National Survey Looks at Workplace Restrooms, Hand Hygiene

A national survey reveals that 93 percent of Americans believe the condition of a workplace restroom is an indicator of how a company values its workforce. The good news is many employers are meeting expectations since 61 percent of employees rate their workplace restroom as excellent or very good. Just six percent say they have a poor or terrible work restroom. On the other hand, 41 percent of employees have experienced restroom troubles. Toilets that are clogged or not flushed; really bad smells; and towel and soap dispensers that are empty, jammed or don't dispense enough are the most common complaints.

The findings are part of the fifth annual Healthy Hand Washing Survey conducted by Bradley Corporation, a manufacturer of commercial handwashing products.

The survey also found that staying healthy is an imperative for American employees. Eighty-one percent of workers say they consciously take steps to avoid the germs of sick colleagues. Some of the top preventive maneuvers include: staying away from those who are under the weather; washing their own hands more frequently; shunning handshakes with sickies; standing further away when talking to them; and telling them to go home.

More extreme avoidance measures were reported by just a fraction of respondents canceling meetings (3 percent); staying home from work (2 percent); and wearing a surgical mask (1 percent).

Another workplace insight is that good hand hygiene seems to be important to employees. Just 8 percent of workers say they frequently see people leave the restroom without washing their hands. That compares to the national results that show 31 percent of Americans frequently see people who skip handwashing in a public restroom.

The Healthy Hand Washing survey queried 1,015 American adults Aug. 1-5, 2013 about their handwashing habits in workplace and public restrooms. Participants were from around the country, ranged in age from 18 to 65 and older, and were fairly evenly split between men and women. 

Source: Bradley Corporation