Employee Priorities Put Workplace Cleanliness First

As employees begin to return to their workplaces after nearly a year of working from home, their priorities may have changed. A new survey of U.S. and Canadian workers found that 60% of respondents would take a lower paid job if it had a healthier working environment than their current job, with 35% of those saying they already had found a new job with better hygiene practices.

The survey of 3,000 employees, which was commissioned by Ambius, found a shift regarding the importance of a clean and safe workplace, with 70% of survey respondents saying they would be more likely to ask future employers about their health and hygiene policies before accepting a job. Top workplace expectations included:

• Clean indoor air (62% of respondents)
• Efficient air circulation (54%)
• Regular disinfecting (52%)
• Natural lighting (50%).

Top factors that would create a hygienic workplace environment included:

• Stuffy rooms (47%)
• Unpleasant odors (42%)
• Poor ventilation (42%).

Learn more about how air quality and ventilation can improve the health in facilities such as schools and is a part of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) workplace guidance to protect against COVID-19.