Clean your desk with sanitizer after eating

During the summer, bacteria find perfect environments for breeding and multiplying in the air conditioning units and ventilation shafts found in corporate offices all over the country. This is just one more reason why the average office workstation may harbor bacteria in concentrations several hundred more times than a toilet seat.

These are observations reported by a University of Arizona microbiology professor and expert on hygiene. In studies conducted in work and home office environments, the professor has found, among others, that:

* The average toilet seat at work has 49 microbes per square inch.

* The average office worker’s desk has more than 20,000 microbes per square inch (at least 400 times greater than the toilet seat).

* On every square inch of surface, the average office phone has 25,127 microbes (over 500 times more than the toilet seat); the average keyboard has 3,295 (67 times more); and the average computer mouse has 1,676 (34 times more).

* The five spots with the highest microbial concentrations were: phones, desks, the handles on water fountains, microwave door handles, and computer keyboards. There were also high readings on restroom door handles, fax machines (especially the “enter” and “send” buttons), office copiers (“copy” button), and the coffeepot handle.

Bathrooms and toilet seats are regularly scrubbed and sanitized by cleaning crews. In contrast, office workers do not clean their work areas as often as they should.

People often eat at their desks or store food in the drawer. Crumbs may accumulate in out-of-sight places, providing plenty of food to hungry bacteria. Unless the workers clean their desks regularly, these could become havens for bacteria. Unclean work areas can pose hazards to a worker’s health and a liability to the business.

Dirty office spaces could cause the spread of infectious diseases. This leads to employee absenteeism and loss of productivity. If the cold and flu season is worse than usual, the impact on businesses can be very significant.

Data from the National Center for Health Statistics indicate that colds-related conditions cause a loss of 22 million work-days due to absences from work each year.

Other recommendations from the study:

* Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are good, but washing with soap and water for 20 seconds is better.

* Sanitize your hands before touching your face. On the average, office workers touch their faces every 3½ minutes (that’s 18 times per hour) — bringing microbes from dirty keyboards and desks to their mouth and nose.

* Take a look at your neighbor’s workspace. Microbes from one cubicle easily contaminate the adjacent cubicle. The hygiene practices of your neighbor will affect you.

* Clean your keyboard with sanitizer. Cleaning crews stay away from keyboards and computers to avoid unintentional damage. Keyboards often have bits of food stuck between keys.