Jeffrey Madkins | Marketing Manager | Unilever Professional Southern Africa | mail me |
As winter approaches, many businesses face a familiar challenge. Colds, flu and other respiratory infections increase among employees during this period. These illnesses spread easily in shared indoor spaces. As a result, businesses experience more sick days, disrupted operations and reduced productivity.
This situation also places additional strain on already stretched teams. This absenteeism costs South African businesses billions annually. Typical absenteeism levels range between 3.5% and 6%. Consequently, businesses lose a significant amount of productive time each year.
Why winter cleaning matters in the workplace
Although winter absenteeism may seem inevitable, everyday hygiene practices often influence how illnesses spread within workplaces. During winter, people spend longer periods in close proximity, and ventilation decreases.
Good workplace hygiene may not eliminate absenteeism due to infectious illnesses, but it remains one of the simplest and most practical ways to reduce their spread. This is why public health guidance continues to recommend cleaning frequently touched surfaces and maintaining good hand hygiene to help prevent transmission.
During colder months, workplace environments naturally become higher-risk. People spend more time sharing air and touching common surfaces such as door handles, kettle switches, microwave buttons and taps. These surfaces accumulate bacteria and allow germs to transfer between people. However, another silent driver also contributes to workplace illness.
Winter cleaning requires a strategic approach
Presenteeism occurs when unwell employees continue coming to work. One employee pushing through Monday can quickly lead to multiple sick days across a team by Friday.
These risks increase when businesses treat cleaning as a visual standard instead of an operational priority. By contrast, organisations that manage winter cleaning effectively recognise it as part of protecting productivity, not simply maintaining appearance.
There are workplace hygiene mistakes businesses should avoid this winter.
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Treating winter cleaning like business as usual
The same cleaning schedule that works during summer will likely fall short during winter and peak business periods. During these times, employee illness risks increase significantly. Therefore, businesses should clean high-touch surfaces and shared spaces multiple times each day during peak periods.
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Targeting surface grime instead of germ hotspots
A workplace can appear immaculate and still present a hygiene risk. In many cases, the surfaces that spread illness do not look dirty. Instead, lift buttons, shared devices, switches, phones, handles, counters and card machines often become major infection transfer points. Consequently, winter cleaning strategies should prioritise these high-contact areas.
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Mistaking excess for effectiveness
One of the most persistent cleaning misconceptions is the belief that more chemicals produce better results. In reality, they do not. Excessive chemical use leaves residue, wastes product and increases costs without improving hygiene standards. Instead, businesses should focus on using the correct product on the correct surface at the right dilution and cleaning frequency. Products such as a Multi Surface Disinfectant Cleaner support more effective winter cleaning when used correctly.
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Overlooking risks in communal spaces
Bathrooms, kitchens, canteens, reception areas and meeting rooms all present high risks for germ circulation. These spaces experience constant use throughout the day, often without cleaning between users. Consequently, one infected person can leave traces of illness on a high-touch surface and trigger a chain reaction. Hand hygiene plays a critical role in breaking that chain. Therefore, businesses should display signage that reminds employees and visitors to wash or sanitise their hands. In addition, organisations should provide accessible sanitisers, conduct regular winter cleaning and improve ventilation wherever possible.
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Misjudging cleaning as a cost instead of risk management
Many businesses treat cleaning purely as an overhead or budget line item. As a result, organisations often scale back cleaning efforts when budgets tighten. However, businesses should instead view workplace hygiene as part of business continuity, especially during peak illness periods. Effective winter cleaning reduces the downstream costs associated with absenteeism, operational disruption and productivity losses.
Winter workplace cleaning simply needs to be more targeted. Increase cleaning where the risk is greatest, focus on high-touch areas and ensure products are fit for purpose. That’s where the biggest difference is made and what separates a cleaning programme that protects a business from one that simply maintains appearances.
