Hand Sanitizer: Workplace Wellness Program Decreases Absenteeism By 21 Percent

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Problem
It is well recognized that hands are the primary mode of transmission of many infectious diseases.

Most workplace environments share key factors that contribute to infection transmission, such as close workspaces, shared bathrooms, breakrooms for eating, and cafeterias. Absenteeism caused by transmissible diseases such as influenza is a major contributor to lost productivity in the workplace and in most companies. 

Solution
To address the problem of illness-related absences, a 34-week study was conducted at the FedEx Custom Critical headquarters in Green, Ohio, to determine if the use of an instant hand sanitizing hygiene program would help reduce absences from the workplace due to illness. The study compared two separate groups on different floors in the same building. Approximately 250 “white collar” employees (e.g., customer service, sales and marketing, and operations managers) worked on each floor.  

On the first day of the study, the test group was given a brief product usage explanation and a bottle of PURELL Instant Hand Sanitizer was placed on each of their desks. Employees in the test group also received educational materials that explained how germs spread and stressed the importance of hand hygiene. The control group (the 250 employees on the other floor) received neither the hand sanitizer nor the educational program.

In addition to the hand sanitizer placed on each desk, wall-mounted dispensers were placed in strategic locations for use by employees in the test group.  

The test group was instructed to use the product regularly (i.e., three to five times a day) and given occasional e-mail training and reminders, but the actual use of the hand sanitizer was up to the individual. The control group continued their normal hand hygiene regimen, which primarily consisted of using typical hand soap in restrooms and adjacent to breakroom sinks.

Employee absenteeism data was collected by means of self report from employee to supervisor. The supervisor checked with employees on the cause of absence, documented days absent due to communicable disease and results were sent to an on-site study coordinator.


Results
The results of the eight-month study demonstrated a notable difference between the two groups. The group with the hand sanitizer and educational program experienced a 21% decrease in absenteeism. There was no change in the absenteeism rate among the group that did not have the hand sanitizer program.

FedEx Custom Critical managers recognize that it is less expensive to be proactive about providing a safe and healthy place to work than to deal with the costs of employees’ illnesses caused by poor hand hygiene.
A clear, causal relationship exists between the easy access to hand sanitizer and hand hygiene education, and a reduction in absenteeism due to illness.

"Making PURELL available – where the germs are, -- provides an extra measure of defense against germs that may cause illness. Additionally, knowing when and why to use hand sanitizers in professional settings favorably impacts organizational well-being. PURELL fosters safe and healthy connections, allowing business to maintain desired levels of productivity, as FedEx demonstrated,” says Jeff Trattner, GOJO workplace wellness director.