Hygiene in the workplace

The regulations oblige employers to ensure the health and safety of workers in every aspect of their work. Employees in turn must cooperate in fulfilling any requirements needed to help the employer make sure that the workplace and working conditions are safe and pose no risks.

Hygiene also has a vital role to play in many areas of manufacturing such as food and pharmaceuticals, where strict hygiene practices are an integral and key component in achieving and maintaining quality assurance standards.

Workplace hygiene considerations go beyond mere cleaning and good housekeeping to include aspects such as:

• • Excessive heat or cold

• • Noise and vibration

• • Exposure to gases or radiation

• • Poor workplace design or layout.

In addition, there must be first-aid measures and biological monitoring policies in place to deal with workers exposed to blood, other body fluids or hazardous chemicals.

Hygiene at the workplace also extends to ensuring that waste and by-products are handled or disposed of safely and in a manner that takes consideration of the interests of the wider community.

Personal hygiene

Personal hygiene is the basic act of cleaning, grooming and caring for our bodies, and plays an important role in emotional as well as physical well-being. In the workplace, good personal hygiene will help to:

• • Prevent contamination and infection

• • Protect the health and safety of co-workers and clients

• • Project a positive image of you and your company.

Today, increasing numbers of companies cover these issues in their Employee Handbook in an effort to diffuse potential problems. However, many employers and managers still find it hard to navigate the minefield that comes with personal hygiene issues in the workplace. It can be difficult to differentiate between what is careless or thoughtless as opposed to just different cultural practice and expectation, or even a legitimate medical issue. When all is said and done, some people just don’t:

• • Bathe or shower regularly

• • Wash their hair frequently

• • Practise good oral hygiene

• • Change their clothes very often

• • Believe in using deodorant.

Often, when it comes to personal issues like these, there are no hard and fast rules, no do’s and don’ts that are guaranteed to work. Instead, this is where a good manager or colleague will try to find a discrete, diplomatic and workable solution to a problem that has the potential to adversely affect performance of co-workers and lead on to stress and conflict.

Our Employee Wellbeing Programme (EAP) is available 24 hours a day if you want to know more about hygiene in the workplace.