Absenteeism is a common problem in almost all organizations. For addressing this issue, human resource experts are compelled to develop a business case and implement plans to manage employee attendance into consideration. Office hygiene and safety play a crucial role for both visitors and employees in a business place. It is an important factor in the office environment as it leads to a healthy workforce. It means lesser sick leaves which will reduce the cost on small businesses and allow the workforce to be more productive and happier.
Implementing hygiene in the workplace: It is important to provide a written policy to all the staff. It should have all the details about how the staff should communicate in matters related to hygiene. Providing a clean environment: A hygienic workplace must have a clean bathroom that is well stocked with toilet papers, soap, sanitizer, towel and most importantly, water.
Regular cleaning: Besides providing all the daily essentials needed to keep up the hygiene, it is important to clean the workplace on a daily basis. This will help in preventing the spread of germs, viruses, and infections. Also, the morale and professionalism of the employees are boosted.
Considering personal hygiene: Personal hygiene means the appearance, habits, and cleanliness of all the employees. Though these are quite obvious, yet it is a sensitive issue for most of the business places. Having an official policy can help in easing all kinds of awkwardness because employees will be aware of what they are supposed to do.
Why is it important to keep the office area hygienic and clean?
Workplace hygiene policies must have provisions for each employee for cleaning and maintaining the workstation. The hygiene policy can include regular cleaning with disinfectant. Though many people overlook it as a small step, it plays a huge role in reducing illnesses and infections. The office should take up policies to ensure that each employee declutters his/her own area of work. You can also outsource the cleaning of restrooms and make it a point so that the employees also strive to keep the entire area clean and maintain the facilities themselves.
Another important area of the office is its kitchen. As it is a shared place and deals with food items, hygiene of the kitchen is of utmost importance. It goes without saying that all the equipment and utensils should be washed carefully so that they do not spread germs. It also allocates accountability for cleaning and seeing that all the employees take part in the process. There should be a provision that in case any employee is not happy with the level of hygiene or want to complain about the standards of cleanliness, a cleanliness maintenance committee should oversee it.
Hygiene is often mistaken as a petty factor but in developing countries like India, lack of hygiene leads to loss of a number of productive days. So, all business owners should always remind all the employees about personal hygiene and improve office hygiene to a great extent.