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Quiz: How Gross is Your Desk?

By Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor

How clean is your workspace?

If you're like most cube-dwellers, the answer would be "not very." In fact, many microbiologists say you're better off eating lunch in the restroom than your office, as the average desk has 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat!

Unsanitary as they are (with 20,961 germs per square inch), desks aren't even the worst offenders. A study on office cleanliness performed by the University of Arizona found that phones are even more unsanitary -- harboring 25,127 germs per square inch on the receiver alone!

Are you working in filth? Take this quiz to find out:

1. How would your co-workers describe the state of your office/cubicle?
a. A pristine, well-ordered oasis of calm.
b. A bit messy, but with no discernable odors.
c. Except for the guy in the haz-mat suit, no one's stopped by recently.

2. How many stains are on your carpeting and chairs?
a. None.
b. One or two I can't seem to get rid of.
c. Hard to say; they're part of the upholstery's pattern by now.

3. How often do you clean your keyboard?
a. At least twice a month I use the soft-brush attachment of my mini vacuum or an aerosol spray of compressed air from the computer store to get rid of crumbs and dust. Then I use a cotton swab dipped in warm soapy water and patted dry to clean the keys.
b. Every now and then I turn the computer upside down, tap out any crumbs, then turn it upright and lightly brush off the keys.
c. Only when I spill coffee on it.

4. Do you eat at your desk?
a. Not if I can avoid it.
b. Yes, lunch -- three or four days a week.
c. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks! This is my home-away-from-home, after all!

5. How often and for how long do you wash your hands during the day?
a. Before and after eating, after using the restroom and after touching anything particularly grimy looking. During cold and flu season, I take special care to wash after touching appliances, buttons and doorknobs in the common areas and after shaking hands. I lather up for at least 15 seconds before rinsing.
b. Before eating and after using the restroom, I give them a quick wash.
c. Too busy to bother -- but I do make time to grab from the candy dish and pick through the doughnuts at the coffee station on my way back from the bathroom!

6. Do you work near a window?
a. Yes, and I leave it open to let fresh air in every day.
b. Yes, but I only open it now and then.
c. No, but as mentioned above, I am close to the coffee station and our admin's candy dish.

7. How many live plants are in your workspace?
a. Two or more.
b. One.
c. None, unless you count my moldy Chia pet.

8. For what purposes do you use your desk other than to work on?
a. To hold a glass of water or other beverage.
b. As a table for lunch or a snack, and a rest for my briefcase.
c. Table, footrest, gum-holder and manicure station.

9. When's the last time you washed your desktop?
a. I clean it with disinfectant wipes or dish detergent weekly.
b. I wipe it down three or four times a year.
c. Never. And it's kinda sticky.

Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.

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