nutrients without sacrificing flavor; things like fresh fruit or granola bars are always excellent choices.
Implement a Temperature System
If anyone in your office has a fever, it could be a symptom of the flu, COVID-19, or several other ailments. If you have a temperature scanning kiosk set up at the entrance of the workplace, you can send sick workers home or to the doctor before they have a chance to accidentally spread their illness. These days, installing one of these kiosks at your office is more important than ever, and it may just prevent you from having to shut down operations or deal with being shorthanded.
Promote Active Office Outings
Holding occasional workplace outings can be great for morale and both the mental and physical health of the employees. Consider scheduling some kind of active group excursion every month or two. You could take the entire office bowling or hiking, but those are just a couple of the near-unlimited possibilities. You could even have everyone in the workplace submit a suggestion for an activity, and then select some of the best ones or hold a vote to decide. The specifics aren’t important; what matters is that you’re allowing everyone to get out of the stuffy office now and then to do something fun and healthy.
No matter what type of work your office does or what your workplace setting looks like, the moral and physical health of the workers should always be a priority. In the long run, your business will benefit greatly from its employees being refreshed, happy, and healthy. So, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking good care of them.
Maintain Proper Cleanliness
Think about how you use the bathroom and wash your hands. You turn the sink on with dirty hands, wash your hands, and then touch the handles again, dirtying the hands that you just cleaned. Indeed, bathroom faucet handles — and even the handles in the break room — end up being a cesspool for germs. When someone in the office is sick, other employees may focus on washing their hands more often, which may actually have the opposite effect desired: exposing them to germs. To keep faucets cleaner, keep antibacterial wipes next to the faucet, and encourage workers to wipe the faucets down after use.
Removing Rodents and Insects
This does not mean rodents in this instance, although rodents are certainly dirty. Computer mice sit under your hand all day long, so any germs on your hands are transferred to them. If someone else borrows your computer for a second, these germs will be spread. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to wipe down a computer mouse with an antibacterial wipe a few times per day when someone is ill.
Carpet
It’s a scary proposition, but it’s one you have to consider: your carpet may be harboring germs. When someone coughs, germs can settle out of the air and into the carpet. People also track contaminants on their shoes. If you eat something dropped on the carpet, or even touch food after picking something up off the carpet, you may be exposed to these germs. Vacuuming more often is a good start, but also make sure your cleaning services shampoos or steam clean the carpet regularly.
Door Handles
Most people are not careful to wash their hands before or after exiting the building. Plus, visitors may even introduce germs to the handles as they enter! You can protect yourself by using hand sanitizer after operating the door handle, but you should also wipe the handles down to keep germs at bay. Above all else, make sure you work with a cleaning a local company which pays attention to little spots like this. Your risk of office illness will decrease dramatically.
At the end of the day, you need to remember that it isn’t just your employees or coworkers that are affected by any illness in any office space, large or small. In the world today, public health and cleanliness has become a much higher priority than it was just a few short years ago. Take the time to educate your employees about the simple things that will help everyone who comes in your doors feel more comfortable.