Why Hand Sanitizer Placement Is so Important In the Workplace

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging on, keeping up with safe practices remains important. We are all feeling more hopeful with the inoculations underway. However, we still need to be diligent to see things through to that finish line. Aside from keeping everyone safe by using an office sanitizing company, businesses should ensure they are providing hand sanitizer for their employees and visitors. With proper practices, you can greatly reduce the spread of illnesses while also reducing absenteeism to remain more productive.

Here’s why hand sanitizer placement is so important in the workplace:

Lots of Time Spent at Work

The workplace is where many people spend a good share of their day. With eight hours and more for some, the space and its commonly touched surfaces are exposed to a group of people all coming into contact with germs. As a result, the workplace can be a hotbed of bacteria easily spreading illness amongst workers. By properly placing hand sanitizer throughout the workplace, you can make it easier for people to sanitize their hands before they touch common things such as doors, elevator buttons, and coffee machines.

A Constant Reminder

When you place hand sanitizer throughout the workplace, it acts as a constant reminder for employees to use it. It keeps the sanitizer accessible, and can encourage people to use it more often.

High Touch Areas

High touch surfaces will vary from workplace to workplace, so understanding these hotspots is important. Some guidelines to help with placement include:

• All entrances and exits. Even one person touching a single doorknob can spread illnesses through the workplace like wildfire. Viruses can last for up to four hours on hard surfaces. Doorknobs are responsible for 40% to 50% of workplace illnesses spread to both staff and visitors. These areas should be prioritized, and the more traffic the doors see, the larger the dispenser you should place to reduce the need to constantly refill them.
• Common break rooms and eating areas. Areas designated for break times and eating are also riddled with germs. This is often associated with the foods eaten, but can also be common viruses. In these areas, it is also necessary to have proper hand wash stations available for those preparing and serving food.
• Meeting rooms. This is a common area where papers are handed out, touch screens and mice are shared, and handshaking takes place, making it the perfect storm for germ-spreading. Hand sanitizer dispensers should be placed at entries, but you can also consider keeping smaller dispensers beside shared equipment to remind people to wash their hands before they use it.
• Shared workstations. Spaces where workstations are shared, from call centers to retail kiosks, should also have individual hand sanitizers available so staff use it before they start work. This includes small areas where people might charge their phones, as well as shared desks and computers. You can also consider placing antibacterial wipes at each workstation so staff can wipe down the equipment when they are finished using it (or before).
• Transaction counters. Counters where staff interact with customers also require hand sanitizers. On the side where customers access things like ATM machines, the hand sanitizer should be prominent, and staff should also wipe the machines after each use with alcohol or bleach wipes.
• Staircases and escalators. Because people touch handrails constantly, hand sanitizer is a must at the tops and bottoms of stairs and on both the up and down escalators.
• Wheelchair access. Make sure you have dispensers placed at the right height for wheelchair access doors and handles.

You might have specific high traffic areas at your workplace such as labs, waiting rooms, touch screens, supply rooms, and office equipment such as photocopiers that should all have hand sanitizer dispensers placed in a prominent position.

Hand Germ Spreading Facts

Here is some hand-to-germ contact facts to consider:

• The average office worker comes into contact with about 10 million bacteria a day.
• Providing hand sanitizer can reduce absenteeism by 13%.
• Bacteria can stay on a person’s hands for up to three hours.
• Hand sanitizer use can reduce health claims by 20%.
• 80% of infections are transmitted through touch (this is not specific to COVID).
• Employees who practice using hand sanitizer at least five times a day are 67% less likely to become ill.

These statistics alone are enough to motivate your business to stick to a strict hand sanitizer regime.

How to Improve Compliance

It’s one thing to place the dispensers throughout the office and another to actually get people to use them. Some ideas to help improve compliance include:

• Education. Ensure that department heads continue to mention the need to use hand sanitizer to their staff. New hires should be provided with a handout reviewing your hand washing policies, and also verbally taken through the process.
• Written and verbal reminders. Post friendly reminders at key areas throughout the workplace including bathrooms, lobbies, elevators, and all entries. As mentioned above, managers can also help remind staff to sanitize their hands each day.
• Feedback. Although it can be hard to track and awkward to approach, providing feedback to those who seem to be noncompliant is very important. They should be told in a non-discriminatory manner that all staff must use hand sanitizer with an explanation as to why it is so important.
• Involve staff. Involving staff in the sanitization process can also be helpful. They can share in tasks such as posting signs, training co-workers, or recommending spots to add dispensers.
• Hire a service. If it seems overwhelming to introduce and keep up with hand sanitizer placement and refills, then consider hiring a service to manage it for you. An excellent option is a cleaning service who can conduct daily industrial-grade sanitizing in hand with placing and/or refilling dispensers so they are ready for staff when they arrive at work each morning.

All of these things can greatly improve compliance and help keep everyone safe.

Government Regulations

During COVID, the government also introduced new regulations regarding hand sanitizers. To ensure you do not face penalties and fines, it’s important to review your responsibilities and follow through by introducing protocols and best practices.

Contact Maid4Condos

If you would like assistance with your office sanitization process, speak to our team at Maid4Condos today.