Break rooms, common rooms, kitchens, whatever your organization calls them, the purpose is the same: to deliver shared spaces for workers to rest, dine, and decompress from the pressures of a day on the job. All break rooms, regardless of the institution or the workers that occupy them, have one thing in common: they're the most commonly utilized and occupied rooms in a workplace.
One space constantly cohabited by many people assures one thing: germs, and tons of them. During cold and flu season particularly, you can be sure that a microbiological zoo of bugs is flourishing on the handle of every refrigerator and the controls of every microwave. While the collection of germs, bugs, and other microbial nightmares can't be mitigated by one clean permanently, there are some standard measures that you and your colleagues can take to make the break room a cleaner—and therefore safer space —for everybody. If your shared spaces are dirty, even after encouraging staff to follow these easy tips, it might be time to contact a janitorial service in Commerce, CA.
Although scrubbing your hands is one of the most standard tips for office cleanliness, an alarmingly high rate of people don't do it! For instance, 39% of individuals don't clean or disinfect their hands after coughing or sneezing, and better than half of Americans don't clean their hands after handling shared equipment, public transport, and other heavily trafficked surfaces.
That's a bunch of germs being repositioned onto your workplace's keyboards, phone handsets, and desktops. Unfortunately, outside desks and door handles, many germs make their way into your break room or kitchen, where workers transfer them directly into their mouths or onto their faces.
Cleaning your hands regularly when moving between spaces in your workplace, say from your desk to the break room, reduces the spread of germs between areas and people. We understand washing hands is a standard best practice, but with a considerable percentage of people overlooking this fundamental step altogether, executing it in your workplace with signage, email reminders, or investing in reserves of alcohol-based hand sanitizers can make a huge difference.
Break rooms feature some of the most typically used and widely shared surfaces in a workplace, such as:
Almost everyone in a work setting uses these spaces; irregular cleaning or disinfecting of these surfaces permits germs and bugs to flourish and transfer between your team associates. It only takes one sick worker to decommission a whole office from spreading germs on commonly shared surfaces.
Door knobs and grips are one of the most commonly handled and used surfaces in a workplace, making them a premium breeding ground and transfer source for germs and viruses. Cleansing your hands after handling or disinfecting door knobs are quick and easy ways to cool down this generally overlooked hotbed of microbiological activity.
While the break room is full of commonly handled and manipulated surfaces like doorknobs and handles, it's also home to numerous overlooked spaces. For instance, refrigerator handles, sink knobs, drawers, and microwave controls are all generally overlooked areas that can be abundant breeding grounds for a foul strain of flu or the common cold.
Just wiping down common and uncommon surfaces with a disinfectant wipe can drastically decrease the number of germs or bugs present. Ask your janitorial service in Commerce, CA, to execute a cleaning audit of your workplace to determine forgotten areas and assemble them into your routine cleaning plan.
