Stop the Spread of Coronavirus in Offices with Hand Sanitizer Stations

Businesses around the world have impacted badly because of the coronavirus outbreak. While some companies can afford to switch to work-from-home practices, many of them still cannot. And as the government is slowly uplifting the lockdown phase, several businesses are striving hard to ensure that their employees feel safe and protected at work. COVID-19 has forced companies to analyse their work environments as they plan for their employees to report back to work.

These companies are looking out for contemporary, genuine, and everyday solutions that can help in fighting the spread of coronavirus in the workspace. Having sanitizer stations in your office premises is an ideal way to step towards this new change. Though hand sanitizer has been around for years, it has recently gained popularity in the wake of the pandemic. The hand sanitizer stations are helping in maintaining and encouraging hygiene in workplaces across the globe. It is one of the effective ways to reduce the spread of bacteria and viruses like coronavirus.

Washing hands with soap and water every now and then would not be a viable option for your employees at work. At a normal workday, an employee uses his/her hands for handshakes, create reports, open and close doors, and also share communal spaces. Therefore, it is essential to have some extra hand hygiene solutions in place at your office. You can encourage employees to improve their hand hygiene by placing hand sanitizer stations at every possible location, and at the same time, offer a better internal environment.

Prime Locations for Sanitizer Stations in Workplaces

The ideal way to remind your employees to make use of hand sanitizers is by placing them within sight and making them easily accessible. You can have portable hand sanitizer stations near the high-touch surfaces and especially in common areas. Here are some touchpoints that need to have sanitizer stations:

Entrance or Reception Area
Apart from checking the temperature of every individual, you should also have sanitizer stations at the entry points as it is the highly frequented area.

Conference / Meeting Rooms
This area is often packed with employees, or clients, where they exchange handshakes and keeping hand sanitizer stations handy, can avoid spreading germs.

Individual Desks
Every employee spends maximum time at their desk and it can become a hotspot for viruses. Therefore, it is essential to keep a portable hand sanitizer within reach.

Restrooms
As per the study, 67% of the employees skip washing hands with soap at work. Providing sanitizer stations as a quick alternative can ensure to control the virus.

Pantry or Break rooms
It has been observed that one of the hotbeds for germs and viruses is the food area and the break room. So, sanitizer stand is a must for extra precautions.

Doors
It is no secret that doorknobs are the hotspots for germs. To avoid this, keep a hand sanitizer station within arm’s reach for those touching the knob.

Elevator
One of the overlooked spots in the elevator area as it’s no wonder that 61% of elevator buttons are contaminated with bacteria. Hence, it is essential to have sanitizer stations on every floor.

Encouraging Hand Hygiene and Health Safety in your Workspace

Adhering to the government safety norms against the coronavirus, businesses resuming their operations need to make sure their employees and visitors work in a safe and healthy environment. Having hand sanitizer stations equipped at all spaces is essential in winning the fight against the widespread virus such as COVID-19.

However, it is only beneficial when your employees use it on a regular basis. To ensure they use the sanitizers, you could have posters, leaflets, and newsletters near every sanitizer station to spread awareness of hand hygiene importance and encourage and remind them to use it regularly.

Hand sanitizer stations do play a major role in maintaining a safe workplace. The World Health Organization has recommended a six steps method on how to properly use and apply hand sanitizers to destroy the virus from your hand. Apart from this, an employer could also conduct seminars to remind and encourage the employees to improve their health with hand hygiene practices. To keep a healthy atmosphere at work, it is important that companies consider the health of their employees. Providing hand sanitizer stations at the communal areas and their individual is just as important as making available the right equipment to do their job.