New Research Shows Half Of Workers Have Never Seen Colleagues Wash Hands.

According to new research, nearly half of office workers have witnessed someone leaving the work bathroom with dirty hands.

During peak Covid-19 restrictions, Kiwi’s were asked to wash their hands with both soap and water for up to a minute, with some even providing songs to sing whilst washing.

However, a recent Officemax survey suggests that washing hands and general cleanliness is no longer a top priority in the workplace.

Care sector lead Hazel Wright said hygiene standards were slipping.

“Almost half of the workers have witnessed a colleague leaving the bathroom without washing and drying their hands.

“We are definitely seeing a downward trend in the behaviour that we’d seen at the height of the pandemic.”

Whilst hand sanitizer is still very prevalent in offices, Wright says they provide a secondary way to cleaning hands and people should still use soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.

“Social Handwashing” is on the rise in many workplaces, which is a phenomenon where people pretend to wash their hands.

“They might run the tap, rustle hand paper towels or trigger the hand dryer with no real intention of using them.”