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Behaviour Change at the Heart of Workplace Hygiene

The UK government has highlighted a pressing need for a change in behaviour from people in the workplace and the public at large in respect to hand washing and personal hygiene.

Hand Sanitiser Station

Following a recent statement from Lord Bethell in which he urged the country to improve personal hygiene practices, businesses are growing increasingly aware of the imperative need to place personal hygiene at the very top of their priority list in order to operate safely and combat the spread of Covid-19.

Changing Behaviour

It has been reported that the UK government believes the greatest challenge in the fight against Covid-19 to be changing behaviour across the population at large.

In his statement, Lord Bethell added that work needs to be done to persuade people to wash their hands more often and to be cleaner and more hygienic in general.

This is a message that has been reinforced by the Department of Health and Social Care who have been running campaigns across social media platforms encourage hand washing.

An advert they shared on Twitter stated "Washing your hands more often remains vitally important to prevent the spread of COVID19. If you have been outside, wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before touching your face or any surfaces."

Whilst this may sound simple enough, when confronted by the tasks, pressures, and general busyness of a typical working day, remembering to maintain this level of hygiene consistently isn't so easy for many workers.

Deep Cleans

The topic of workplace hygiene and the deep cleaning of facilities and premises was also raised in the House of Lords recently by Baroness Neville-Rolfe. She asked: "What does the latest guidance say about cleaning and cleansing and can we do better?"

This question was raised in light of other countries such as Singapore and South Korea doing a much better job at cleansing medical facilities and other premises.

Lord Bethell conceded that this was another area in which the UK could "undoubtedly do better". Whilst praising NHS cleaning staff for their tireless efforts, he pointed out that once again a change in behaviour lay at the heart of the matter, pointing out that very clear guidance on the use of detergents is already widely available.

His closing words on the matter returned to the topic of hand washing and how personal hygiene was the key factor in reducing the transmission of Covid-19 through manual contact, whether it be the shaking of hands, touching of the face, or otherwise.

Promoting Personal Hygiene

To operate in a safe and hygienic manner educational institutions, businesses and other organisations will need to continually assess their performance in respect to hygiene standards and the personal hygiene practices of people working in or visiting their premises.

One effective way to bring about the behaviour change highlighted in the recent government statement is to make the prompt to take action, sanitising or otherwise, highly visible. The more visible the prompt or reminder is, the more likely people are to follow through with the desired action.

When it comes to hand sanitising, TWC Group has made a wide range of branded sanitiser stations available, like the one shown in this article's main image. These can be placed throughout the workplace in locations that are highly trafficked such as building entrance and exit points.

Sanitiser stations achieve the goal of being highly visible, prompting people to clean their hands, whilst also removing any friction from the process - they simply walk up to the stand and use the dispenser built into the unit.

Other methods of providing messaging and direction, whilst facilitating hygiene practices, include branded floor mats which can be printed with custom messages combining text with imagery and visual cues; and free standing sign posts which can carry messages but also serve as a physical barrier or spacer to promote appropriate social distancing.

Speak with the team at TWC Group today to learn more about our hand hygiene safety products and workplace hygiene solutions or to request a price guide. Our fully managed hygiene services will see everything taken care of for you no matter what size your business, the industry you are in or where you are based in the Lincolnshire, Yorkshire or North East region.

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