Workplace Wellness: How You Can Take Action

This is part 2-of-2 blog posts with WAXIE Sanitary Supply’s interview with Peter Leahy from Kimberly-Clark Professional*

In case you missed the first half of the interview posted last week...Workplace Wellness: Learn What You Can Do to Stay Healthy

Last week we discussed the importance of Workplace Wellness, germ hot spots, cross-contamination and breaking the chain of germ transmission by the HYGIENIFY!* wash, wipe, sanitize protocol. But what can you do yourself to kick start a program at your work? Wouldn’t it be great if there were materials that you could just download or ideas on what other people have done? That’s exactly what Kimberly-Clark Professional* has developed with The Healthy Workplace Project*. Keep reading for more information on how you can take action at work to promote good hand hygiene practices and Workplace Wellness.

We also talk about royal warrants, promoting Workplace Wellness worldwide and the origins of some now commonplace hand hygiene related products.

Taking Action

1. What’s the best way a company or individual can accomplish educating and practicing Workplace Wellness? 
   
   Consistency, variety and engagement are the three key tenets. It’s all about keeping the educational materials fresh and customizing it for your workforce and for seasonal changes, such as for cold and flu season. The goal is to provide employees with engaging educational materials in conjunction with hand and surface hygiene products. That way they have the tools and knowledge necessary to break the chain of germ transmission in the office via the HYGIENIFY!* wash, wipe, sanitize protocol.
   
   
2. You have a program called The Healthy Workplace Project*, what exactly is it?
   
   The Healthy Workplace Project* is a multi-faceted program designed by Kimberly-Clark Professional* to help companies provide their employees with a healthier and more productive office environment. It offers a unique approach to hand and surface hygiene that helps employees understand how germs are transmitted to help stop their spread throughout the workplace. It also aims to put a dent in the approximately 560 million annual cases of the common cold and reduce the absenteeism and productivity losses from colds, the flu and other illnesses.
   
   
3. On The Healthy Workplace Project* website people can take a pledge?
   
   We are asking our customers to make a commitment – to HYGIENIFY!* wash, wipe, sanitize – and do their part in creating a healthier workplace. 98% of workers are affected by minor illness each year. By being mindful of germ hot spots in the office, such as objects and surfaces that everyone touches, employees can help break the chain of germ transmission. This helps to make the workplace environment healthier…which will benefit the employee, their co-workers, and their families.
   
   
4. What can employers do to encourage Workplace Wellness? Provide desktop cleaning supplies or hand sanitizer? Should there be fun initiatives like ‘clean your desk Fridays’ where employees make sure that their workplaces are cleaned & sanitized weekly?
   
   Employers who adopt a program like The Healthy Workplace Project* can encourage worker wellness by giving employees both the knowledge and tools to reduce the spread of workplace germs. Research shows that more than one-third of employees are germ-conscious and care about the health and cleanliness of the workplace. Employees can even take a test to find out what their germ personality is at http://www.healthyworkplaceproject.com/survey/
   
   Rotech Healthcare Inc., which won The Healthy Workplace Project* Award grand prize in 2012 for its thorough and effective approach to hand and surface hygiene, created a “Don’t Bug Me” newsletter to encourage employees to practice good hand and surface hygiene. The company also regularly disinfects work surfaces and shared equipment and collects data to demonstrate how its efforts are paying off. Another winner offered comprehensive wellness and education programs for employees and families, along with financial incentives to reward healthy behaviors.
   
   More information about the award winners here: Rotech Healthcare of Orlando, Fla., is Named Grand Prize Winner Of The Healthy Workplace Project Award
   
   As a side note: The Healthy Workplace Project* has downloadable materials at the bottom of the Take the Pledge page including newsletter ideas and office communication tools.
   
   
5. What about touch-free restroom products and accessories? How important are they?
   
   Touch-free dispensers can limit cross-contamination in the restroom. They are very important for reducing the spread of germs in this environment. However, Kimberly-Clark Professional* has learned that the risk of germ transmission occurs throughout the office – in many places where the folks cleaning the office are not as focused on – the break room, your desk. That’s why we’re focused on the education and engagement of employees – giving them the information and tools to help manage their environments so they can break the chain of germ transmission.
   
   

The Fun Stuff

1. So…you have this video series called ‘Meet Eugene Hammer’ as part of The Healthy Workplace Project*. Who is Eugene Hammer?
   
