Employees who shower at work are more productive and creative

It would seem that having a shower can do more for a person than inspire them to sing badly-out-of-tune renditions of 80s pop songs.

According to research, conducted by shower firm Mira Showers, employees who break for showers during the working day are 42% more productive and a third more creative.

An eight-week study across four businesses – a restaurant, an architectural firm and a lingerie company – showed that employees who took a shower at work in additional to their usual daily wash were not only sweet smelling, they were also more productive and their moods lifted.

And it seems as if the thrice showered employees benefited as a result of their workplace ablutions. For example staff at city restaurant The Chancery2 reported that they had more fun at work (12%) and there was a 25% in the proportion of staff that felt more relaxed and under control.

Nicholas Patterson, general manager, at The Chancery2 said: “Our hardworking staff members are on their feet for long shifts in what is a hot and hectic environment. Shower breaks made sure they took time away from the restaurant to refuel; and freshening up their feet with a shower also offered them physical benefits which made them work more effectively in the restaurant.”

Meanwhile, Ian Buttle, creative director at Home1, which also participated in the shower survey, said that regular washing went down a storm with the firm’s employees.

“Ideas and creativity are key to our business, so finding that something as simple as showering can make a big difference was an eye opener to us and we’ll be encouraging our people to ‘showerstorm’ before big meetings and pitches whenever they can.”

In addition staff motivation was greatly improved across all participating businesses at an average of 15%. Employee confidence also improved by 20%.

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Roger Crabb, marketing manager at Mira Showers, said: “We’ve all had a great idea in the shower and, as the UK’s shower experts, we wanted to see if this is something we could tangibly demonstrate, particularly as a growing number of companies have onsite showers for those that exercise in the day or cycle to work.

“As lots of workers are also feeling stressed or de-motivated at the moment due to the credit crunch, we were interested to see if showering could be a simple inexpensive antidote.”