Shaniqua Sims is vigilant about keeping her workplace clean.
“For the Postal Service, for my co-workers, for my customers, for my family’s sake — I’m pretty much obsessed with it,” says Sims, a custodian at the Winchester, VA, Post Office.
USPS wants all workplaces to be clean and safe, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. This helps protect employees and customers and gives them peace of mind as the organization, an essential public service, continues normal operations.
To help her colleagues do their part to keep their facilities clean, Sims offers these tips:
• Stay on top of things. Sims strives to keep every nook and cranny of the Winchester Post Office clean, but she pays particular attention to areas that receive the most traffic.
For example, she cleans the Post Office lobby every 15 minutes.
“Customer are always coming in and out, so I sanitize the countertops and door handles. I’m constantly wiping, spraying and using disinfectant products,” she says.
• Pay attention to the details. It’s also important to clean areas that could get overlooked, like glass door surfaces — not just the handle — and waste bins.
“Clean the odds and ends that people wouldn’t normally pay attention to. Those things could hold germs,” Sims says.
• Protect yourself. In her role as a custodian, Sims wears gloves and other personal protective equipment, and she takes other precautions, like washing her hands regularly and following the Postal Service’s guidance on social distancing.
She also recommends educating yourself on spreading germs.
At the beginning of the pandemic, conflicting news reports about the virus caused her concern, so she consulted her family doctor.
“I felt better. It’s good to talk about it,” she says.