Six Ways to Clean Up Your Act at Work

The workplace is like a mini community where people from all different backgrounds, standards, upbringing and values come together for approximately eight hours a day. They sit close together or in adjacent work stations. They may eat in a communal cafeteria or break room, sharing a microwave, coffee pot, refrigerator and utensils. They are elbow-to-elbow in a conference room, training room or auditorium for hours on end for meetings or training sessions. They may share a vehicle, stand or sit together on an assembly line, or deal with a constant stream of customers. Of course, when nature calls, they share the same facilities. All this togetherness and diversity can cause clashes on proper hygiene. 

While computer keyboards, desktops and break room appliances are known for their germ attraction, another device is taking its place as a potential threat to workplace health. The smartphone. 

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal, "Calling All Germs," reports that holding a cell phone in close proximity to your nose, eyes and throat can be a threat to your health. What? The beloved smartphone that you stood in line all night for and sacrificed half the rent money is a potential killer? According to Jeffrey Cain, President of the American Academy of Family Physicians, bacteria from a phone can cause, “…flu, pinkeye and diarrhea.” That innocent electronic instrument we can’t live without is a germ magnet that can send us running to the facilities or the hospital.

And they go everywhere. Who hasn’t listened to a conversation going on in the next bathroom stall? How does a person complete all the necessary steps in that process while holding a cell phone? Proper hand washing may be commendable, but what about the phone? Where is it? Perched on the edge of the bathroom sink? In a pocket or handbag? You get the picture. 

While there are some ways to clean a smartphone, most people don’t. Cell phones go everywhere, picking up germs along the way without a spritz of sanitizer or water wipe-down. They sit on conference tables, desks, on the treadmill at the gym and get dropped on the floor--and go right back to the ear or thumbs of their owner. If you're worried about germs from your smartphone, here are some tips to stay healthy and connected:

1. Read the manufacturer’s directions and clean your phone. Of the possible cleaning products, alcohol worked best and water had the least success. However, alcohol can damage some phone screens, so it’s best to check your phone’s directions before using any cleaning product.
    
2. Clean it often. While desk phones, computer keyboards and keys can harbor illness-bearing germs, they aren’t used constantly like a smartphone. 
    
3. Watch where you put it. Just because it has a plastic cover and a screen protector, it doesn’t mean you can rest it on the bathroom floor, gym equipment, kitchen counters (right next to the raw chicken) or in the baby’s diaper bag. (Don’t even think about what’s lurking in there!) Find a clean spot to give it a rest.
    
4. Make it short. The longer you have it cradled against your ear and face, the more time germs have to migrate. Besides, who needs to talk all the time, anyway!
    
5. Resist the urge to text while you’re eating, cleaning, cooking, picking up after the dog, changing the baby or other messy activities. 
    
6. Give it a rest. Practice phone abstinence periodically. When phones were tethered to a cord in a wall, people took the time to talk face-to-face. Not a bad idea.

It’s nice to be connected, but too much togetherness, it seems, can make you sick. Give your smartphone some downtime. It’s a good prescription for a healthier life.

Photo Source:  Freedigitalphotos.com