The importance of a clean workspace
Clean working environments contribute to employee health and efficiency. Cluttered desks and overfull waste bins create a chaotic workplace that could lead personnel and clients to conclude that management is indifferent. Precision and efficiency is a mindset that starts with the individual and their immediate environment and moves outward to the rest of the company.
Maintaining cleanliness and implementing a hygiene code will benefit your company. Now let’s take a closer look at creating and maintaining a clean workspace.
The importance of cleaning
Hygiene and order are driving forces for any productive working environment. Although rare, work surfaces can become so contaminated that they cause physical illness. Causes of disease can be the growth of unhealthy bacteria, the proliferation of toxic moulds or the accumulation of toxins that pollute the environment.
Unclean and cluttered workspaces can also be detrimental to employees’ mental health. Businesses that show indifference toward cleanliness will find that staff become indifferent toward customer service and production quality.
Order equals productivity
For staff to be efficient, they need to be at work. Employees regularly exposed to environmental toxins or the filth that accompanies unclean work environments take more days off work and are less energetic during working hours. But healthy employees take fewer days off and are more focused and driven during working hours.
The first rule of productivity is preparation. It could be as simple as knowing where your staples and paper clips are to housekeeping procedures for information desks or reception counters. Irrespective of the environment, tasks are handled faster in organised spaces.
Why a Clean Workspace is Good for Your Mental Health
Disorganised workspaces can increase levels of stress and frustration. Most employees spend more than 8 hours per day at work. Chaotic environments inevitably cause frustration. Increased stress levels decrease team interaction and can lead to bursts of anger.
Clean workspaces are strongly correlated with improved positivity and enhanced mood. Employees feel more professional and up to the task when their workspaces are organised and clean. Clutter decreases concentration and increases the time it takes to complete simple tasks. Humans are visual beings by nature and our physical environment is a powerful driver of neurochemistry. The Cathedral Effect is a well-known example of how cramped spaces influence employee output.
The Benefits of Having a Clean Workspace
You never get a second chance at making a first impression
Most of us are familiar with the Halo Effect. It’s a bias whereby more attractive people are deemed more competent. Your business will also be judged by potential customers, even if that judgement is subconscious.
Tacky or unclean environments immediately tell potential customers that you lack professionalism. But clean working spaces will convey competence and foster trust.
Build your brand
Visitors to your office will judge your entire brand based on the cleanliness of your office and the state of your employees’ workstations. Create positive brand ambassadors by keeping your workplace clean.
Service with a smile
Employees spend as much time at work as they do at home. A clean office environment drives employee satisfaction. The last thing your company wants is employees telling family and friends how unpleasant their work environment is.
Furthermore, productivity increases are associated with decreases in stress and anxiety.
Maintaining a clean workplace
It’s never a good idea to task your employees with physically cleaning the office. This can easily lead to resentment and blaming others for not doing their part. Avoid this by implementing a policy to keep workstations and the general office environment clean.
Prohibit the eating of meals at workstations only if you have a proper cafeteria where staff can eat. Encourage the washing of hands and maintaining general cleanliness. Other housekeeping rules could include what may be left on their desks when they knock off work.
Cleaning should preferably be done by professional cleaners that the company either employs directly or by cleaning crews hired through agencies. The benefit of using agencies is that cleaners enter the workplace after everyone has left for home, ensuring that cleaning is done safely and without distractions.
A breath of fresh air
The quality of air in urban areas is of growing concern. Pollutants include industrial gasses, dust particles, toxic moulds, Carbon Dioxide levels and particulates in the air.
Consider investing in a filtration system that will remove pollutants and gas scrubbers that can remove excess carbon dioxide. Higher levels of clean oxygen will keep workers healthy and alert.
Benefits of an organised workspace
The potential upsides of a clean working environment outweigh the definite downsides of a chaotic and unhygienic workplace by a considerable margin. Plus, it’s low-hanging fruit compared to other more costly ways of increasing employee satisfaction and ensuring the health of our workforce.
Top tips to keep an office clean and organised
An office environment that is constantly kept clean by staff will require less costly cleaning services. Encourage your employees to maintain good hygiene by regularly washing hands and not throwing perishable goods into waste bins at their desks.
A good housekeeping policy will ensure uncluttered workspaces and reduce the number of potential breeding places for germs or pests like cockroaches or rodents.
Another essential aspect is to make use of professional cleaning services. These companies save costs because they are not permanently on your payroll and work after hours, ensuring distraction-free cleaning.
And besides,, who doesn’t love walking into a clean office when showing up for work!
