6 Ways To Make Your Workplace More Hygienic

Giving a clean workspace is not only vital for the health of your employees but also for your customers; even more if you work in the food industry. The cleanness of your business will also provide a good or bad reputation (depending on if this is an important matter to you or if it is not).  Besides that, having a strict cleaning protocol has become more important than ever after COVID-19 hit. Hence, you must put rules in your company to avoid the spread of microbes and viruses. 

So, today we have come up with a list that will help you create a more hygienic workplace. You’ll be able to find simple advice like using hand sanitisers or educating employees about cleanness. 

Provide nitrile gloves

Nitrile gloves are an outstanding way to avoid contamination of food, spreading viruses and bacteria, preventing getting in touch with harmful chemicals, etc. There are scenarios in which using these gloves would be a waste of resources, like working in an office. However, if your business has to do with the food industry, cleaning, gardening, or your employees will be personally in touch with customers (like trades), then you must give them this tool. 

Whenever they end their working time, they just need to dispose of the gloves and that’s it. You’ll ensure a sterile and safe working environment without putting too much effort into it. 

Hand sanitiser in communal areas

It’s common to find hand sanitiser in bathrooms, but employees now want to feel that they can have clean hands in places where they’ll be in touch with other co-workers. Installing hand sanitiser in communal areas is an easy way to ensure good hygienic habits. Provide them with tools that will encourage a culture of handwashing, because this is one of the simple ways to prevent diseases and their spread.

See these as a way to avoid sick leaves because this will ensure a more hygienic workplace.

Allow sick days

We all know that with the working culture that exists nowadays, productivity is a must. However, sometimes it can be counterproductive to force employees that are not in the physical or emotional conditions to work to stay at the workplace. Instead of providing work of quality, mistakes will be made easily, and errors can be expensive. Specifically, when talking about sickness, not letting a worker rest can make the disease lasts longer in the body and it can spread to other employees.

So, allowing sick days is a must to take care of your employees, and prevent illnesses that might affect other workers in your company, and will make you lose money.

Set up a garbage disposal system

Having trash cans in the workspace is a must to guarantee that garbage would be in the place it should be. Nevertheless, overflowed bins can lead to bad odours, and bugs wanting to visit your business, like flies or cockroaches. Set up a schedule and make sure the employees in charge of cleaning the workplace stick to them. This will ensure that the trash cans will be emptied several times a day, preventing overflow.

On the other hand, you must confirm that the waste bags are replaced every time the trash bin is emptied. As well, cleaning the inside of the garbage can is important to get rid of any possible residue of liquids or other elements.

Clean communal areas

Communal areas are not only a place where your workforce will relax but also where they will interact with other people. In addition to that, things like cloths, mugs, or silverware will be shared and used. Hence, this area will be full of germs and bacteria; if you don’t give a thorough clean to this shared space, its tools, and areas, then you'll have a perfect scenario for diseases.

Make sure to have a policy where employees can't leave snacks or food left out open. As well, if you have a refrigerator there available for use, make sure to throw away anything that has been left at the end of the week. 

Educate employees

Any effort you make to provide a more hygienic environment at the workplace would be for nothing if you don’t educate your employees. What you’re trying to do here is to generate new good habits that will create a cleaner working area, and most of the actions are aimed at improving your employee’s health. So, they are a vital piece in this puzzle so that the changes you are going to implement become really successful.

You can discuss this topic in weekly or monthly meetings to make sure that the efforts are working, and to hear new ideas to improve hygienic actions. If you include everyone in the office, then you’ll make them feel part of it and will have better results.

If you follow our advice, then you’ll have a more hygienic workplace in no time. This would be extremely beneficial for your company’s reputation and the health of your employees. So, stop wasting time, and choose the best tips that work better for your business.