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WASHROOM HYGIENE


Worldwide Improvements


Nearly half of us globally wish our employers would pay more attention to the washrooms at work, and 23% prefer not to use the toilets at work at all. Following the launch of the latest Hygiene Matters study by Tork manufacturer SCA, the company looks at the importance of the workplace washroom and considers how it can be improved to provide higher standards of hygiene.


According to the World Health Organisation, most of the world’s population spends around a third of their lives at work. This is a significant proportion considering that we also spend approximately a third of our lives asleep.


In order to keep staff happy and productive, employers have a vested interest in making their workplace a welcoming environment where employees can spend long hours in relative comfort. Why, then, do they pay so little attention to the standard of the toilets?


In the latest Hygiene Matters report carried out by ourselves at Tork manufacturer SCA, it emerged that nearly half of us – 49% – would like our employer to pay more attention to hygiene standards in the workplace washroom.


The study also showed that around a third of us think there is an insufficient number of toilets at work, while 23% of us globally prefer not to use the


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workplace washrooms at all – which can prove highly inconvenient and uncomfortable during a typical eight- hour working day.


The study, which was carried out in 13 countries, revealed that the Chinese were least happy with their workplace washrooms with 84% expressing a wish that their employer would pay more attention to the toilets at work.


The UK figure was 40% while the Swedish were happiest with their washrooms, with only 31% wanting to see improvements.


In Italy and Mexico the percentage of people shunning the workplace toilets altogether reaches nearly 30%. And the Chinese are particularly unhappy with the quantity of toilets with 45% of them complaining about poor workplace toilet provision.


What surprised us in our Hygiene Matters study was the impact that poor toilet provision can have on employees. Around 12% of the people questioned said they rarely


or never used the toilets at work, and this figure increased to a massive 56% when staff perceived the workplace washrooms to be unclean. Avoiding using the toilets can lead to various health issues including constipation and urinary tract infections.


Employers could improve this situation greatly simply by providing clean, hygienic washrooms for their staff. And in order to keep them that way, surfaces should be easy to clean; dispensers should be low maintenance and consumables such as soap, toilet tissue and hand towels should not be allowed to run out.


When choosing systems for washrooms at work there are several factors to consider – the first is the number of people likely to use the washroom between service checks. This will help the washroom manager to decide between long- lasting roll systems and those that can be easily topped up at intervals throughout the day.


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