With over 10 million bacteria living on a typical office desk, employees not washing their hands and companies increasingly ‘hot-desking’ staff, offices are increasingly being labelled ‘officially dirty’.
A team of researchers conducted a 13-month study, which discovered over 4,800 surfaces in office buildings to be dirty.
Keyboards, fridge doors, microwaves and taps were labelled the most unhygienic of all surfaces in the office, the ABC reported.
A desktop, on average, is home to 20,961 germs per square inch, with an additional 3,295 on the keyboard, 1,676 on a mouse and 25,127 on the phone
A standard office desk harbours 400 times the amount of germs than an average toilet seat, the study found.
A desktop, on average, is home to 20,961 germs per square inch, with an additional 3,295 on the keyboard, 1,676 on a mouse and 25,127 on the phone, Printerland reported.
Kitchen utensils were also found to be covered in germs, with 2,483 per square inch discovered on the handle of a shared kettle.
These startling numbers are in comparison to just 49 discovered on a toilet seat.

A standard office desk harbours 400 times the amount of germs than an average toilet seat
Viruses can survive for months on surfaces such as phones or computer equipment.
Shared desk workplaces have a 62 per cent higher rate of sickness related absences than employees in private offices with their own individual desks.
The cost of sick leave is estimated to be upwards of $7 billion each year.

Shared desk workplaces have a 62 per cent higher rate of sickness related absences than employees in private offices with their own individual desks
In addition, people attending work whilst sick run the risk of infecting other employees and spreading disease, which costs the Australian economy almost $34.1 billion each year in lost productivity.
Out of 43,021 respondents, one survey found cleanliness to have a direct correlation to employee satisfaction.
Hand hygiene was shown to be one of the most appropriate ways to avoid contamination in the workplace.
In year-long controlled trials, workplace hygiene programs established the use of hand sanitisers reduced healthcare claims in relation to hygiene based illnesses by over 20 per cent.
While employees are always encouraged to stay home if they’re feeling unwell, precautionary steps such as distribution of hand sanitisers can be taken within the office to prevent bacteria spreading.