The pandemic has changed people’s behaviour in so many ways. One of the biggest changes has come in the form of personal hygiene. With the government’s advice to wash our hands while singing happy birthday (twice), more people have become conscious about their cleanliness and habits.
Recently, the largest UK-based online printing company instantprint, ran a survey to discover exactly what office hygiene habits we hate the most, and which we would love to ban for good! Whether you’re returning to the office soon or are heading in as and when you’re needed, let’s delve into some of the habits we hope won’t be joining us!
The nitty-gritty – what are some of the worst habits?
To start, let’s take a peek at what instantprint found to be some of the worst habits of all. How stomach-churning do you think they are?
Among the top five worst habits that people divulged was not washing your hands after visiting the toilet (43%), coming into work with a cough or cold (37%), kiss greetings (33%), hugs (28%) and keeping unwashed gym kit in the office (27%). There’s no surprise that not washing your hands hit the top spot, especially with all of the cleanliness advice surrounding the coronavirus. Equally, it’s likely that with the events of the past year, many people won’t visit the office if they have any sign of a cough or cold – good news for the 37% who said this was the worst habit!
Does where you live make a difference?
Does your location make you want to ban some habits more than others? It seems as though it does! instantprint found that people from Belfast, for example, were highly in favour of making washing your hands mandatory after going to the toilet (59%), along with Bristol (57%) and Cardiff (53%). Surely this particular result comes as no surprise, though? On the flip side, however, only 32% of those living in Norwich voted to enforce hand-washing…
They also looked at places who want to ban coming into work with a cough or cold, with this being the second top worst habit. Glaswegians were the most opposed to people coming into work with a cough or cold (61%). Better watch out if you’re working in Glasgow and have a cold! On the flip side, they found that those working in Manchester might be feeling the pressure a little more in their jobs, as only 22% wanted to ban going into the office when you’re under the weather.
In a shocking find, Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton had the lowest votes across all gross behaviours in their survey, meaning there are pretty much no gross behaviours they want banning…