Even health-care workers aren't doing a good job at the sink
I couldn’t find reliable numbers on it, but I’m pegging the number at 93 per cent. And that’s a pretty conservative estimate.
That’s the per cent of washrooms across the country with a critical design flaw which, more often than not, comes in the form of a door.
Technology has done some wonderful things for germophobes. Most modern bathrooms are equipped with sensors that let you turn on the tap, soap up your hands and dry them without having to touch a single surface. That’s why the door is so flummoxing.
I get why it needs to be there — imagine the complaints flowing to the privacy commissioner if it wasn’t — it’s just that I don’t know what to do with it on the way out.
My hands are clean. The door is, undoubtedly, dirty. And there’s just no gracious escape route. Touch it, and all the handwashing is for naught.
Sure, you can use your elbow or foot to push the door. But that only works if the door swings out and doesn’t have a latch. Another option is commandeering a paper towel to open the door. But then you have to walk back to your desk with a towel in your hand — that’s likely to raise a few eyebrows among colleagues.
The ultimate solution — the one that would solve the design flaw afflicting 93 per cent of the washrooms — is to remove the door entirely. This would require a slight floor plan shift, putting an s-bend into the washroom entrance similar to what sports stadiums have so a passersby can’t see in. If that’s not feasible, then a simple grocery-store style automatic opener would suffice. Just step up, and the door slides wide open. It’s pure germophobe bliss.
Oh sure. If everyone washed their hands, the door wouldn’t pose much of a barrier. But that’s not going to happen. Need proof? Even health-care workers — who are undoubtedly the gold standard when it comes to handwashing — aren’t doing a very good job at the taps. According to a Globe and Mail article, only 40 per cent of health-care providers in Canada properly wash their hands. In hospitals, this is an HR issue. That’s because, beginning next January, Canadian hospitals, nursing homes and other health-care facilities seeking accreditation will be required to audit whether employees are washing their hands, and will be expected to do something about it if they’re not. They won’t be able to, well, wash their hands of the problem.
In response, health-care employers have created poster campaigns and buttons. Some have even doled out Tim Hortons coupons as a reward for workers who scrub up properly.
So roll up your sleeves, get out the hand sanitizer and pull that pesky washroom door off its hinges. I’d offer to pitch in and help, but another press release just landed on my desk. Something about desks being more germ-clogged than bathrooms.
Maybe it’s time hazmat suits were added to corporate dress-codes.
That’s the per cent of washrooms across the country with a critical design flaw which, more often than not, comes in the form of a door.
Technology has done some wonderful things for germophobes. Most modern bathrooms are equipped with sensors that let you turn on the tap, soap up your hands and dry them without having to touch a single surface. That’s why the door is so flummoxing.
I get why it needs to be there — imagine the complaints flowing to the privacy commissioner if it wasn’t — it’s just that I don’t know what to do with it on the way out.
My hands are clean. The door is, undoubtedly, dirty. And there’s just no gracious escape route. Touch it, and all the handwashing is for naught.
Sure, you can use your elbow or foot to push the door. But that only works if the door swings out and doesn’t have a latch. Another option is commandeering a paper towel to open the door. But then you have to walk back to your desk with a towel in your hand — that’s likely to raise a few eyebrows among colleagues.
The ultimate solution — the one that would solve the design flaw afflicting 93 per cent of the washrooms — is to remove the door entirely. This would require a slight floor plan shift, putting an s-bend into the washroom entrance similar to what sports stadiums have so a passersby can’t see in. If that’s not feasible, then a simple grocery-store style automatic opener would suffice. Just step up, and the door slides wide open. It’s pure germophobe bliss.
Oh sure. If everyone washed their hands, the door wouldn’t pose much of a barrier. But that’s not going to happen. Need proof? Even health-care workers — who are undoubtedly the gold standard when it comes to handwashing — aren’t doing a very good job at the taps. According to a Globe and Mail article, only 40 per cent of health-care providers in Canada properly wash their hands. In hospitals, this is an HR issue. That’s because, beginning next January, Canadian hospitals, nursing homes and other health-care facilities seeking accreditation will be required to audit whether employees are washing their hands, and will be expected to do something about it if they’re not. They won’t be able to, well, wash their hands of the problem.
In response, health-care employers have created poster campaigns and buttons. Some have even doled out Tim Hortons coupons as a reward for workers who scrub up properly.
So roll up your sleeves, get out the hand sanitizer and pull that pesky washroom door off its hinges. I’d offer to pitch in and help, but another press release just landed on my desk. Something about desks being more germ-clogged than bathrooms.
Maybe it’s time hazmat suits were added to corporate dress-codes.
