Covid-19 presents a great risk to public and personal health, with the rise of new and more dangerous coronavirus variants by the day. It is thus essential to maintain hygiene both at home and the workplace. Adherence to proper hygiene practices is the only way to minimize coronavirus spread and escalation. This article reveals the importance of workplace hygiene and the steps that an employer can take to promote hygiene for the employees.  

A health hazard can arise in the workplace due to an unclean and unsanitized work environment or unhygienic staff. Employers should set measures for both workplace hygiene and employees' hygiene and ensure adherence to both for the best possible results. 

Some benefits of a hygienic workplace include:

A clean work environment increases employees' morale and thus leads to more productivity and increases overall employee happiness.

A clean work environment gives the company the opportunity to leave a good impression on the employees and other business visitors. Therefore, cleanliness goes beyond the indoors and extends to the outside.

An employer may incur both repair and refurbishment costs that may arise from failure to maintain cleanliness and sanitation in the workplace.

You require a cleaning routine to upgrade workplace hygiene. Increase the frequency of your cleaning and the cleaning methodology to meet the required safety standards. You will have to clean surfaces and places that you would typically ignore. Your workplace cleaning routine will include:

● Deep cleaning of the workplace - the transit and working areas. Thorough cleaning of the workplace should be done after working hours. 

● Disinfecting surfaces that many people touches, such as kitchen equipment, control panels, and door handles. Cleaning companies also offer disinfection services for commercial spaces.

● Restocking restroom with soap, functional hand dryers, and handwashing instructions and alerts placed on a visible spot in the restroom.

Employees should get proper guidance on handwashing—the techniques to use and the frequency of washing hands. You can place posters in the restrooms, and handwashing facilities, to reinforce this message. The employer should provide soap, running water, sanitizers at handwashing facilities at entry points and exits.

The overall hygiene responsibility at the workplace will fall to personal hygiene eventually. Employees should observe personal hygiene practices at a personal level and on the regular basis. For instance, it is a personal responsibility for an employee to use sanitizer before handling any equipment or when entering the workplace. Also, they should remember not to touch their faces or mouth and to use tissues when coughing or sneezing.

Although most workers in the world are still working remotely, staff members are going to regular workplaces. These employees must be safe from the risk of contracting coronavirus or any other disease. Contacting coronavirus at the workplace would mean taking the virus and spreading it to loved ones at home. 

Coronavirus has altered the normalcy in human lives on a scale that is unimaginable, and the work-life balance has not been exempt from it. With its transfer being from people to people through contacting surfaces, employers should consider hygiene at the workplace a top priority for any company or organization. 

The employer should put specific controls in the coronavirus risk management strategy and give their best to minimize the effects of this pandemic on their employees. These controls include having safe work systems, risk assessment and evaluation, and training on personal protective measures. Employees should collaborate with employers in following the guidelines provided by the government and HSE for a safe workplace.