Our offices are real nests for germs and some simple actions would prevent us from passing on our colds or flu to our colleagues. Yet 49% of French people say they do not always wash their hands when they go to the toilet. The employees of the hexagon are placed in penultimate position in the European ranking, just ahead of the Italians who are 54.5% to admit not cleaning their hands after each visit to the toilet. On the other hand, we can note the good hygiene habits of Benelux employees (only 25% do not always clean their hands) and of the British (27%).
The survey also reveals that nearly one in five French people say they use their phone when going to their office toilets, and more than one in twenty does not hesitate to handle business documents there.
After the toilets, the elevator, the photocopier and the meeting rooms, are the places most at risk of contamination. Indeed, a hard surface multiplies by seven the risk of contamination by a virus because the lifespan of viruses on surfaces and inert objects can be several hours or even days.
Germs are everywhere and spread extremely easily. This is what emerges from a previous study “Management of the well-being and health of employees at their workplace” commissioned by Kimberly-Clark Professional (a company that sells hygiene solutions, hand towels, disinfectant solutions) which indicates that nearly 20% of employees have been contaminated by an infectious disease at their workplace and / or by a colleague. And among them, 54% were forced to take sick leave.
Protect yourself with simple gestures
Hygiene is therefore essential in the workplace. To prevent the spread of viruses, the National Institute for Prevention and Health Education (Inpes) recommends wash your handsseveral times a day with soap, for at least 30 seconds. The institute also invites you to repeat this gesture after sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose, before and after each meal, after each outing and, of course, after each trip to the toilet.
This study was carried out following two opinion polls. The first was carried out by Opinion Matters last September with 6,000 office workers living in the Benelux, Germany, Australia, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The second was conducted by Added Value last January with 5,000 people in Germany, Australia, France, the United Kingdom and Singapore.
