Are you a germaphobe? Hopefully your job isn’t on this list!
Did you know that the average toilet seat is 400 times cleaner than your desk? Or that there are more than 10 million germs on the average desktop? But how can that be, when either you or someone else is cleaning your desk every day?
For starters, workers who diligently wipe down their desktops are essentially just giving germs a free ride, says Dr. Charles Gerba — aka “Dr. Germ” — a microbiologist at the University of Arizona, who conducted a study on germs in the workplace. Instead, you have to kill them on the spot using a disinfectant or sanitizer.
For his study, Gerba and his team collected samples from private offices and cubicles in Tucson, Ariz., and Washington, D.C. The study, funded by The Clorox Co., tested more than 616 surfaces in the office and deduced which harbored the most germs. Then, they studied surfaces in the workplaces of people in different professions to determine which were the “germiest.”
Here are five of the germiest jobs, in order from most to least germy, and how they stacked up to each other.
1. Teacher
Average amount of bacteria per square inch: 17,800
Why it’s germy: Kids’ desktops are probably the dirtiest object in a classroom. Additionally, when children turn in tests and assignments, they hand in germs, too. Teachers had 5 1/2 times more germs on their phones, nearly twice as many germs on their computer mice and nearly 27 times more germs on the computer keys than other professions studied in a survey done by researchers at the University of Arizona.
2. Accountant
Average amount of bacteria per square inch: 6,030
Why it’s germy: Accountants tend to spend a great deal of time behind their desks, which as previously mentioned often retain the most germs. Accountants’ desks and pens ranked No. 1 in the study as most germy, averaging 12,600 and 2,350 bacteria per square inch, respectively.
3. Banker
Average amount of bacteria per square inch: 5,400
Why it’s germy: Everyone knows how dirty money is. When you think about the one core duty of bankers — handling money — it’s no surprise the germs bankers come in contact with. Surfaces used by bankers came in third behind teachers and accountants as having the most bacteria. Compared with other professions, however, bankers had the least germy computer keyboards.
4. Radio DJ
Average amount of bacteria per square inch: 3,323
Why it’s germy: Radio DJs often work in shifts, with several people coming in and out of the station a day. It’s doubtful that each of these people disinfects every button, switch, control and headset in between their shift and the next person’s. As we said before, an infected person can leave a trail of viruses on every surface he touches — so many people using the same equipment is bound to garner a lot of bacteria.
5. Doctor
Average amount of bacteria per square inch: 2,620
Why it’s germy: As professionals who serve sick people, it’s no surprise doctors are their own source of germs. Likely culprits for carrying germs are the medical charts that switch so many hands each day, which is why many health care facilities are pushing for electronic medical records.
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