Body hygiene

David Ingram: Good morning, Tenley. Don’t you smell nice!

Tenley van den Berg: Oh, thank you! I got this perfume from Owen at Spotlight magazine. In their latest issueAusgabe; auch: Problemissue, they to feature sth.etw. zeigen; hier: vorstellenfeature organicbiologisch hergestelltorganic perfumes from Ireland. Perfume isn’t my thing, to be honest, but I cycled to work today, and I was afraid I might be smellyschlecht riechenbe smelly. I don’t want to to put sb. offjmdn. abschreckenput off my office-mateBürokollege/-kolleginoffice-mate.

Ingram: Don’t worry, the perfume is working. But you’re right: it is off-putting when somebody has body odourKörpergeruchbody odour at the office. Or bad breath. ughhier: igittUgh, that might be even worse.

van den Berg: Yes, there are many aspects of body hygiene that can to affect sth.etw. beeinflussen, beeinträchtigenaffect our work lives. We explore this topicThematopic in our current issue’s In the Zone section. You know, 56 per cent of employees say that poor personal hygiene and groomingKörperpflegegrooming of their colleagues affects their concentration level at work.

Ingram: That’s a lot of lost concentration!

van den Berg: It is. The issue of workplace hygiene goes beyond the yuckiness (ifml.)Ekelhaftigkeityuckiness of unkemptungekämmt, zerzaustunkempt hair and chewed(ab)gekautchewed fingernails — it’s about money lost to distractionAblenkungdistraction and illness. Each year, British businesses lose close to £1.5 billionMilliarde(n)billion, or €1.8 billion, because of poor workplace hygiene. The lack of hand-washing is a big part of the problem. Listen to this — and this is gross (ifml.)ekelhaft, widerlichgross — a study in the UK found out that only 60 per cent of women and 38 per cent of men wash their hands after using the toilet!

Ingram: That is gross. Shouldn’t managers do something about it?

van den Berg: They can remind their employees regularly about the importance of good hygiene. They can also make sure that workstationArbeitsplatzworkstations and kitchens are clean, and provide sanitizer dispenserHanddesinfektions(mittel)spendersanitizer dispensers and free tissuePapier(taschen)tuchtissues, for example.

Ingram: Would that really help? I mean, what if people don’t use the itemArtikelitems the workplace provides or wash their hands?

van den Berg: Well, a hygiene services company called Initial has developed a sensor that companies can put in their washroom (US)Toilettewashrooms. It collects anonymous data about the employee’s handwashing rates.

Ingram: That’s a bit creepy (ifml.)unheimlichcreepy, but probably effective.

van den Berg: It is creepy, but unfortunately, it seems such measures are necessary to keep germKeimgerms from spreading through the office.

Ingram: It’s been great talking to you about this important, if awkwardschwierig, heikelawkward, topic, Tenley. I’ll see you again next time.

van den Berg: Thanks a lot, David. It has been a pleasure, as usual.