How to reduce the spread of germs in your office

Offices are a centre of infection at the best of times due to the number of people sharing one building or room and the large number of common surfaces that people will touch during the day. Colds, flu and gastrointestinal infections can run riot in the office environment and people almost expect to pick up coughs, sniffles and sore throats when colleagues suffer from them.

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When the infections are relatively mild, a day or two at home or in bed to recover don’t seem that bad, but, during the coronavirus crisis, the risk of catching a serious infection from a colleague is far greater. We all need to take much stricter precautions to prevent picking up or passing on COVID-19 infections via our hands, contaminated surfaces or through airborne droplets and aerosols.

Here’s a list of precautions you should take to stop the spread of infections in a shared environment such as an office. You can read the advice below and download a handy poster for printing and displaying in your office to remind colleagues of the five precautions.

Hand hygiene

Hands are a very common route of catching and spreading infections. Hand hygiene is the most important advice issued by WHO and medical leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. We frequently touch our mouth, nose and face and pick up mucus and saliva containing infectious microorganisms, from our mouth, nose, lungs and throat. Our hands can then contaminate common surfaces such as light switches, key pads, kettles, door handles and taps. Hands also transfer infections in the reverse direction after touching surfaces contaminated by others.

The solution: regularly wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, dry thoroughly and, as an extra precaution, use hand sanitiser.

Coughing and sneezing etiquette

Respiratory bacteria and viruses are also spread in mucus and saliva by coughs and sneezes launching contaminated droplets far into the air. In fact, even breathing, talking and singing emit air-borne droplets that fall onto nearby surfaces and all create aerosols that can carry microbes and remain airborne for hours.

The solution: educate and encourage employees to use a tissue or the inside of their elbow when coughing or sneezing, to contain most of the droplets. Social distancing, good ventilation and air filtration are also recommended for air hygiene in offices.

Surface hygiene

Surfaces can be thought of as the hubs for cross-infection. Think of anything that you might touch in an office and it could be a source of contamination. As mentioned above, other people’s hands, coughing, sneezing, talking and breathing can all transfer contaminated particles to surfaces either directly or after falling out of the air.

There are numerous surfaces in an office, such as furniture, shared equipment – including those items in the office kitchen – and door handles and push plates. Don’t forget the washroom, which we talk about below.

The solution: educate and encourage staff to wash and dry their hands every time they use the washroom, use hand sanitiser, put the lid down, if there is one, before flushing and keep personal items to a minimum.

Food safety

Snacks and lunches are often eaten at office desks and many people store food at their desks. Eating will spread food particles around the workspace – on the floor, chair, worktop, computer keyboard and in drawers.  Food can attract pests or decay and go mouldy, if left for long periods.

The solution: old food or food particles should not be left around the workspace and those who eat food should clean up after eating.

There are many issues in creating a safe work environment in the post-COVID-19 world. Employers need to both prevent infections and reassure staff and customers that they’re safe. These include physical solutions for social distancing, better cleaning regimes, making suitable hand and surface hygiene materials available and providing educational materials for staff.

For more information on protecting employees in the new workplace environment and how Initial can help, download our free ebook on returning to work.