Only 31% of manufacturing staff happy with hygiene practices
21 December 2020
A survey about how COVID-19 has affected perceptions of cleanliness in UK workplaces has found that most factory staff think their hygiene practices are inadequate.
The findings come from hygiene, safety and productivity solutions firm Kimberly-Clark Professional™, which commissioned research to uncover the concerns and issues around people returning to work in the wake of the pandemic.
The survey found that three out of four people in the UK did not feel safe going back to their place of work following the first lockdown. A further 86 per cent said they would still avoid a facility if they thought it was not COVID-secure.
In the manufacturing sector, 79 per cent of respondents said they were now more aware of hygiene practices. However, only 31 per cent think hygiene practices in their workplace are currently adequate. Nearly two thirds (61 per cent) said seeing cleaning in action was important, and over half (59 per cent) wanted cleaning and disinfecting procedures communicated clearly.
The company has produced an in-depth guide for the manufacturing industry, showing the most appropriate solutions to ensure clean and hygienic workspaces.
Olena Neznal, Vice President, Kimberly-Clark Professional™ EMEA, said:
“Only manufacturers which win the confidence of their employees, suppliers and customers will thrive, and from this research it is clear that hygiene is now top of the manufacturing agenda. Many businesses are clearly not doing enough, and people are scared. There are no shortcuts to workplace hygiene – we need to cover every angle.”
In May, a selection of Greater Manchester manufacturers gave their own advice on how to resume production safely following lockdown. Recommendations included measures such as sanitising stations at all entry and exit points, giving individual hand gels to staff and leaving doors open or fitting hands-free devices to remove unnecessary contact points.