All workplaces need to ensure cleanliness and good hygiene. Germs can lead to lost work hours and less productivity, while having an untidy office will reflect poorly on your company. This could damage your reputation. But what exactly can you do to keep your office clean?
When everyone’s too busy or too stressed, they can forget to clean their work areas. Do yourself and your employees a favor by posting a reminder on the announcements board asking them to allot at least 15 minutes of their day to tidy up their respective desks. Be consistent in enforcing this policy to cultivate a habit of cleanliness among your employees. With practice, you can keep your office free of stacks of paper, rubbish, and other forms of clutter most of the time. Cleanliness will eventually become part of your office culture and no one will need reminders anymore.
Einstein says that a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind. While a cluttered mind may mean someone knows a lot and their brain is stuffed full to bursting with knowledge, in the corporate world, that person can be seen as inefficient. Clutter equals inefficiency, and inefficiency is bad for business, no matter how intelligent you think you are. Clutter also makes a place feel stuffy, which won’t be good for your employees or any visitors who may drop by your office. Clearing your office of clutter will make it feel more conducive for work, which in turn will improve productivity.
You should set aside time to declutter your desk at the end of each day. Set aside the essential office documents and shred papers you no longer need. Everyone must stick to this decluttering routine. You can also consider buying cabinets and drawers where necessary documents can be stored so they won’t contribute to the clutter in your office.
Crumbs, spills, and stains are unavoidable when you eat on your desk. These can attract pests such as cockroaches, flies, ants, and rats. Bacteria and mold can also form on a dirty, stained desk. They will also be harder to remove when left for a long time.
It would be a good idea to make it company policy that no one is allowed to eat at their desks, whether they’re high-ranking executives or entry-level employees. There’s a reason why it’s called a workspace and not a dining area. Eat at a restaurant, your company’s cafeteria, or a nearby pantry. Designate a coffee station where you and your employees can have coffee breaks. Having such a station is also practical in that it can prevent you from spilling coffee at your desk, and such spills can ruin important papers.
The surfaces of your desks, keyboards, and phones gather dust, stains, allergens, and germs through time. In fact, one study has shown how your cell phone can be 9,000 times dirtier than the surface of a toilet seat. Your computer keyboards fare much worse, with another study suggesting that it can be 20,000 times as dirty as a toilet seat! These surfaces can breed allergens, bacteria, and viruses that can spread throughout your office. Imagine your entire workforce decimated by disease, which means a decrease in productivity.
Applying disinfectant on the surfaces of these objects can help reduce the risk of illness in your workplace. Encourage your workers to wash their hands with soap often, before and after they use your office equipment.
If your floors and walls are carpeted, you need to have your carpets vacuumed regularly to prevent the accumulation of dust, mold, and other allergens. Sweep and mop your floors before and after office hours to keep them presentable to visitors and employees alike.
All of you might be so absorbed in your work that you end up forgetting to take out the trash. Failing to dispose of your waste can result in bad odors, bacteria, and pests, so you should assign specific employees to take out the trash at the end of each day.
While all of these tips can help you keep your workplace spick-and-span every day, you will still need to carry out general cleaning in your office now and then. General cleaning is not in your employees’ job description, so you need someone else to do the job. A professional cleaning service can clean your office more thoroughly, so you should look into hiring one.
If you’re looking for a commercial cleaning service in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Cleanrite Services is your best option. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help.
403-529-1760
info@cleanriteservices.ca