Hand sanitizers have become trendy since last year's swine flu scare, and dispensers pumping them out have cropped up everywhere from airports and office buildings to restaurants and stores.
But new research has taken the sanitizer craze a step further, claiming that the alcohol-based variety can improve on-the-job productivity and reduce the number of days employees are out sick.
A research team from Germany led by Nils-Olaf Hubner found that absenteeism among public administrations due to colds, fever and coughs dropped dramatically when hand sanitizers were used by staff.
The authors of the study, published in the open access journal BMC Infectious Diseases, looked at the data on sick days and health symptoms for 129 participants. Subjects were divided into two groups, with those in the control group told to keep up their usual hand-washing rituals and those in the other group instructed to use hand sanitizer at least five times during the workday.
The researchers urged those given the disinfectant to use it liberally -- particularly after activities likely to expose them to germs.
"Our study found that hand disinfection reduced the number of episodes of illness for the majority of the investigated symptoms," Hubner wrote, according to a bulletin about the research.
Researchers saw fewer symptoms of common illnesses even during periods when participants weren't out sick. They surmised that those results translated into a rise in at-work productivity and wellness.
Hubner did not respond to AOL Health's requests for comment.
Prior studies have documented the positive effects of hand sanitizers in hospitals, child care centers and other public places where bacterial infections and viruses thrive.
But the disinfectants' link to employees' health in the workplace and their performance on the job hadn't previously been examined.
"Hand disinfection can easily be introduced and maintained as part of the daily hand hygiene, acting as an interesting and cost-efficient method of improving workforce health and effectiveness." Hubner concluded.
