In 2022, we’ve seen Covid-19 restrictions winding down as retail and hospitality businesses have returned to full capacity. After almost two years of unusually low rates of flu infection (largely due to social distancing), we’re now in the midst of one of the worst flu seasons on record.
The result is that the onus now falls on the public and business owners to boost hygiene to protect the safety and wellbeing of their staff and customers.
Andrew Stone, Managing Director, Pacific at hygiene company Rentokil Initial says hygiene is not a ‘nice to have’, but a necessity.
“Providing staff, visitors and customers with high quality hygiene facilities can help to keep people safe from bacterial and viral infections and give assurance that your business is taking every necessary step to protect health and wellbeing, while also meeting social, environmental, and legislative requirements,” he says.
The pandemic has highlighted hygiene, and its lack thereof in some high-risk environments. It’s now widely understood that the hygiene of the surfaces we touch and the air we breathe is critical in safeguarding employees and customers from infectious illnesses.
“Our research supports this,” says Mr Stone. “We know that more than 91% of [surveyed] Australians believe airborne pathogens present a moderate to high health risk. In addition, 74% believe businesses with poorly ventilated spaces need to do more to protect the public from airborne transmission risks.”
Customers expect businesses to be doing more to address the air quality of their indoor spaces, says Mr Stone, and with good reason.
“An estimated 3.8 million premature deaths are caused each year by indoor air pollution, with an untold number suffering harm to wellbeing every day – simply because of the air we breathe while indoors,” he says.
Adequate hygiene measures are also important from a management perspective. Mr Stone says studies have found that poor indoor air hygiene and inadequate ventilation in the workplace is associated with increased sick leave and productivity costs, including through concentration loss, tiredness, and fatigue.
In contrast, he says, better hygiene and indoor air quality can positively impact people’s health, concentration, performance and satisfaction levels, resulting in fewer missed days of work, while also reducing exposure to a range of air pollutants.
“This means that businesses should be taking a full 360-degree approach to hygiene, not only by regularly sanitising both hands and work surfaces such as counters, POS terminals, keyboards and door handles, but also by taking air hygiene and ventilation seriously,” says Mr Stone.
Read more about maintaining hygiene and air quality in the September issue of Convenience World.
