By Len C. Jorge

In September we celebrate and advocate for Health, Safety, and Sanitation month. Good hygiene and sanitation workplace practices promote healthier well-being.

These practices have a significant effect on employees’ mental well-being, motivation, and productivity, which can reduce the number of sick days taken. Any negative impact on health and safety must be prevented. No one wants to work in a messy and untidy work area, right?

However, busy work environments can get untidy quickly. Employees should be aware that leaving these spaces untidy is unhealthy. In addition, if proper hygiene and sanitation measures are not followed, microbes can thrive in these spaces, which can weaken employees’ immune systems.

Of course, as busy as the work floor gets, these spaces can be a living petri dish if one employee is sick. We can get flu and colds easily just by staying in the same room long enough to get infected. Employees should also be mindful whenever they are not feeling well.

A hectic workspace can be stressful at times, and if the surroundings are cluttered and untidy, it can affect your ability to focus and add more to your stress.

While health and well-being in the office are the primary responsibility of the management, employees have also a responsibility to ensure that mandatory practices are being followed.

Some of the key measures in having a healthy work environment are providing clean drinking water, clean washrooms, toilets, and pantries, and a well-maintained pest-free facility. Proper waste segregation and disposal are also necessary; this is crucial because wastes can harbor different microbes that can cause diseases.

If proper hygiene and sanitation procedures are practiced, we are promoting a healthier and happier work environment.

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