HEALTH
Why washroom hygiene belongs on the HR agenda as well as the facilities budget.
By Charl Broodryk, co-founder of Nuwkem
HR leaders searching for the causes of poor employee experience tend to look up the organisational chart: compensation, leadership, workload and culture. Few look down the corridor to the bathroom.
That is an oversight. Almost every employee, candidate and client who enters a building uses that space, and what they find there can say more about how the organisation operates than any values statement on the wall.
The unwritten contract between employer and employee has changed since COVID-19. The pandemic made hygiene highly visible. Desks were sprayed, door handles wiped and sanitiser dispensers installed at entrances. These measures offered reassurance during a period of considerable uncertainty.
Our understanding of infection control also developed. Early attention often centred on intensive surface cleaning. As evidence accumulated, ventilation and indoor air quality became more prominent in efforts to limit the transmission of respiratory viruses.
The lesson was not that hand hygiene had ceased to matter. It was that healthy workplaces depend on several
connected systems. Clean air, reliable water, functioning washrooms, regular cleaning and policies that allow sick employees to stay home all have a part to play.
Physical workspace and organisational culture Employees who became accustomed to working remotely are also less willing to tolerate shared spaces that feel like an afterthought. The physical workplace has become a more visible part of how people experience organisational culture.
A 2021 study involving researchers from Henley Business School, the University of Reading and the International WELL Building Institute identified a persistent gap between how organisations measure employee engagement and how they monitor the physical workplace. It argued that the physical environment should be treated as a serious component of the employee experience.
Candidates test this environment before they are hired. Anyone who has sat through a lengthy interview process and used the bathroom has probably formed some view of the organisation’ s operational standards. Clients do the same. What they encounter in a private space can reveal an attention to detail that is not always visible in the boardroom.
This does not make bathroom hygiene exclusively an HR responsibility. Facilities teams remain responsible for cleaning and maintenance, while procurement determines equipment specifications and supplier
72 sabusinessintegrator. co. za