CHTMAG.COM WORKPLACE FEATURE WORKPLACE TRENDS How has the typical workplace changed in the past 25 years and what impact has this had on health and hygiene? Charlotte Boniface from Tork manufacturer SCA considers the effects that trends such as hot-desking, new technology and the diminishing lunch hour have had on today’s workforce DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 21 CLEANING HYGIENE TODAY CONCERNS Increasing concerns about health and fitness has led to many employers installing desks that can be raised to allow staff to stand up while they work. Some desks even come with a treadmill to enable the operative to work and work out at the same time. Meanwhile, the traditional lunch hour has all but disappeared and the pub lunch has become a thing of the past. A 2015 survey by Bupa revealed that two-thirds of workers now feel unable to take even a 20-minute lunch break while 31 per cent say they usually eat lunch at their desk. Even the way in which people travel to work is changing. While the train, bus or car used to be the accepted method, an increasing number of people are hopping on their bikes instead. Sales and production of British-built bikes leapt almost 70 per cent between 2013 and 2014 according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile, bike hire schemes now exist in a number of key UK cities including London, Birmingham and Manchester. There are logical reasons for many of these changes. Open-plan offices were first brought in to encourage greater debate among co-workers and to put an end to the culture where managers were remote figures hidden away behind closed doors. In the early 1990s when every employee had their own landline telephone and in-tray for post, they needed a designated workspace. But since most people now have their own laptops and mobile phones they no longer need a specified space, making hot-desking a viable option. Countless productive work hours must have been lost in the 1980s via the expense account lunch and the general culture of disappearing to the pub for an hour or two at a time. Liquid lunches have become much less acceptable today and many offices now offer a canteen facility or use a mobile lunch service. A quick bite to eat at one’s desk while surfing the web or social networking has become an acceptable lunch break for many. So, what effect have these changes had upon health and hygiene in the workplace? It seems clear that significant health gains can be made from using standing or treadmill desks and from cycling to work - particularly since the obesity crisis is deepening. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, obesity levels in the UK have trebled in the last 30 years and more than half the population could be obese by 2050. Studies have shown that people who use standing desks burn up to 50 calories an hour more than those who sit down. Even more calories can be burned by using a treadmill desk – where you walk as you work – or a “DeskCycle” which is the latest work fitness phenomenon. Meanwhile, an hour’s daily commute by bike will burn around 650 calories while building the rider’s cardiovascular fitness. The typical workplace 25 years ago would be more or less unrecognisable today. Open-plan offices were rare and people would work in screened-off cubicles or behind closed doors in separate rooms. The post would arrive just once or twice during the morning and this would be sorted, replied to and then filed away or “spiked” on a lethal metal pin that would nowadays be considered a safety hazard. The fact that there were no computers meant that all letters and reports were either written by hand or dictated to secretaries who would type them up. External communications would be carried out via telephone or post, and when colleagues needed to communicate internally they would do so via written memo or simply pop into each other’s offices. At around 1pm, employees would exit en masse and take to the local cafes, bars or restaurants. Here they would spend their Luncheon Vouchers which were a perk of office working and were often given out in employees’ pay packets. Others would head for the local pub where they would remain for an hour or more, indulging in a liquid lunch. These days, however, open-plan offices are the norm. Instead of having their own private cubicles many office workers are expected to “hot-desk”, which means that they take the first desk available. Studies have shown that people who use standing desks burn up to 50 calories an hour more than those who sit down.”
CHT December/January 2016
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