How At Risk From Flu Are You?
Your office or work environment could be increasing your risk of getting ill this winter according to research released today by new consumer advice website FluAndYou.co.uk.
As 13 percent of UK workers report that they don’t believe their place of work is ever cleaned and only 48.4% of respondents wash their hands after sneezing, should UK employers be taking action?
The results of the survey are made more concerning due to the fact that most people sneeze straight into their hands , potentially releasing thousands of droplets of viral-laden particles onto their fingers.
This could increase the risk of the infection spreading to work colleagues when telephones, surfaces and computers are then handled.
With the survey findings reporting 1 in 10 employees saying that their offices are never cleaned (13.3 percent) 1, it is easy to understand how flu could spread quickly in the work place, especially when viruses can last up to several hours on work surfaces2.
To help UK workers to stay in good health this winter, FluAndYou undertook a survey in conjunction with some of the nation’s most well known healthcare and household brands in order to gain a better understanding of which industry sectors might be most at risk of spreading the flu virus.
According to Dr Chris Steele, "UK workers should pay attention to basic hygiene especially those working in an open plan office or shared working space.
"It is long accepted that workers in communal spaces have an increased risk of catching the common cold, so it is worrying that we are not following good practice at work."
The research findings reveal the following:
- Which profession has the dirtiest place of work? (never cleaned)
1-Construction/plumbing/gardening (21.7 percent)
2-Catering/restaurant trade(17.9 percent)
3-Marketing/advertising/sales (15.1 percent)
- Which profession has the cleanest place of work? (cleaned daily)
1- Education sector (40.0 percent)
2- Public/charity Sector (38.3 percent)
3- Engineering (37.7 percent)
- Which cities have the dirtiest places of work? (never cleaned)
1- Liverpool (19.5 percent)
2- Glasgow (18.4 percent)
3- Manchester (16.5 percent)
Which cities have the cleanest places of work? (cleaned daily)
1- Newcastle (59.6 percent)
2- Norwich (50.0 percent)
3- Leeds (43.1 percent)
Other interesting findings from the research reveal:
* Only 21.1 percent washed their hands after traveling on the tube
* Almost 20.0 percent don’t wash their hands before preparing food
* Worryingly only a third of people surveyed said their offices/office equipment gets cleaned daily (34.7 percent)
It seems it’s not just the offices we are bad at cleaning, but our hands too:
* The average person washes their hands between 5-6 times in a working day (28.4 percent).
* Engineering scored the lowest with 37.7 percent washing their hands between 2-4 times a day compared to 38.9 percent of workers in media and publishing washing their hands between 7-8 times in the same working day
* And only 27.9 percent of people wash their hands after shaking someone’s hand.
Tagged in Health