According to reports published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) the average number of sick days taken by workers in the UK is 7.4 per year. The CIPD also reported that the average cost per year of an absent employee stands at £692.

Now obviously, everybody gets ill sometimes. As an employer you have to accept that your workforce will take some days off sick each year.
But what if you could take steps to reduce the number of day’s sickness taken in your business? As the figures above show the cost of an absent employee is substantial so anything that could improve worker health must surely be a wise investment for any business.

The Scary Facts about office germs!
– A computer mouse contains 1,676 microbes per square inch.
– A computer keyboard contains 3,295 microbes per square inch.
– An office telephone contains 25,127 microbes per square inch.
– The average desk contains a total of over 10 million germs on its surface.

Now you may be thinking “So What? Germs and Microbes are everywhere”, but when you compare the above figures to those of the humble toilet which has only 47 microbes per square inch you may start to appreciate how many germs the average office worker is surrounded by each and every day.

Office workers eating habits are changing in modern Britain. Once upon a time the one hour lunch break was common. People would leave their desks and eat their lunch either in the staff canteen or away from the office entirely. A recent study showed that today, 1 in 14 (7%) of workers are not stopping for lunch at all and eating at their desks. The same study also showed that 76% of workers ‘graze’ throughout the day and will eat something at their desk during the course of a day.

So looking back at those figures above is it any wonder people fall ill when so much food is consumed in an environment full of germs?

It is also worth bearing in mind at this point that many cleaning companies are not insured to clean office equipment such as keyboards, printers and monitors. This obviously means a considerable build up of microbes if employees do not take responsibility for the cleaning of their own equipment.

The Solutions
That’s it for the unpleasant facts about just how many germs are surrounding you whilst you read this blog, I’m sure your skin is crawling enough. You will also be pleased to know that the solution to killing the germs is not to take your desk outside and burn it in the car park or come to work wearing a contamination suit. The answer lies in regular cleaning of your desk and equipment, the below will take you through some of the key germ breeding grounds and how to tackle them.

Monitors – Your monitor should ideally be cleaned three times a week. A dirty screen can lead to eye strain, headaches and nausea. To clean you should use screen cleaning fluid, wipes or sachets on the screen surface to remove the build-up of dust, streaks, marks and fingerprints.

Keyboards – A clean keyboard is especially important for people who eat at their desk. You should clean your keyboard twice a week using saturated general purpose wipes to clean the surface of your keyboard. The wipes should contain an anti microbial additive to kill germs and help protect the surface. Air dusters are also very effective for cleaning between and under the keyboard keys, dust and food particles have a nasty habit of congregating in this area.

Computer Mouse – The mouse like the keyboard come in regular contact with your hands so it is important to clean it just as frequently. The cleaning materials are the same as you would use on your keyboard.

Telephones – One of the biggies as phones are very often shared by more than one person which is why they are one of the largest contributors to the transmission of germs and bacteria that cause ear, nose and throat infections. Ideally try and clean your phone at least once per day, (especially if shared by others), using telephone cleaning wipes and sachets.

Office Surfaces – Desktops, monitor housing and printer housing should be cleaned at least once a week using general purpose cleaning wipes or foam with a dry low lint cloth. You should also ensure buttons on office machines such as printers and fax machines are frequently cleaned as they are touched by many people each day in most offices.

Now we’re not saying that a regimented cleaning regime of the desks and equipment in your office will result in 100% worker attendance and no illness, but when you look at the cost of £692 a year for an absent employee I think most people will agree spending a few pounds on properly cleaning office equipment is a sound investment.

Author Bio: Carl Barton (carl.barton@officeallsorts.co.uk) is the Commercial Director at Office Allsorts Ltd, a discount online office supplies and stationery business based in the UK. Visit the website at http://www.officeallsorts.co.uk or view the original article at our company blog http://officeallsorts.wordpress.com

Category: Business Management
Keywords: Office Supplies,Stationery,Stationary,Printer Supplies,Computer Cleaning,Office Hygiene