If you think the state of your place of business isn’t affecting your employees, think again. Here’s 6 ways a clean office will increase business productivity.
How many hours do you spend at work in a week? A lot of people spend more time at work then they do at their own homes.
Having a clean office provides many great benefits to employees. Office productivity is increased when you have a clean space to work in.
It’s also easier to stay focused and healthier. Your work gets done faster and better and your relationships with your business and coworkers are more positive.
Let’s take a look at the main major benefits having a clean space can provide.
Benefits of a Clean Office
Having a clean and organized office goes a long way. We’ve all been in that one office that has stacks of papers and old food bowls on their desk. It’s not pleasant and it can cause anxiety.
Prevent Sickness
One of the greatest benefits a company will have if everyone keeps a clean office is improvement in employees’ health. Lack of cleanliness can lead to sickness spreading around an office.
Did you know that a keyboard carries over 7,000 bacteria? What if you got sick at work and touched the doorknob without sanitizing? Germs can spread quickly if areas are not cleaned.
Less sick days will be taken and there will be more productive employee work time. A single person that has a virus can affect 50% of the office in about four hours. That’s not great news for small offices with less manpower.
Stress Reduction
Another health benefit that comes from having a clean office is stress reduction. Cluttered work areas can cause stress and anxiety to employees. If you have a clean employee that has to work around another employee’s mess, this can raise stress levels fast.
Stress leads to all sorts of problems from stomach issues, to insomnia, to fatigue. This decreases the overall happiness of your employees in the workplace.
Allergies
Allergies can also be triggered by a dirty workspace. If piles of dust are left in fan and on workspaces, allergens fill the air.
Keeping up with regular dusting and cleaning air ducts and vents should be a top priority.
Improved Focus
Having a clean office allows you to be more productive and stay on task. If you’re constantly looking for things because there is so much stuff on your desk, you’re wasting valuable company time.
Whether you know it or not, clutter makes your mind lose a lot of its focus. It’s always trying to understand the world around you. Your focus won’t be a 100% on the tasks you’re working on because your mind will be thinking about the disorganization on your desk.
If your desk isn’t messy, your neighboring co workers might be. Common areas are another place that could be affected by clutter. Having a company policy to ensure all parties clean up after themselves appropriately and keep their area free of clutter helps the entire office.
Equipment
There should be routine checks to make sure your office equipment is also clean. Printers, laptops, or other office equipment that are dirty can cause serious problems.
Equipment that is dirty could easily overheat or short circuit, creating a fire risk for your building. This could happen during office hours, or when no one is in the office to alert authorities. It puts your business at a huge risk of loss.
Cleaning your office equipment is something you should schedule in your calendar to do on a consistent basis.
Setting Business Standards
When clients or other people come to visit your place of business, it’s important that they see a clean and organized building.
You may lose out on potential clients if they enter your business and see that it’s a complete mess. They may believe that you will treat their account in a disorganized fashion as well.
The same goes for potential employees. If potential employees enter your office and see that it’s dirty, disorganized, and full of clutter, they may turn down a job offer.
Staff and Office Morale
Having a positive office and staff morale is very important for productivity and less time wasted by employees.
Having a low morale negatively impacts your staff. If the place is a mess, your staff is not going to be proud of where they work. They won’t want to show it off to anyone.
If your workplace has a dirty bathroom, conference room, or counters, it can disgust a lot of your employees. “Always leave the campground cleaner than you found it” is a great quote to live by. Having an exceptionally clean office will help others want to contribute to keeping it clean.
Your business can implement policies that demand cleanliness or set up specific times they can clean during the workday.
If someone spills something on the floor and doesn’t clean it up, they could cause harm to another employee. They could spill and fall on the floor and cause a worker’s compensation dispute.
Don’t forget about your rugs either. They could have all kinds of stains from dirty shoes or spills. If you need it cleaned, check out The Steam Team rug cleaning company.
Clean Your Office Today
Having a clean office is good for everyone. Now that you know the benefits it provides to your business and your staff, it’s time to start cleaning.
Spring cleaning is a great time to start as you can open up the windows and get some fresh air while you’re dusting away.
If you educate your employees about the importance of cleanliness and organization in the office, as well as the health benefits it provides, they may be quick to jump on board.
It doesn’t have to be a company policy but encouraging employees to take time at the end of each day to pick things up will help with productivity and health.
There are a ton of other ways you can improve your business and productivity. If you’re interested in more, check out this blog on how to improve your customer service.
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