Infection Prevention Demands Seem Lackluster

Another annual cold and flu season is about to start and return to office mandates are bringing many corporate employees back to work in spaces that have sat virtual empty/rarely occupied since the start of the pandemic. 

It was roughly five years ago that the pandemic put cleaning and infection control in the well-deserved spotlight and building service contractors on the front lines, battling COVID-19 alongside their customers. Whether facility managers and employers are committed to the same level of infection control to protect their workers from illness moving forward is yet to be seen. 

As the fifth post-COVID-19 cold and flu season begins, has the emphasis on infection control and disinfection stuck? In commercial office settings, the perhaps surprising answer seems to be no. 

Back to the ‘Old Normal’ 

Just a few years ago, it was thought that cleaning and building maintenance would never be viewed the way it was pre-COVID, says Greg Buchner, president and CEO of CleanOffice/PorterPlus in Herndon, Virginia. 

“Overnight, cleaning became ‘critical’, and our crew members were viewed with much more value and respect,” Buchner says. “Unfortunately, this has dissipated a bit. I sort of hate to say it, but the reality is that we are pretty much back to the ‘old normal.’” 

In general, disinfecting in office spaces is once again being treated by many building operations decision makers as a commodity, not a critical service. 

“It’s like COVID never happened,” says Steve Shuchat, CEO of Clean All Services in Sidney, Ohio. While just a few years ago, the focus on reducing sickness in the workplace was a top priority, he says, a permanent change in attitude about infection control has not taken hold. 

“I think there are some customer bases that are more receptive to it, especially in metropolitan areas and in education and health care,” Shuchat says, versus more rural areas and commercial and industrial-type settings. 

In the metro Washington, D.C. area where CleanOffice is headquartered, cold and flu season typically starts around back-to-school time and lasts most of the winter. 

“Even before COVID, we offered programs to help our clients mitigate the spread of colds and other viruses that can be contracted via surface-based germs,” Buchner says. 

But going into the 2024-2025 cold and flu season, just one customer out of 300 has expressed interest in increased disinfection. 

“In this market, COVID seems like it’s just being approached as another cold and flu-type virus,” he says. 

Shifting Priorities 

During the pandemic, subsidies and stimulus money meant customers had more to invest in cleaning and disinfecting, which also allowed them to bring employees and customers back into their spaces to actively participate in their industries and the larger economy. 

Shuchat thinks a “unique collision of circumstances” after COVID — influenced greatly by inflation — meant that heightened infection control programs didn’t have as much of an opportunity to take hold. 

“Inflation caused customers of janitorial companies to re-prioritize their budgets. It was difficult to justify the additional cost to their bosses, boards of directors and other decision-makers,” Shuchat says. 

Customers were supportive of added rigor around cleaning and disinfecting processes during the pandemic. The increased focus on disinfecting, and on janitorial staff as front-line heroes, is something that Shuchat hoped would last. 

CleanOffice attempts to reach out to customers with informative outbound email marketing campaigns to raise awareness about infection control during cold and flu season. 

“I would love to say we’re sitting down, having conversations weekly about how to prepare for the season, but it doesn’t seem to be a priority” for most customers, Buchner says. 

Return-to-Office Trends 

BSCs have shown great flexibility and resilience in responding to the changes in customer office environments since the start of the pandemic. While some customers have brought back employees to a five-day-a-week schedule, many have embraced a more flexible, hybrid model. Others have had a more remote-friendly approach, which resulted in losses and layoffs for BSCs. 

One notable trend that impacts cleaning is office hoteling, which utilizes flexible workspaces that employees reserve and use as needed instead of assigned desks, cubicles and offices. This helps maximize utilized space and encourages in-office collaboration. According to experts, it is a trend that is becoming more common. 

These shared spaces not only need to look clean and tidy, but they also have to be disinfected between uses to reduce the spread of viruses. 

“Even with hoteling, we can’t control where the people go,” Buchner says. “It’s incumbent upon us to be ready to adapt and prepare each night for the ebbs and flows of activity at these properties.” 

Staying Prepared 

Buchner compares this year’s preparations for cold and flu season to prepping for snow season. “We need to prepare today because before you know it, we’re going to have a snowstorm when we’re not expecting it.” 

That means ensuring proper inventory of disinfectant and sanitizer, personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves and masks, and machines — while also not over-preparing and ending up with too much excess inventory. 

Preparations for cold and flu season should include contingency planning for staffing shortages as well. 

“If we start to see a rapid acceleration of illness, we not only have to think about it from the standpoint of supporting our clients, but we also have to think about how it could affect our own staffing,” Buchner says. 

Fortunately, cleaning industry suppliers and manufacturers have ensured there are safe, strong options BSCs can use to attack all of these viruses. Cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing have long been a pillar of service for contractors, and that’s not changing anytime soon. 

“We all lean on our suppliers and manufacturers to make sure that we are apprised of new products and solutions that are going to be effective at combatting threats,” Buchner says. “They need to be balanced enough to kill contaminants and also be safe enough for a cleaner to use in a short amount of time.” 

Opportunities to Educate and Sell 

Despite the market demand waning, there is still plenty of opportunity to educate current and future customers about the importance of infection control. Now is the time thanks to return-to-office mandates that continue to make the news, and occupancy finally ticking back up in corporate office settings. 

From providing education to developing marketing campaigns, the potential to connect with decision-makers about the benefits of infection control is huge. 

At this point, BSCs can take on another cold and flu season with confidence that they understand the viruses that are out there and know how to fight them, Buchner says. 

“We welcome the news that many companies see the benefits of office collaboration and in-person meetings,” Buchner says. “Ultimately, this will have a positive effect on our industry and allow us to keep our frontline crew members active and earning money.” 

Cold and flu season presents a good opportunity for BSCs to sell additional disinfecting services, Shuchat adds.  

“It’s in everybody’s best interest — our customers, their employees, their communities — to disinfect more,” he says. 

Cold & Flu Season 2024-2025

The period referred to as ‘cold and flu season’ is generally during the winter months in the United States. Infections start ticking up as soon as back-to-school hits, and spikes in November, December and January. Not only are folks in most areas of the country more likely to be inside, where viruses can circulate more easily, but holiday gatherings and travel provide the perfect circumstances for transmission. 

The 2023-2024 cold and flu season was considered moderately severe, with at least 34 million symptomatic illnesses, 380,000 hospitalizations and 17,000 deaths caused by the influenza virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

As of this year, the CDC declared COVID-19 endemic, meaning it will continue to circulate in predictable ways, like the cold and flu viruses. 

Another virus that has been in the news over the past few years is RSV, or Respiratory Syncytial Virus. It presents like a cold for most healthy adults but is a leading cause of infant hospitalization and can create complications for older adults with lung and heart disease. 

Lisa Ridgely is a freelance writer based in the Milwaukee area.