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Caught Dirty Handed: Workplace Handwashing Habits Revealed
Kiwis are routinely witnessing unhygienic behaviours from colleagues in their workplace bathrooms according to the latest research from OfficeMax New Zealand, the country’s leading workplace solutions provider, in honour of Global Handwashing Day. Ick warning ahead.
Clean hands are a fundamental defense against the spread of infections, illnesses and harmful germs, however, OfficeMax’s hand hygiene survey found that 42 per cent of office workers have witnessed a colleague leave the bathroom without washing or drying their hands…
The survey also found that a third of office workers have noticed colleagues not drying their hands after washing (33%) or washing hands without the use of soap (31%).
Hazel Wright, Care Sector Lead at OfficeMax, explains that the phenomenon of “social handwashing” could be contributing to improper handwashing. Social handwashing is the practice of wanting to appear to wash your hands without actually doing it.
“It’s rare, but in some cases, people can go to extreme lengths to appear to wash their hands; running the tap, rustling paper towels, or triggering the hand drier with no real intention of using the facilities as they were designed,” said Hazel.
For businesses, effective hand hygiene practices can significantly reduce the spread of infectious diseases, leading to fewer employee sick days and increased productivity; however, the idea of “calling out” the poor hygiene practices of colleagues is not something Kiwis feel confident doing.
Half (51%) of the survey’s respondents said they would not feel confident confronting a colleague, and this figure is higher with women at 62 per cent.
While many office workers have witnessed poor behaviour, they have equally been short changed when soap, handtowels, and even toilet paper were missing from the office bathroom supplies.
While most respondents (46%) said they always had the supplies necessary to support proper bathroom hygiene at work, there are exceptions:
- 19 per cent of Kiwis have been caught without toilet paper
- 30 per cent have had a situation with no handtowels / dryer
- 29 per cent have had no access to soap.
“Ensuring a consistent supply of hand hygiene products is vital for public health - and businesses have a big role to play in that,” says Wright. “This Global Handwashing Day, give your people every reason to wash their hands by making sure those essential hygiene items are available.”
Notes:
- The OfficeMax hand hygiene survey was conducted by Perceptive research with a sample size of 498 individual office workers. The survey was conducted in September 2024.
- Full survey datasets are available on request, with key statistics and questions highlighted below.
| Which unhygienic behaviours have you witnessed from a co-worker in the workplace bathroom/toilet? | |
| 42% | Leaving the bathroom without washing or drying their hands |
| 33% | Not drying hands properly (i.e. leaving the bathroom with wet hands or “shaking their hands off”) |
| 31% | Washing hands without using soap (i.e. only using water) |
| 35% | None of the above |
| How confident would you feel confronting or “calling out” a colleague who displays unhygienic bathroom behaviours? | |
| 19% | Confident |
| 51% | Not confident |
| Have you ever been ‘caught out’ in a workplace bathroom that does not have the necessary hygiene supplies | |
| 19% | Yes, no toilet paper |
| 30% | Yes, no handtowels |
| 29% | Yes, no soap |
| 46% | No, my workplace bathroom is always fully stocked |
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