Skip to main content
Facilitate Magazine: Informing Workplace and Facilities Management Professionals - return to the homepage Facilitate magazine logo
  • Search
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @Facilitate_Mag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management Logo of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
    • Comment
    • People
    • Reports
    • Research
  • Features
    • Analysis
    • Features
    • Round Tables
    • Webinars
  • Outsourcing
    • Contract Finder
    • Contracts
    • FM Business Models
    • Interviews
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Opinion
    • Procurement
    • Trends
  • Know-How
    • Explainers
    • Legal Updates
    • White Papers
  • Jobs
  • Topics
    • Workplace Services
      • Hospitality
      • Catering
      • Cleaning
      • Front of House
      • Grounds Maintenance
      • Helpdesk
      • Mailroom
      • Manned Guarding / Security
      • Pest Control
      • Washroom Services
      • Disaster Recovery
      • Specialist Services
    • Professional Performance
      • Behavioural Change
      • Continual Professional Development
      • Education
      • Management
      • Recruitment
      • Training
    • Workplace Performance
      • Benchmarking
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Operational Readiness
      • Procurement
      • Security
      • Workplace User Experience
      • Workplace Culture
    • Compliance
      • Health & Safety
      • Risk & Business Continuity
      • Standards
      • Statutory Compliance
    • Building Services
      • Architecture & Construction
      • Asset Management
      • Building Controls
      • Building Fabric
      • Drinking Water
      • Fire Protection
      • HVAC
      • Landscaping
      • Mechanical & Electrical
      • Building Security
      • Water, Drainage & Plumbing
    • Technology
      • Building Information Modelling
      • CAFM
      • Data & Networks
      • Document Management
      • Information Management
      • Internet of Things (IoT)
      • Software & Systems
    • Energy management
      • Energy Management Systems
      • Electricity
      • Gas
      • Solar
      • Wind
    • Sustainability
      • Environmental Quality
      • Social Value
      • Waste Management
      • Recycling
    • Workspace Design
      • Agile Working
      • Fit-Out & Refurbishment
      • Inclusive Access
      • Lighting
      • Office Interiors
      • Signage
      • Space Planning
      • Storage
      • Vehicle Management / Parking
      • Washroom
    • Sectors
      • Corporate Office
      • Education
      • Healthcare
      • Manufacturing
      • International
      • Retail
      • Sports & Leisure
      • Regions
  • Buyers' Guide
Quick links:
  • Home
  • Topics
News
Workplace services
Professional Performance
Sustainability
Cleaning
Environmental Quality
Health & Wellbeing

Hot-desking is unhygienic, say 38% of UK office workers

Open-access content Wednesday 19th June 2019 — updated 2.38pm, Tuesday 5th May 2020
web_dirty_desk_iStock-612514894 (1).png

19 June 2019 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal


Only 14 per cent of workers decide when to wash their hands after going to the bathroom, according to a survey into workplace cleanliness.

 

SMC Premier Cleaning surveyed more than 5,000 UK office workers and found that only 7 per cent admitted to not washing their hands at all and 18 per cent said they washed their hands quickly.

 

Only 61 per cent of office employees wash their hands properly with warm water and soap and women are slightly more hygienic, with 66 per cent saying they wash their hands thoroughly, compared with 53 per cent of men.

 

Busy working days can result in office workers not taking a proper lunch break and 26 per cent of respondents say they eat at their desk between once and three times a week. 

 

A quarter of office workers will eat while working 3-5 days and 4 per cent eat lunch at their desk every day. Surprisingly only 11 per cent will clean their workspace properly after eating and 38 per cent will do a 'quick clean', putting wrappers in the bin.

 

Almost half - 45 per cent - claim never to spill a crumb on their desk, leaving 7 per cent who are too lazy to care and refuse to clean up after themselves.

  

Hot-desking has grown in popularity over the years, but 44 per cent of those surveyed had never considered the possibility that hot-desking could be germ-ridden and are happy to sit wherever.

 

Only 12 per cent of hot-deskers are fussy about where they work and will only sit at a desk if they know it has been cleaned first. Only 38 per cent believe hot-desking to be unhygienic.

 

 

Also filed in:
Topics
News
Content
Workplace services
Professional Performance
Sustainability
Cleaning
Environmental Quality
Health & Wellbeing

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Today's top reads

 

Latest Jobs

Project Leader (Maternity Cover One Year Contract)

Cambridge
Circa £50,000 Pro Rata + Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
56378

Maintenance Supervisor

Surrey
Up to £43,000 + Excellent Package & Opportunities
Reference
56376

Regional Facilities Manager

South West England
Circa £40,000 + Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
56375
See all jobs »

 

 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to print

Sign up to receive our bi-monthly magazine

Subscribe
Facilitate magazine cover, June 2020
​
FOLLOW US
@Facilitate_Mag
Facilitate Magazine
Facilitate Magazine
CONTACT US
Contact us
Tel: 020 7880 6200
​

IWFM

About IWFM
Become a member
Qualifications
Events

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to Facilitate Magazine
Write for Facilitate Magazine

General

IWFM Jobs
Help

© 2022 • www.facilitatemagazine.com and Facilitate Magazine are published by Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