With the coming of the winter season, a lot of people who work in offices get infected with flu. As a result, the winter season is referred to as the cold and flu season of the year as most people get bedridden with this condition. In fact, during the last cold and flu season, an estimated 135 million doses of flu vaccines were distributed in different corners of our great nation to help contain the outbreak. Everybody was urged to wash their hands as often as they could as the season turned out to be one of the worst time periods where germs wreck havoc.
While remembering to wash hands and getting a flu shot can go a long way in helping people to avoid flu and common cold, there are other steps that can be taken to try and control the flu outbreaks. For instance, for employees that work in offices, one of the best ways to prevent the flu germs from spreading around is to keep all areas within and around their workplace clean.
This not only keeps the office workers healthy, but it also ensures that they will take fewer sick days. As a result, businesses are able to operate more smoothly. For the safety of everyone, it is advisable to encourage employees to stay home when they need to focus on battling cold and flu, or other highly contagious illnesses. To ensure that your business will run more smoothly in the coming cold and flu season, be sure to pay more attention to the following germ-infested spots in your office.
The bathroom
The bathroom is one of the most germs-infested spots in an office. Many people have picked up germs such as fecal bacteria, staphylococcus, hepatitis A, salmonella, E Coli, and the likes in office and public restrooms. While the toilet seat is one of the main spots that carry these germs, things within the room that are touched with bare hands are a major culprit. Rather than just keeping the toilet seat clean, it is recommended that the entire cleaning undertaking be focused on all things that are often touched within the room. These things include soap dispensers, towels, door knobs, faucet handles, and etc.
The pantry
Office pantries are some of the most germ-infested places in an office. Besides the toilet basin, kitchen sinks are normally home to more germs than any other place in an office. As the pantry is the place where employees handle their food, it is crucial to keep it as clean as possible. Things such as sponges, utensil drawers, cabinet handles, countertops, faucets, and sinks are all known to be crawling with germs. So, it pays to focus more attention on cleaning these things in the pantry.
The elevator
Although a tiny space, it is regularly filled with people coming in or departing from the offices. The buttons that are used to control and operate the lift are some of the dirtiest parts of it. According to a recent research, they are even dirtier than the bathroom sink, sometimes, even more than the toilet bowl. Have these buttons thoroughly cleaned to help keep them free from the germs. And because the buttons are pressed by people many times throughout the day, it is best to clean them every day.
The desk
This is the place where most of the people spend their time while working in an office. As a result, it is one of the dirtiest places in an office. How so, you might ask. Well, apart from holding mountains of seemingly clean papers from all over the place, it is also the spot where after going to the bathroom, or after grabbing your coffee, your hands rest. Your hands end up all over the desk, chair, phone, mouse, keyboard, and so forth. To prevent germs and bacteria from spreading, it is recommended that the desk be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
The reception
The reception area in an office gets all dirty as a result of all activities that take place in here. Simply put, the lobby is one of the most high traffic areas in an office, making it more susceptible to bacteria and germs. Besides keeping the fixtures in your reception area clean, make sure to leave a bottle of hand sanitizer at the front desk. This gives both the employees and visitors a fast way to kill bacteria and other kinds of germs on their way in, or after flipping through the frequently touched magazines, journals, and prior to leaving the office. Hand sanitizers are an indispensable part of a germ free office setting, meaning that they should be present in various locations of your workplace.
While it is almost impossible to keep the office totally germ free, with the help of a professional Manhattan cleaning service, you can make the place cleaner and the work environment healthier for everyone. Make sure to arrange a free cleaning estimate from a number of cleaning service providers before making the selection decision.
