Workplace Wellness – It Starts In the Restroom!

Guest Post By: Tom Banks, Senior Director Marketing, Georgia-Pacific Professional

In its broadest terms, “workplace wellness” can encompass a wide range of opportunities for today’s facilities managers . . . and the restroom is a great place to start. The workplace restroom is no longer a non-descript space supplied with low-performing supplies. To please today’s high-energy and demanding work force, the restroom has to have a pleasing, modern design; be well lit and ventilated; and be hygienic with the latest in automated touch-free systems for everything from the commode to the sink area for washing and drying hands. The end result can actually help improve a company’s image, help reduce wasted supplies and help the staff to be more productive. Healthy people and a healthy business go hand in hand.

Hygiene

Plenty of people are “elbowing” their way into the public restroom, and then using their paper towel on the way out to open the door. Why? Because they’ve probably witnessed people not washing their hands and realize that everyone is touching that door handle on the way out! Luckily more and more facilities offer touch-free restroom technology that helps reduce the transmission of germs. This is helpful when it comes to facilitating a proper hand washing and drying regimen and helping people to avoid touching ‘germy’ surfaces. By eliminating the need to touch toilet flushers, sink faucets, soap and towel dispensers; touch-free technology can help people avoid those touch-points they would otherwise be ‘sharing,’ and help reduce the likelihood a person will come in direct contact with someone else’s germs! More and more it’s expected of today’s facilities and can actually help improve employee satisfaction and retain tenants.

Image

Touch-free restrooms are shown to increase perception of cleanliness. Few areas within a facility generate more complaints than restrooms. But a touch-free restroom can also mean reducing the waste and mess of towels on the floor. Today’s dispensing systems are typically designed for high-capacity, roll towel usage - helping to avoid the mess often created by folded towels that are over-dispensed and tossed, or left around. They also help avoid ‘run-out’ problems, which can be a source of frustration and complaints. Rather, today’s sleek, touch-free designs better meet companies’ needs to maintain a clean, pleasing décor, particularly in the bathrooms. Because office space is a highly competitive market, facilities that offer modern and well-designed, touchless technology send a message to tenants that the owner/facility cares about the people working there, which can in turn, lead to better retention rates.

Waste Reduction

Because touch-free dispensing systems are designed to limit the amount of product used, this ultimately reduces the amount of waste. For many of today’s facilities, automated towel dispensers are more efficient than the folded towels dispensed from a standard folded towel dispenser. You see it every day! People grab handfuls of folded towels, which you then find in the trash, on the sink, or on the floor. A well-designed automated roll towel dispenser delivers a specific amount of paper, makes the person wait before getting the next towel and can reduce towel usage.

Efficiency

People don’t want to spend any more time in a public restroom than they have to; they like to get in and get out, and do so without touching anything if at all possible. Touch-free systems facilitate an efficient, smooth-running restroom because the dispensers deliver the right amount of product for the quickest bathroom trip possible. New touchless options also accommodate high-capacity units to keep restrooms well stocked, which reduces the time your staff spends refilling dispensers and helps reduce the time spent cleaning a restroom.

In Conclusion: Every business and facility can benefit by implementing a Workplace Wellness program, and touch-free restroom accessories are one way in which you can not only improve your business image, but you can reduce waste, promote efficiencies with your maintenance staff and help to maintain employee satisfaction. WAXIE and Georgia-Pacific offer a range of solutions to not only enhance your business’s restrooms, but help you promote an overall, more healthy work environment.   

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