   Eugene Hammer, Certified Sanitology Consultant is the star of our “spoof” video series about the Widget corporation. He’s been hired to improve workplace hygiene habits. In his own unique and unorthodox way, Eugene helps turn bad habits into good, creating a healthier more productive environment for the whole office.
   
   
2. What do you think that Gene would say to you right now?
   
   He'd say, "You'd better HYGIENIFY!* or I'm gonna find you."
   
   For more information about 'Meet Eugene Hammer': https://www.healthyworkplaceproject.com/eugene.aspx
   
   
3. Kimberly-Clark Professional* UK holds a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom. A royal warrant basically meaning that you are a validated supplier for the royal households (per Wikipedia)…pretty cool, right?!
   
   Yes it is. Kimberly-Clark Professional* is proud to supply many local,  national and international businesses with a variety of products and solutions.
   
   
4. And speaking of Kimberly-Clark Professional* UK, their website has some fantastic graphics promoting Workplace Wellness and The Healthy Workplace Project*. I especially like the one banner with the line: "Everyone loves Samantha's Cake. Make sure it's only the good things that get passed around."
   
   
   
   Actually, The Healthy Workplace Project* has been launched in 40 countries and each has their own spin on it. Another example is on the Kimberly-Clark Professional* Latin America website.
   
   
   
    Literally means "Health is in your hands."
   
   
   
   
5. Any other questions we forgot to ask?
   
   Yes. Based on the success of The Healthy Workplace Project*, we’ve since launched The Healthy Schools Project*. Schools face an absenteeism problem as they primarily receive funding based on the attendance number of full time students. Absenteeism leads to less income for them. We developed The Healthy Schools Project* based off of what we’ve learned in conjunction with The Healthy Workplace Project* on educating schools & students on how to break the germ transmission chain. This includes identifying those germ hot spots that are specific to schools (as opposed to office environments), providing lesson plans to teachers, making resources (like flyers and other educational materials) available for schools to use in the teaching of good hand hygiene practices, etc. Once again with the focus on the HYGIENIFY!* wash, wipe, sanitize protocol. It’s a benefit to schools as it helps to decrease absenteeism and minimizes additional costs associated with the spread of illnesses throughout classrooms, but it’s also great for parents as they won’t have to take additional time off work to care for a sick child.
   
   Kimberly-Clark Professional* continues to provide the innovations that support the breaking of the germ transmission chain throughout various types of workplaces. For instance, we’ve developed materials geared towards an Industrial Workplace environment. We believe that being sick is like being impaired. If you come to work and try to operate machinery when you are sick it’s just not safe - for you or your co-workers. We have resources available that can be downloaded, such as big yellow signs that will stand out in a more industrial environment, bumper stickers for placement on forklifts, etc. to encourage people to think about and be more aware of germ transmission.
   
   It is important to us that everyone, regardless of what industry or environment they work in, is healthy and safe. Wellness at work leads to wellness at home, school and beyond. Kimberly-Clark Professional* works with multiple distributors throughout the world to help promote Workplace Wellness, including our #1 partner in North America, WAXIE Sanitary Supply.
   
   
6. Hand hygiene and Workplace Wellness have come a long way. Your parent company, The Kimberly-Clark Corporation developed KLEENEX® Facial Tissue in the 1920's. It's amazing how hand hygiene practices have developed over the years.
   
   Yes. It was originally made to be used to help remove cold cream for women taking off make-up and now we have a pack of KLEENEX® Facial Tissues so small it's wallet sized.
   
   As to the origin of paper towels…
   In 1907, a Philadelphia teacher blamed a severe outbreak of colds on the fact that so many students used the same cloth towel. To protect her students from germs, this resourceful teacher cut heavy paper into squares, so each student had an individual towel. When the Scott Paper Company/Kimberly-Clark heard about her ingenious solution, the paper towel was born!
   
   As a side note: It was only in 1930 that Kleenex® started to be marketed as a disposable handkerchief (https://www.kleenex.com/BrandStory.aspx).

About Peter Leahy: 

Peter Leahy works in Marketing for Kimberly-Clark Professional*, supporting the Cleaning & Hygiene business. He is focused on creating Exceptional Workplaces* with distributor-partners, helping to make workplaces healthier, safer and more productive. In his previous position, Peter launched The Healthy Workplace Project* in North America. It aims to keep people healthier by promoting hand hygiene  and healthier environments, to improve business outcomes.

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