According to the 2001 Soap and Detergent Association's (SDA) National Cleaning Survey, a significant population of American workers (40 percent) neither washes their hands often enough nor long enough. In addition, the survey found most employers (58 percent) don't do anything to encourage hand washing in the workplace.
Lost productivity in the workplace from the flu alone costs employers $15 billion.(1) Hand washing is a simple solution to reducing these costs and is recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of the most important means of preventing germs from spreading.
"Hand washing is a professional responsibility that should be done routinely in the workplace and encouraged by employers. Employees should wash often, about five or more times each day, and thoroughly with soap and water for at least 15 seconds. Employers should post simple reminder signs in bathrooms, kitchens and other community areas," said Nancy Bock, SDA's Director of Consumer Affairs.
The survey suggests there is a direct correlation between encouragement and compliance. In businesses that post hand washing reminders, 72 percent of employees wash their hands five or more times a day and 38 percent wash their hands more than 10 times a day. Even though 93 percent of employers keep their bathrooms and washrooms stocked with soap and towels, only 41 percent post hand washing reminders.
Where people work appears to play a role in hand washing practices as well. The survey shows that 65 percent of maintenance and construction workers and 47 percent of office and customer service workers wash their hands less than five times a day. Half of these workers also wash their hands only 10 seconds or less.
These same two groups also received the least encouragement from their employers, with 73 percent of offices and customer service facilities and 74 percent of maintenance and construction operations posting no hand washing reminder signs.
In contrast, the survey found that 88 percent of medical facilities and 67 percent of food service facilities encourage hand washing with signs. The employees in these two groups were also the most diligent about good hand hygiene, with a substantial majority washing their hands seven or more times a day (medical employees: 86 percent, food service employees 68 percent) and for 15 seconds or more (medical employees: 69 percent, food service employees 76 percent).
The following are quick hand washing tips recommended by the SDA and are available on www.cleaning101.com.
When to wash hands at the workplace:
- Each time you use the restroom.
- Before and after staff meetings if food is served.
- After scanning newspapers or magazines in your break room.
- Before and after your lunch.
- After using your friend's keyboard or tools,
- Before and after a meet and greet activity in your office.
- When using shared office equipment like faxes, phones, etc.
Washing your hands the right way:
- Wet hands with warm running water prior to reaching for soap, either in bar or liquid form.
- Rub hands together to make a lather. Do this away from running water, so the lather isn't washed away.
- Wash the front and back of hands, between fingers and under nails. Continue washing for 15 seconds or more.
- Rinse hands well under warm running water.
- Dry hands thoroughly with a clean towel or air dryer.
Alcohol based hand sanitizers or gels or antibacterial wipes are useful alternatives if soap and water are not available (for example, when traveling in the car or taxi on the way to a business meeting, before eating an in-flight meal or snack, outdoor work settings, etc.).
The 2001 SDA National Cleaning Survey was based on telephone interviews conducted using a national sample of 1,013 adult Americans, 18 years and older. The survey was performed by Opinion Research Corp. International.
edited by Sandy Smith ([email protected])