You make your morning coffee, open your laptop, and dive into emails. But while you’re busy ticking off your to-do list, your desk may be harbouring more than just paperwork. According to multiple studies, the average office desk can be up to 400 times dirtier than a toilet seat, with keyboards and phones being among the worst offenders.
“It’s time to take charge and start the day with a desk detox,” explains Catherine Oluwadare, brand manager for Milton. “Let’s get down to germ level and reclaim your workspace with smart, simple hygiene habits.” With hot desking being popular in today’s hybrid and remote working world, desks can offer more than just a place to work, but can also be a location for germs to be transferred and breed.
Your desk can become a bacteria hotspot
Your keyboard, mouse, and phone can collect skin cells and crumbs, as well as respiratory droplets and makeup residue. According to a study conducted by the University of Arizona, a work desk can host over 10 million bacteria, and those numbers can increase if you happen to eat at your desk or share your desk with another colleague.
Shared office equipment and touchpoints, such as handles and communal area surfaces, can be breeding grounds for viruses such as the common cold and flu. It is often predicted that once one colleague arrives at work ill, very soon many in the office will start showing the same symptoms.
The six areas or items in a workspace that carry the most germs are your keyboard, mouse, phone, desk surfaces, drawer handles, and stationery. Although it is not often thought of as a place that needs continuous cleaning, your desk is where you spend most of your day, and therefore, it makes sense that it needs to be cared for just as well as your home.
Incorporating a few hygiene tips into your daily work life can help keep your desk clean and you healthier for longer:
- Unplug all electronics before cleaning them.
- Keep a surface sanitising spray in your desk drawer. This can be used to clean your desk surface, your keyboard and mouse (though sprayed onto a microfibre cloth and not directly onto your equipment), communal office phones, light switches, and door handles around the office.
- A hand sanitiser should always be kept on your desk. This can be used when you have had to use communal office equipment, use door handles, shake hands, and before you eat your lunch.
- Keep your stationery well stocked and labelled: Although keeping your hands on your pen can sometimes be difficult in a busy office, try to use your stationery to keep additional germs off your office items.
- Tissue boxes should be on every desk. This can help lessen the spread of germs through sneezing and coughing, and dustbins should be emptied often to avoid contamination.
Not only does a cleaner desk help reduce your risk of getting sick, but studies also show that a tidy workspace can boost focus and reduce stress. While you may be crushing deadlines and managing inbox chaos, don’t forget the simple act of wiping down your desk. It’s one of the easiest ways to keep germs at bay and create a healthier workspace.
