My co-worker has recovered from the flu and he's back at his desk—that’s great news. But he very well may be spreading germs anyway. It’s not that he’s back in the office too soon. It's his backpack.

The backpack is roomy without being too big. I love the side pocket which looks like it can hold even the largest Stanley. And it has that quiet luxury look that’s trending on TikTok.

But, I don’t know where that bag has been—and it is now resting on the counter next to the coffee maker in our company kitchen.

A team of microbiologists at Lysol Pro Solutions have completed a study where they measured the contamination levels on the backpacks of five different volunteers as they moved through business facilities throughout the day.

The study revealed the risks that can be posed by the everyday objects carried throughout the working day when it comes to accumulating illness-causing germs in business environments.

In the study, the backpacks came into contact with a surface for about two minutes, three times a day for two days. The surfaces were the communal bathroom floor, the work desk, and the cafeteria floor.

The results revealed that objects such as backpacks picked up:

• Hundreds of thousands of germs throughout the day
• As many germs from a desk as from a public bathroom floor
• As many germs from a desk as from a public cafeteria floor
• As many germs as were found on a toilet seat in a previous study
• As many germs as were found on a garbage bin in a previous study
• E. coli and intestinal bacteria that may cause sickness
• A fungal species of yeast (Candida) that may cause sepsis, and wound or tissue infections in immunocompromised people.

I have been covering the I&I cleaning category for years, so I have been privy to similar stats.  But this new study was like a post-covid jolt about the ick that's around us—and why proper office cleaning is essential to health and wellness.

“Items we least suspect can often be culprits for spreading germs, as shown by our study,” said Dr. Igor Ignatovich, a senior microbiologist within the equity, claims, and compliance group at Reckitt, who led the study. 

According to Dr. Ignatovich, the results demonstrate that using a backpack throughout the day leads to the accumulation of a significant number of germs—and you can see it in the video below.

I know this isn’t a “backpack-left-behind-at-the-train-station” level of concern. But the data from Lysol Pro has me thinking: see something, say something. 

Like please don’t put your work bag on the counter where I will soon assemble my avocado toast.