I would describe myself as an extroverted
introvert. My family, my friends and
those that I work with would agree. I
get along with people well (most days) and I can be extremely engaging (when I
want) and chat your ear off on a host of topics. This serves me well when attending
tradeshows, engaging in team work and generally getting through day to day
life. I will, however, hit my limit of
how much “people-time” I can handle.
When that happens it’s like hitting a brick wall while going 60 miles
per hour. The crash is ugly and the
collateral damage can be messy. As a
result I’ve developed a few coping mechanisms to make sure I do not crash as
often. For example, when I travel I
give myself at least an hour between the conference and any evening function I
have to attend. My coworkers may decide
to grab a drink, but I think they would all agree it’s better that I don’t. That hour to recharge makes a world of
difference! At home my recharge time is
“putting away the laundry”. My husband
knows I hate laundry so if I’m puttering around putting laundry away he knows I
need some space. At work, I close my
office door.
introvert. My family, my friends and
those that I work with would agree. I
get along with people well (most days) and I can be extremely engaging (when I
want) and chat your ear off on a host of topics. This serves me well when attending
tradeshows, engaging in team work and generally getting through day to day
life. I will, however, hit my limit of
how much “people-time” I can handle.
When that happens it’s like hitting a brick wall while going 60 miles
per hour. The crash is ugly and the
collateral damage can be messy. As a
result I’ve developed a few coping mechanisms to make sure I do not crash as
often. For example, when I travel I
give myself at least an hour between the conference and any evening function I
have to attend. My coworkers may decide
to grab a drink, but I think they would all agree it’s better that I don’t. That hour to recharge makes a world of
difference! At home my recharge time is
“putting away the laundry”. My husband
knows I hate laundry so if I’m puttering around putting laundry away he knows I
need some space. At work, I close my
office door.
We spend so much time at work that I think for many our
office or our personal work space can be a haven or sanctuary against the mad
onslaught of work, pressures or fires we face throughout the day. If I think back to my “humble” beginnings, I
was thrilled to have a cubicle I could call my own. I remember the day I “grew up” and got my own
office (with a window I may add)……
There is something to say about having your space, your stuff organized
or strewn about the desk, your crumbs from breakfast, lunch or snack and your
germs. How many times have I itched my
eye after typing on my keyboard - too many to count.
office or our personal work space can be a haven or sanctuary against the mad
onslaught of work, pressures or fires we face throughout the day. If I think back to my “humble” beginnings, I
was thrilled to have a cubicle I could call my own. I remember the day I “grew up” and got my own
office (with a window I may add)……
There is something to say about having your space, your stuff organized
or strewn about the desk, your crumbs from breakfast, lunch or snack and your
germs. How many times have I itched my
eye after typing on my keyboard - too many to count.
I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels this way, but in
recent years, the design and layout of our office space has changed. Today, a number of companies have jumped on
the ‘hot desking’
bandwagon. The premise seems interesting
- you can sit wherever you want. The
concept has been touted to promote greater efficiency and teamwork. In practice, many people find it pretty annoying. It’s akin to being in High School where, at
the end of the day you pack up your books and papers and go home.
recent years, the design and layout of our office space has changed. Today, a number of companies have jumped on
the ‘hot desking’
bandwagon. The premise seems interesting
- you can sit wherever you want. The
concept has been touted to promote greater efficiency and teamwork. In practice, many people find it pretty annoying. It’s akin to being in High School where, at
the end of the day you pack up your books and papers and go home.
As I have been
taught over my years, when making plans or developing strategies you need to
look for the unintended consequences or unobvious issues that could rear their
ugly heads. In the case of hot-desking,
as much of this was thought of by “experts” not in the infection prevention
world, the unintended consequence of their unobvious issue was the increasing
risk of transmission of germs. Think
about it. Not every office is cleaned
every day. That means from one day to
the next you have different people, different germs attaching themselves to the
desk, the shared keyboard or mouse, the shared phone….
taught over my years, when making plans or developing strategies you need to
look for the unintended consequences or unobvious issues that could rear their
ugly heads. In the case of hot-desking,
as much of this was thought of by “experts” not in the infection prevention
world, the unintended consequence of their unobvious issue was the increasing
risk of transmission of germs. Think
about it. Not every office is cleaned
every day. That means from one day to
the next you have different people, different germs attaching themselves to the
desk, the shared keyboard or mouse, the shared phone….
I recently came
across a study conducted by a company in the UK who specialize in hygiene. For their study, they swabbed >100 desk
areas of a company with fixed-desks (e.g. MINE and MINE alone!). This company then decided to move to hot-desking
and the desk areas were swabbed again.
They results speak for themselves.
They found a 41% increase in microbial contamination on the same
surfaces. The one area where the
hot-desks did better was on the keyboard.
Surprisingly, the hot-desk keyboards were 6% “cleaner” than fixed-desk
keyboards. It kind of makes sense; if I
were sharing a desk I would probably clean the keyboard too!
across a study conducted by a company in the UK who specialize in hygiene. For their study, they swabbed >100 desk
areas of a company with fixed-desks (e.g. MINE and MINE alone!). This company then decided to move to hot-desking
and the desk areas were swabbed again.
They results speak for themselves.
They found a 41% increase in microbial contamination on the same
surfaces. The one area where the
hot-desks did better was on the keyboard.
Surprisingly, the hot-desk keyboards were 6% “cleaner” than fixed-desk
keyboards. It kind of makes sense; if I
were sharing a desk I would probably clean the keyboard too!
Does this mean the
end of hot-desking? Probably not,
however, perhaps before moving towards this set up some consideration as to how
to minimize loss of productivity due to illness will now be done. I’ve worked with some call centers where each
desk is equipped with a canister of disinfectant wipes and a bottle of hand
sanitizer. The idea being that you clean
when you leave and you clean when you arrive.
Providing that the disinfectant you choose does not require the use of
PPE or contain chemicals that people know to be harmful, it’s not a bad
practice to set up! I’m never too sure
who uses my office when I’m travelling or on vacation….perhaps I need to start
disinfecting my area when I leave and when I arrive after a period of absence!
end of hot-desking? Probably not,
however, perhaps before moving towards this set up some consideration as to how
to minimize loss of productivity due to illness will now be done. I’ve worked with some call centers where each
desk is equipped with a canister of disinfectant wipes and a bottle of hand
sanitizer. The idea being that you clean
when you leave and you clean when you arrive.
Providing that the disinfectant you choose does not require the use of
PPE or contain chemicals that people know to be harmful, it’s not a bad
practice to set up! I’m never too sure
who uses my office when I’m travelling or on vacation….perhaps I need to start
disinfecting my area when I leave and when I arrive after a period of absence!
Bugging Off!
Nicole
