Room for hygiene

For any organisation, implementing and maintaining appropriate hand hygiene practices is a daily challenge as there are inconsistent hand hygiene habits across the population, reports Deb.

However, employers have a responsibility to provide adequate facilities for workers, and addressing hand hygiene is an important part of this responsibility.

A washroom environment should actively promote good personal hygiene practices; it is imperative that the washroom facilities are kept clean and in good condition, with an adequate supply of the basics such as washroom consumables and hand drying facilities.

Employers can encourage good hand hygiene by providing awareness materials such as posters, stickers for use in the washrooms, as well as reminders on company intranets of the importance of keeping hands clean.