Germs in the Workplace: What Dirty Secrets Is Your Office Hiding? [infographic]

Flu season is the perfect time to review the statistics in this LearnStuff infographic about germs in the workplace. Over half of American workers eat lunch and snack at their desk, yet the typical desk has 100 times more germs than the average kitchen table. What other dirty secrets does your office have to hide?

Germaphobes may wish to skip past the next sentence. The average keyboard, chair and computer mouse harbor some 21,000 germs per square inch; your average desk is home to 10 million bacteria. For context, that’s 400 times more germs than the amount found on a standard toilet seat.

To fight germs in the workplace, make it a habit to sanitize your workspace. Keep sanitizer plainly visible so you’re reminded to use it. Instead of eating at your desk, enjoy your lunch or snack elsewhere. Above all, don’t come into work if you’re sick — you’ll only place your colleagues at risk for contracting your bug.

Check out the full infographic below for more sobering statistics on bacteria in the workplace.

(Photo credit: LearnStuff)