Workplace Germs

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Germs are practically everywhere we go and no place has more germs than the workplace. There are certain workplace “hot spots” that that have more germs than others—and they’re not in the restrooms. Sink handles are the dirtiest places in any given office place, followed by the microwave handles on the door.

This study was believed to be one of the most comprehensive and detailed study on workplace germs, performed by professionals from Kimberly-Clark—a maker of products like tissues and paper towels for reducing germs. The project was called the “Healthy Workplace Project” and involved collecting up to 5,000 cotton swabs from office buildings that housed over three thousand employees. They went to manufacturing companies, healthcare companies, insurance companies and the like to get a broad spectrum of employees.

The study looked for an ATP count of more than 300, which is an indication of high level contamination with bacteria. Such findings were found in 75 percent of faucet handles in break rooms, in 48 percent of handles on microwaves, on 26 percent of office refrigerator handles, 27 percent of computer keyboards, 23 percent of water fountain levers and 21 percent of buttons on a vending machine. The study indicated that personal workspaces were cleaner than public spaces, which make sense because more people are touching communal places.

Overall, the lunchroom appears to be the place where more people are being exposed to potentially-harmful bacteria. Other communal places are also rife with bacteria that can potentially cause things like strep throat, GI infections, pneumonia and bladder infections in those who are susceptible or who have an underlying illness predisposing them to bacterial super-infections.

Many people know all about keeping germs down in restrooms but they haven’t yet thought that break rooms and cafeterias can be harbingers of bacteria. These are places you eat in, read in and hopefully wash your hands in before and after you spend time in them. Hand washing and using facial tissue remain at the top of what people need to be doing to keep the bacterial count down to reasonable levels.

Many offices employ contract cleaners who are responsible for everything from sink cleaning to vacuuming the floor. The amount of work they do has a direct impact on how clean from a bacterial standpoint these hotspots are. They need to give these areas more than a simple wipe with a clean rag in order to get the bacteria off these areas. Paper products and a germicidal cleaner are what’s needed in most office buildings to keep the areas free of bacteria.