NEWS COPY - By Jack Peat
The average desk contains 400 TIMES more germs than a toilet seat, new research has revealed.
Visualisations have been released showing how a host of nasties are harbouring on desk spaces across the country.
The research reveals that more than two thirds of office workers are at risk of sickness due to dirty desks.
Failing to clean regularly with antibacterial wipes can encourage dangerous bugs to breed, such as Helicobacter pylori, Staphylococcus aureus, E-coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to name a few.
The average desktop harbours 20,961 germs per square inch and that’s in addition to 3,295 on the keyboard and 1,676 on a mouse and a staggering 25,127 on the phone.
But if you think you can escape the lurgies by going to make a brew round, think again.
Worryingly, 2,483 germs per square inch can be found on the handle of the kitchen kettle in a shared office compared to just 49 found on a toilet seat.
Even the tap – despite being surrounded by water - conceals 1,331 germs per square inch.
To highlight these hidden horrors, Printerland.co.uk have created new visualisations so you can see exactly what bacteria can be found at work – and more importantly, what illnesses they cause.
Their survey of 1,000 office staff, also unveiled that only a third follow suggested guidelines about cleaning up their workplace, while a whopping one in ten NEVER clean their desks – this is despite one in five offices not hiring a professional cleaner.
People in sales and marketing were dubbed the worst for cleanliness with over a fifth admitting that they only clean their desk once a month.
Employees in the South West had the dirtiest desks with over 13 per cent admitting that they never disinfect their workstation.
Catherine Bannan, HR manager for Printerland.co.uk, said: “It’s pretty shocking that there are more germs on your desk than on a toilet seat!
“But hopefully our visualisation will show people why it is so important to clean regularly so as to avoid getting ill and spreading infections unnecessarily amongst your colleagues.”
See the shocking visualisations here: https://www.printerland.co.uk/germs-in-your-firm-E412.aspx
ENDS
