WORKPLACE HYGIENE: ONE IN FOUR AUSSIES ADMITS GOING TO WORK SICK

One in four Australians admits they have gone to work while suffering from a contagious illness,

From turning up sick to skipping handwashing, a new survey suggests poor workplace hygiene remains common across Australia as the cold and flu season approaches.

With winter approaching, many Australians are preparing for the annual wave of coughs, colds and flu.

But new research suggests one of the biggest health risks this season could be sitting at the desk next to you.

A workplace hygiene survey commissioned by iSelect found almost one in four Australians admit they have gone to work while suffering from a contagious illness, raising concerns about how easily germs can spread through offices and shared workplaces.

The survey of more than 1,000 Australians also found a range of everyday hygiene habits that could be contributing to the spread of illness among colleagues.

Workplace hygiene habits remain a concern

The most common workplace hygiene lapse involved shared office equipment.

Almost 45 per cent of Australians admitted to using shared items such as keyboards, phones or printers without cleaning them first, while one in three said they had witnessed colleagues doing the same.

Office kitchens also emerged as a potential hygiene hotspot, with almost three in 10 respondents reporting seeing food left in workplace fridges beyond their use-by dates.

Around one in seven Australians also said workplace bathrooms and kitchens were cleaned less than twice a week.

Hygiene slips extend to the bathroom

The survey also uncovered some less-than-pleasant bathroom habits.

Nearly one in five Australians admitted skipping handwashing after using the workplace toilet, while a similar number said they had witnessed colleagues doing the same.

Meanwhile, almost one in three respondents reported using their mobile phone while sitting on the toilet at work.

Men were more likely than women to admit doing so, with 37.3 per cent confessing to the habit compared with 26.8 per cent of women.

As mobile phones are among the most frequently touched everyday items, experts warn they can easily transfer bacteria between bathrooms, hands and shared workplace surfaces.

Differs across generations

The survey found that younger workers were generally more likely to admit to poor hygiene habits than older Australians.

More than one in three Gen Z workers admitted they had gone to work while sick, while more than one in four said they had skipped washing their hands after using the bathroom.

By comparison, Gen X workers were the generation most likely to notice poor hygiene behaviours among colleagues, reporting higher rates of observing skipped handwashing, coughing or sneezing without covering up, and unclean shared equipment.

The findings also highlighted what researchers described as a "hypocrisy gap".

Australians were almost three times more likely to report seeing food left in office fridges than admitting they had done it themselves, suggesting many people notice unhygienic behaviour more readily than they recognise it in themselves.

As cold and flu season gets underway, the results serve as a reminder that small everyday habits, from staying home when sick to washing your hands properly and cleaning shared equipment, can make a significant difference in reducing the spread of illness at work.