Is your dirty work environment dragging down your employees? Keep reading to learn about the benefits of maintaining a clean and safe workplace and what steps to take to do it.
The Importance of Having a Clean Work Area
There are several benefits to maintaining a clean and safe workplace:
Healthier Work Environment
Think of how many people work in your office, on your floor, or within a few feet of you. Every person leaves germs on their belongings and shared spaces every time they touch something—that’s a lot of germs.
Depending on your work space’s size, it needs to be cleaned one to four times per week to help eliminate germs and keep bacteria at bay. Cleaning and disinfecting your office regularly, or hiring a commercial cleaner to do so, helps limit the spread of germs and improve your employees’ health.
According to HealthWorks Collective, working in a clean office space improves both mental and physical health. After all, you spend eight to nine hours a day in your work environment. If you spend that time in a stuffy, unkempt office, it can affect your mental and physical well being.
By receiving cleaning services and maintaining a clean and safe workplace, you’re:
- Decreasing the number of germs spreading
- Giving your employees a clean and tidy place to work
- Helping staff avoid getting sick
Higher Employee Productivity
Clutter is a result of:
- Poor time management
- High stress levels
- A mismanaged work environment
According to a Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) study, “The visual distraction of clutter increases cognitive overload and can reduce our working memory.” If your work environment is cluttered, you could be putting your employees at a disadvantage. With so many distractions, your employees may:
- Have a hard time focusing on their daily tasks
- Feel the need to clean and sanitize your office themselves
- Spend more time complaining about the mess than on their work
- Feel unmotivated
Messiness directly affects employee productivity. If you want to maintain a clean and safe workplace, you must implement a regular cleaning process, whether that be completing cleaning tasks yourself or hiring an office cleaning company. With a clean workspace, your employees can focus better and decrease their stress levels.
Leave Positive Impressions on Customers
When customers visit your office or attend meetings with you and your space is dirty, they’ll raise an eyebrow. According to an OpenWorks study, 95% of consumers believe that a clean office turns a good business into a great one.
Many people believe that a dirty office could signify:
- Poor time management (a red flag for many customers)
- Disorganization
- Poor business practices
To create lasting, positive business relationships, you have to maintain a clean and safe workplace. Show your customers you care about their health and safety by providing them a clean space to meet in.
Improved Indoor Air Quality
Low indoor air quality (IAQ) is dangerous for employees and often caused by building owners not maintaining a clean and safe workplace. Poor IAQ can lead to:
- Irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Respiratory illnesses
Low IAQ often stems from the accumulation of contaminants and germs from various sources overtime. If dirty dishes stay in your break room, old food remains in the fridge, and surfaces go uncleaned for too long, their germs begin to affect your air quality. Your employees deserve to breathe clean air in the space they sit in for eight hours a day. Improve your IAQ by maintaining a clean and safe workplace.
How To Maintain a Clean and Safe Workplace
Now that you understand the benefits and importance of maintaining a clean and safe workplace, let’s discuss how to actually do it.
Implement a Clean Office Policy
Many businesses enforce a “clean desk” or “clean office policy” to keep clutter at a minimum. A clean desk policy makes sure employees remove documents, notes, binders, books, and belongings from their desk when they’re not using them. This helps keep the space free of clutter and helps employees work more efficiently.
Clean office policies:
- Encourage employees to keep their desks clean
- Keeps your office looking professional
- Removes distractions from desks
Sanitize Your Office Regularly
A daily sanitization of high-contact areas, like conference and break rooms, helps improve the safety of your work environment. Many commercial cleaners offer regular sanitization as a service, so you don’t have to worry about cleaning up after your employees.
Sanitize your office regularly to keep germs at bay and provide a clean work area for employees.
Hire a Professional Commercial Cleaning Company
Hiring a professional cleaning company is one of the most effective ways to maintain a clean and safe workplace. Expert cleaners:
- Have innovative cleaning solutions
- Access equipment and products that you might not have or want to purchase
- Have knowledge of and experience with office cleaning
- Complete the job after hours so employees don’t get distracted
- Clean your space quickly and effectively
Absolute Janitorial Services offers office cleaning for workspaces of any size. We want to give your employees a comfortable and safe place to work in, so your business can continue succeeding. Take the stress of cleaning off your shoulders by letting our experienced professional cleaning team take care of your needs. We also offer other unique cleaning services, including:
- Disinfecting services
- COVID-19 services
- Day porter solutions
- Carpet care
- Window cleaning
- Post-construction clean up
- Hard floor cleaning
- Pressure washing
Contact our experienced team today to learn more about our office cleaning services and how we can help improve your business’s appearance and productivity levels.
