Cross contamination in the workplace

In an office environment, a lot of items are shared. You’ll see numerous people using the same cups, plates and bowls, the same towels and cloths, etc. You’ll have multiple people touching the same surfaces and furniture over the course of the working day, door handles being a prime example of that. These all facilitate the spreading of cross contamination, with just one inadequately-washed pair of hands potentially passing on illnesses to several people in the office.

In certain working environments, cross contamination can see diseases being transmitted very easily, especially food preparation areas and medical centres. If a negligent restaurant worker fails to execute due care when preparing raw meat, don’t be surprised if a customer subsequently picked up food poisoning. Even more severely, what if a doctor or nurse in a hospital failed to wash their hands properly before touching highly sensitive medicine? In all lines of work, and in these professions especially, high standards of hygiene should be a given. Sadly, that appears not to be the case in hundreds of restaurants and hospitals.

The infographic below from Cleaning Services Group explains how cross contamination could occur in the workplace and why it could have such serious consequences not just for the personnel within a company, but also the company’s reputation.