Whether it’s answering phone calls or typing away at the keyboard, the average office workers spend around a third of their life sitting behind a desk. Couple that with the usual walk to the photocopier, occasional meet-ups with potential clients and trips to the bathroom in between, you’ve already walked in and out of the office at least several times before breakfast. All this circulation inevitably creates a dirty and messy work environment, which can be detrimental to any business if not taken care of promptly.
But far from being dirty or messy, the work environment is an excellent breeding ground for germs, microbes and harmful bacteria. They spread around the workspace at an alarming rate, which can easily result in diseases spreading among the workers. Next thing you know, half of your workforce is calling in sick while work keeps piling up. It’s important to maintain a clean and tidy work environment, in order to prevent these types of situations from occurring in the first place. Additional benefits that arise from keeping the workspace clean include:
Healthy work environment means less sick days
Although it doesn’t really take a genius to figure this out, but sick days actually end up costing businesses up to $225 billion dollars per fiscal year and around a 54% decrease in overall productivity levels. The best way to keep the employees healthy is to keep the work environment clean and hygienic. If you have a dedicated janitorial team, make sure they focus on disinfecting all the surfaces on a daily basis. Furthermore, keeping the carpet vacuumed, the floors cleans and restrooms sanitized minimizes the spread of germs and bacteria. For added benefit, consider installing wall dispensers with hand sanitizer in it and remember to keep it filled at all times.
Cleanliness increases overall satisfaction
There’s no better feeling than walking into a room which not only looks spotless but also smells fresh and ventilated. These are the hallmarks of a clean and sanitized space. If the workspace is too messy or smells kind of funny, then it will certainly become an obstacle one needs to consciously ignore in order to get any work done. This results to low morale and there’s nothing worse for business than a distracted and unmotivated employee. Keep the work environment continuously clean in order to avoid making your workers feel like both they and their workspace are not appreciated.
Limited distractions lead to increased productivity
A poorly sanitized workspace can be detrimental for your employees without them even realizing it. Lingering dust particles and germs everywhere can have quite a negative impact on your workers breathing, headaches and overall energy levels. Not only are they a health risk, but dirt and dust can be an enormous distraction for your employees. Instead of focusing on finished their work assignments, they fidget in their seats, constantly being distracted by all the mess and untidiness. A clean workspace has a positive impact on your employees, which results in better productivity.
Maintaining a professional image is crucial
You’ve probably heard this before, but first impressions are everything. A potential client will likely be under a negative first impression if the company is a complete mess. Not only clients but also your business partners, prospective employees, suppliers and work partners. This could result in a lot of negative publicity for something that could easily be avoided with having the work environment regularly cleaned. Word of mouth travels very fast in the business industry, so focus on implementing a good cleaning strategy.
Long-term benefits
Expensive assets such as hard floors, custom carpets, and business tables all need to be cleaned and maintained regularly. They can easily deteriorate if not treated with the right cleaning product and this is exactly the reason why experts recommend that you invest in hiring a commercial cleaning service. They specialize in cleaning carpets, doors, floors, walls, windows and everything in between. Some companies specialize in maintaining HVAC ((heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and even sanitary maintenance. Perth carpet cleaning professionals emphasize the importance of the healthy and positive image of a workplace environment.
Although some studies have shown that having a messy workspace at the beginning of a project can actually help get the creative juices flowing and allow employees to think up new and fresh ideas. However, this does not mean that the work environment needs to become a breeding ground for bacteria. Messy is not the same as dirty, and keeping the workspace clean decreases the chance of appearing unprofessional in the eyes of your business partners, but also keeps the employees healthy, and above else, happy.
