Survey Finds Majority of Employees Come to Office Sick

The survey, conducted by Staples Advantage, polled more than 150 U.S. office workers. The survey revealed some of the workforce’s cleaning and health habits in the office.

•  Nearly one-third of respondents’ companies have sick day polices; however, more than 60% of employees felt compelled to go into work because there was “too much going on” or felt the need to “tough it out.”

•  People are more consumed with cleaning their e-mail inbox than their physical workspace. Nearly half of all workers clean their inboxes at least once a day, whereas only 15% clean their physical workplace at least once a day.

•  Nearly one-third of respondents believe their keyboard and phone are the dirtiest items in their office, yet less than 10% clean these items often.

•  About 15% think the break room dish sponge is the dirtiest item in the office. Half of respondents also noted that colleagues leave dirty dishes in the kitchen.

•  Less than 10% say they clean desk surfaces very often with disinfectants or sanitizing products, which according to the survey results is concerning, because nine out of 10 respondents also said many employees at their company eat meals at their desks.

•  Nearly 100% of respondents also noted they are concerned with catching a virus at work, but less than 40% have taken additional preventive measures to keep germs away.