Q&A: Why Hand Hygiene Is Vital For Business Success

Amie Kromis

Hand hygiene plays a critical role in promoting overall health and wellness as well as stopping the spread of disease. However, almost one-third of Americans face barriers when it comes to washing their hands in public restrooms,^A1 yet these challenges remain largely invisible to those who do not experience them. Amie Kromis, DE&I Director for Essity North America (maker of the Tork brand), spoke with Maintenance Sales News Magazine recently about Global Handwashing Day and why improving access to hand hygiene in public restrooms is vital to both public health and business success.

1). Can you tell us more about Global Handwashing Day?

Global Handwashing Day — celebrated annually on October 15^th — was created by the Global Handwashing Partnership to publicly recognize the importance of hand hygiene and reinforce that handwashing with soap is an effective way to prevent diseases and save lives.

For businesses, it provides an opportunity to not only assess your staff’s hand hygiene practices but also consider the hygiene experience you offer to the public. And for distributors, it’s a great touchpoint with clients to ensure they have the products they need to maintain effective hand hygiene in their facilities.

 2). Why is it important for businesses to consider hand hygiene?

Businesses should be aware of the gaps that currently exist to proper hand hygiene, so they can make incremental changes to their facilities’ restrooms to provide a better user experience. This is especially important as it’s an issue that impacts a significant number of people. A staggering 1 in 3 Americans face barriers to washing their hands in public restrooms, and more than 1 in 3 Americans cite lack of cleanliness as a barrier to using workplace or public restrooms. ¹

There are a variety of visible and invisible barriers that people might face — for example, people with skin conditions such as eczema (atopic dermatitis) might have difficulties with irritating hand soaps, while parents with young children seek easily accessible and disposable products like paper hand towels. We must consider the range of experiences with hand hygiene to better the quality of our public restrooms.

3). What’s at stake for businesses if people face barriers to hand hygiene in their facility’s restrooms and/or an overall poor restroom experience?

We all encounter public restrooms often — in offices, arenas, airports, restaurants, you name it. And not all our experiences are great. Tork research found that 73% of people say a bad restroom experience in a restaurant will impact their willingness to return. Missing the mark in providing access to hand hygiene and an overall good restroom experience has business impact — from impacting repeat visitors to affecting business reputation.²

Guests pay attention to hygiene and change their behavior accordingly. Tork research even finds that 38% of people avoid eating and drinking to not have to visit a public restroom — which has revenue impact, especially for facilities that rely heavily on food and drink purchases. Also, 44% of people plan travel routes so they have access to restrooms, making it important for all businesses to ensure that they are not left behind in their customers’ plans. ³

4). What steps can business leaders take to ensure access to quality and inclusive hand hygiene in their facilities?

The good news for businesses is that there are simple ways to make a big impact for those who face barriers to hand hygiene in public restrooms. Here are some tips to consider when assessing the quality and inclusivity of your facility’s hygiene:

• Provide paper hand towels in public restrooms as opposed to jet air dryers, which can spread up to 10 times more bacteria.⁴Paper hand towels also provide a quieter and less stimulating restroom experience for all guests — particularly relevant for people who are neurodivergent — and can be used for multiple purposes, such as wiping surfaces or avoiding direct contact with faucets or door handles.
• Another small, yet impactful, choice businesses can make is to switch to providing hand soaps and sanitizers that are dermatologically tested and gentle to make hand hygiene a more pleasant experience for people with sensitive skin.

When thinking about how to make hygiene more inclusive in restrooms, business leaders do not always have to undergo massive changes, but instead can think of these incremental changes that can be made through product choices.

Learn more about how Tork is working to eliminate visible and invisible barriers to hygiene so everyone can have comfortable access to public restrooms by visiting https://www.torkusa.com/about-us/paper-towel-plea. Tork, a global brand of Essity, offers professional hygiene products and services to customers worldwide ranging from restaurants and healthcare facilities to offices, schools, and industries. For more information, visit www.Torkusa.com. 

Lead paragraph reference: ^[A1] Survey among nationally representative group, barriers faced personally or in assisting others, 2024 (data sourced on behalf of Tork; survey is unpublished).

¹ Survey among nationally representative group, barriers faced personally or in assisting others, 2024.

² Tork Insight Survey 2024, conducted in US, UK, Germany, France and Mexico among 6000 end-users and 900 businesses.

³ Tork Insight Survey 2024, conducted in US, UK, Germany, France and Mexico among 6000 end-users and 900 businesses.

⁴ Best et al, J Hosp Infection, 2014.