Is Your Office Where You Pick Up Most of Your Illnesses?

Although we all feel relatively safe in our homes and offices, shocking new revelations indicate quite the contrary. A recent study in the United States of America has suggested it is actually safer to work off a toilet seat than off your desktop!

When we go to work we all feel relatively secure as it is a place where the surroundings and people are all familiar. The question is how clean are our offices and how well do we know our work colleagues and their day to day cleaning habits?

Wash your hands after using office equipment

It is a given that the most effective way to prevent the spread of disease is by washing your hands regularly. But how often do you and your colleagues wash your hands after using the phone, the fax machine or the computer keyboard?

The American study showed that there were literally thousands of different types of bacteria clinging to phone receivers, door knobs, keyboards, chair arms, computer buttons and anywhere else the office workers touched on a regular basis.

These are also the areas that are arguably given just a quick wipe-over with a damp cloth as the ingrained and health-threatening dirt and grime is not visible to the naked eye.

400 times more bacteria on your desk

But the real eye-opener is that the much reviled toilet seat is actually far cleaner - and we mean far cleaner - than the average desk or telephone receiver. A quick swab of the toilet seat revealed that there were in the region of 49 different types of bacteria per square inch, whereas over 25 000 varying types and strains of bacteria were found on a telephone receiver and 21 000 on a desk top - shocking, wouldn't you say?

Another scary surprise is that the vast majority of illnesses are caused by viruses and, contrary to the belief that viruses do not last long when they are not attacking the body and immune system itself, viruses can in fact live up to 72 hours on a surface.

So when you see your colleagues battling with flu or even the common cold, be extra vigilant with your hand washing, even if you have to wash them several times a day.

Another high risk area for spreading illness and disease in the work environment is the air conditioner. The vast majority of us work in controlled environments and although air conditioning in the summer and warm air in the winter will keep us comfortable, it is also one area linked to ongoing health issues.

Apart from cold and flu bugs circulating around the work space with impunity, the office is also an area full of irritants that can affect both the eyes and the lungs. Toners from copiers and ink cartridges from printers and fax machines give off gases and odours that, if not cleared on a regular basis, can be harmful to our health.

Install air filters and deep clean surfaces

If we are to maintain proper health standards in our work places it is imperative that all the work surfaces including the dreaded phone receiver and the dangerous desk top are properly cleaned with dirt-busting chemicals.

Air purification is vital and if the windows are sealed shut then it is up to the management staff to ensure that air filters are installed.