Yes, it is cold and flu season again. While many people are being reminded to get the flu shot, there are also other ways to help protect yourself against influenza, especially by reducing your exposure to germs and viruses around your Toronto office space.
Would you believe that it is more likely that your office desktop harbours more germs and bacteria than the office bathroom? The bathroom is routinely cleaned with disinfectant while your office desk and other surfaces in your office space Toronto may not be. How often have you cleaned your keyboard? It is said that your keyboard is potentially dirtier than the average office toilet seat. Think of the potential E. coli and staph germs on your keyboard, your fingers and even on your phone! A U.S. study showed that most people they polled admitted to never cleaning their keyboards.
Consider all office germs in your personal Toronto office space for rent and other surfaces in your overall workplace that are not routinely disinfected.
You can protect yourself and avoid getting the flu in the workplace by following these tips:
Wash your hands regularly, at least 3 or 4 times a day with soap and water – not just with anti bacterial hand sanitizer. The hand sanitizer is a great stop gap for those times you do not have access to soap and water, but should not be seen as a replacement.
Buy some disinfecting wipes to use on all the surfaces in your downtown Toronto office space that you come into regular contact with. Wipe down your computer mouse, keyboard and even your phone once or twice a week. You will want to wipe down your office door handle (inside and out) at least once every few days. Don’t forget to wipe down the arms of the guest chair in your office space Toronto for rent, especially if you have many different visitors each day or each week.
Avoid eating at your desk. It’s often too easy to work through lunch and having a bite at your desk. This can one way to get the flu – by ingesting bacteria and flu germs as well as potentially making your desk a more inviting environment for more germs and bacteria to grow on.
While it would be impolite to walk around common areas of your office space for lease Toronto wearing latex gloves, consider taking a few disinfecting wipes with you to the office space Toronto kitchen and wipe down door handles on the coffee pot, refrigerator, microwave, drawers and cupboards. While most offices with shared kitchen environments have cleaning staff who take care of this a few times a day, your help will most likely protect you even more. Remember that most people who have the flu virus get it days before they know they actually have the flu. So when they cough or sneeze, they likely don’t know that they could be spreading germs.
If you do catch a cold or the flu, do yourself and your fellow office space Toronto tenants a huge favour by staying home until you are feeling better – or at least no longer contagious. Remember that enclosed environments where different people are interacting with each other, like a shared office space, is where flu germs and other illness-causing bacteria tend to be more prevalent.