Workplace Hygiene: 6 Tips That All Office Employees Should Strive For

For any regular employee, we spend most of our days outside the home inside our workplaces. Given that fact, it is crucial that we observe proper workplace hygiene since we spend a lot of our time in it.

A lot of the workplace hygiene etiquette is unspoken and is supposed to be common sense. However, it may still be unknown to a lot of people.

Be a better coworker and take note of these six tips we’ve listed on workplace hygiene rules every office employee should strive for.

Refrain from eating at your work desk

We all have had to take a working lunch in our offices, but for the sake of courtesy, we really should not be making that a habit. There are several reasons why this is unhygienic.

One, the sounds of chewing and lip smacking can be unattractive to a lot of people. Refrain from practicing your ASMR skills in the office, especially at your desk.

Aside from the horrid sounds of lip smacking and chewing and crunching, there is also the scent of the food. Particularly smelly food can disturb the senses of your coworkers around you. Be courteous and eat at the office pantry especially when you have to eat smelly lunch.

Clean your office desk every day

To make your workplace a clean place to work at, always clean your desk daily. Your office desk is your headquarters. It is where you operate on for a majority of your work life. Give it the respect it deserves by cleaning it daily.

According to MaidSailors, an office cleaning services NYC, when you regularly clean your office desk, it shows a sign of professionalism and respect for the job you do. It is also a sign that you respect yourself and the image you project to your coworkers.

A clean desk can make you more efficient and more productive due to multiple reasons. One reason is that you know where everything is.

When you know where everything is, you don’t spend a lot of your time looking for the objects you need. Aside from that, it helps you focus because you don’t feel so cluttered physically.

Wash and sanitize your hands regularly

It is a good practice of workplace hygiene to wash and sanitize your hands regularly. This is important especially in a public place such as your office.

You will be interacting with loads of people on the daily, and some of them may be coming down with an illness. Prevent the spread of disease by making it a habit to wash your hands regularly.

You don’t have to use the soap and water combo to wash your hands. A good sanitizer or spritz of alcohol is good enough. If you feel like washing your hands makes your hands dry, then invest in an excellent hand lotion as well.

If you smoke, do it only in designated areas

If you’re a smoker and do not find yourself quitting any time soon, then be courteous of non-smokers. Don’t try to smoke outside of your company’s designated smoking areas.

Nobody will force you to quit smoking. However, second-hand smoke is a real thing that has affected a lot of non-smokers worldwide. You are not only bringing health risk to yourself but others. That is why smoking areas are essential.

Another courteous thing to be conscious of as a smoker is the number of smoke breaks that you take. Avoid having to go on smoke breaks often as this can be unfair for your other coworkers.

Better yet, try to avoid smoking altogether! It may be difficult to quit cold turkey, but it will be good for you in the long-term.

Observe office pantry etiquette

There are a lot of rules that you should keep in mind when using your office pantry. If you follow this unspoken rules in mind, then you will have a peaceful go at the office pantry as long as you go there.

For one, always wash and dry the dishes and cutleries that you use. Remember to throw away leftovers into the trash and not leave them in the sink.

When using the office pantry’s microwave, make sure that the food you’re heating is sealed well to avoid splattering on the insides of the microwave. Otherwise, be mindful enough to wipe away the splatters.

If there is any food that you would like to store in the refrigerator or the cupboard, then label your food items. On the other hand, if you find food that you would want to eat in the fridge or the pantry, do check if there is a name on it first.

If you find any spoilt food items in the fridge, throw it away instead of waiting for other people to throw it away. In the same vein, if you’ve used the last of a particular supply of items such as tissues, napkins, plastic cutleries, and so on, replace them.

There is a lot of office pantry etiquette that people should be conscious of. It is essential to be attentive to them to keep a harmonious relationship with your coworkers.

Follow the rules while using the restroom

Much like the office pantry, there are several unspoken rules for using the office restroom. Be aware enough to take notice of these rules.

For men, when using urinals don’t use the urinal right next to a person unless the others are occupied and you have no choice. Also, when you are using the stalls, close the lid when flushing.

Don’t take any readings with you into the bathroom as this may be a sign that you’re planning to stay in there for a long time. While in the stalls and you recognize a coworker, try not to spark a conversation while they’re doing their business.

For women, always get rid of your hygiene products in the trash bins. Don’t flush them down the toilet as this can clog them up and it is a tad unsanitary.

Do avoid using heavily scented perfume inside the bathroom as you aren’t the only one in there. Also, don’t rally up a group of women to join you in the bathroom as it can get crowded quickly.

Wrapping up

A lot of these workplace hygiene tips are unspoken because it is assumed that one should know about them already. The best choice of action when it comes to workplace hygiene is courtesy.

Always be courteous to your workplace, to your coworkers, and your common working areas. This shows that you respect the people that you work with and that you keep the workplace in high regards. In the end, they’ll show the same respect to you.

Kate helps businesses build effective processes for vetting ideal clients and building a business that doesn’t take every hour of every day.