Some of the best tips for personal hygiene at work involve hand washing before handling food and after using a restroom. Hand washing is a particularly important part of good personal hygiene at work and is often required in some countries to ensure peoples' safety. It is also typically recommended that people avoid eating at their desks, which tend to have more germs than the average surface. In addition, some experts advise carrying anti-bacterial hand gel for times when an employee does not have access to warm water and soap.
Whenever a person must handle food, he or she should thoroughly wash his or her hands. The proper way to wash hands is to use warm water and soap and gently scrub the hands together for 30 seconds. Then the hands should be dried using a clean paper or cloth towel. After this, the employee can begin to handle the food, making certain not to touch his or her clothes or any other object that is likely dirty. Proper hand washing is an important part of personal hygiene at work and is required by law in many places.
It is also part of good personal hygiene at work to wash the hands after using a restroom. This is true for all workplaces, not just restaurants, because it prevents the spread of germs. After hand washing in a bathroom, the employee can use a paper towel to open the door, hold it open with his or her foot, and then throw away the towel and exit the restroom. Some doors also have foot knobs, allowing a person to open the door with only his or her foot.
Studies show that a work desk can have many times the amount of germs than a toilet. Due to this, it is best to avoid eating at the desk and, if a person must eat at his or her desk, he or she should thoroughly wipe it down with anti-bacterial wipes. It can also be a good idea to avoid nail biting or any other habit that involves oral contact and will likely increase the odds of ingesting germs.
Anti-bacterial hand gel can be useful in the workplace environment. Sometimes a person simply cannot leave his or her station to wash his or her hands. In this case, a bit of gel applied to the hands and allowed to dry can suffice until warm water and soap are available. The gel may also come in handy when taking public transportation to work.