Whether you are starting a restaurant business or a general office environment, ensuring that you invest in the success of your employees is critical. It's something that we've all been more aware of since the pandemic, but hygiene is one of those components that will do a lot to benefit our employees' frames of mind, as well as the perception of our business when we bring clients or customers into the fold. So, what does it take to ensure that we are developing a far more hygienic business, regardless of the sector we operate in?

It's important to invest in commercial waste disposal so you can keep on top of this very simple method of preventing germs. Garbage is unsightly and incredibly smelly, but it is the one thing that sends a major red flag to your clients about how you do business. It's critical to empty the trash and sort out the recycling on a regular basis, and if you are someone who does not do this regularly, it's time to get hired help. An office cleaner is one of those things that will make a massive difference here.

We can't make the assumption that our employees will clean up after themselves. If you have younger employees who still live at home with their parents, you might have to provide a little bit of workplace education on the importance of hygiene and make your expectations clear in the company policy, as well as signs around the workplace. A good example is in the workplace kitchen; you should make it clear that they need to clean up the dishes and trash and provide some simple guidance about washing hands after using the restroom. We can't always assume that our employees will have a basic knowledge of hygiene, so it's far better for the sake of the environment to make it clear-cut.

One of the best hangovers from the pandemic is the increased presence of hand sanitizers. Employees should have easy access to antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizers to make sure their workstations are wiped down. Germs are far more widespread than we think on an average desk, especially in comparison to a toilet seat. It's also worth providing keyboard cleaners, especially for those people who eat lunch at their desks!

You don't necessarily have to provide paid sick days, depending on the organisation you are operating in and if you’re employing freelancers, but we still need to prioritise the overall well-being and health of our employees. If one person comes into the office and they are sick, it's very likely they're going to infect the vast majority of surfaces in a matter of hours. This is especially important during peak flu season, and while many organisations are now focused on bringing people back to the office, it might be a far better idea to implement hybrid or remote working when people are sick. If someone feels like they can't come into the office because they're unwell, they can still work from home.