Dirty work habits are making UK workforce ill

Employers throughout the UK are counting the cost of sick days, with two thirds of workers taking time off for bad colds in the last month – colds that are spread by office equipment.

A survey by computer cleaning specialists Durable researched the cleanliness of office desks nationwide.

The findings revealed that the UK’s levels of hygiene at work are so poor, bacteria and germs are being generated and spread 24 hours a day, contributing to a £11.75bn cost of sickies in the UK every year.

The survey asked computer users about their workstations and found:

• 90% of office workers eat lunch at their desks
• 22% of do not wash their hands before preparing food at the office
• 72% pick our noses at work
• 75% have dirty PC screens
• 65% share colleagues’ phones and computers – and spread germs
• 65% think office cleaners do not clean computer areas enough