The office space is the place where many of us spend eight hours of our day, 5 days a week, 46 weeks of the year. We’ll work better and more productively if those surroundings are pleasant and safe.
For most, the office is a place of business and productivity that we come to each day expecting to do our work in a comfortable environment. It’s also a place where we meet with partners and clients to do business. So, the last thing we want is for people coming into our space and potentially feeling uncomfortable, uneasy or unsafe. Besides being unhygienic and unhealthy, a messy or dirty office space can also cause other issues.
Here are some of the main reason why keeping your office clean all the time is important.
Promoting Health And Hygiene
It’s a dangerous practice to be working in a messy work environment. Did you know that a surprising number of people do not wash their hands after using the toilet? Eek. You can catch harmful diseases and bacteria from having common objects such as staplers, paper trays, etc. out in the open because other people may have touched them before you did. Door handles can be a particular hazard. This is especially dangerous for those who are susceptible to specific germs.
A regular and thorough cleaning schedule is essential to minimise these risks. Depending on the size of your business you can either contract with cleaners directly or work through a cleaning agency that will guarantee a service regardless of personnel illness or holidays.
And if, as most businesses are, you are located in a multi-company building, you also need to ensure that the common spaces, such as stairwells, walkways and entrance areas are also properly cleaned. There are specialist services for these type of strata buildings such as professional strata cleaning services in Sydney.
It is also well worth engaging with niche providers if you have specialist cleaning needs because of the nature of work you do, for example working with chemicals or in the food industry.
Aesthetics And Company Culture
First impressions are critical when you’re doing business. And of course, that applies to your office space as much as it does to you personally. Just as being clean and reasonably well-groomed is a basic foundation for anyone doing business in the field, being clean and hygienic is a basic foundation for your office space.
Clients will feel more comfortable if they see a clean and organized work environment where there’s no clutter or messiness on surfaces or spaces. Your company culture plays a big role in keeping morale high throughout the working day and this is aided by a clean and tidy working environment.
It Can Affect Productivity
Another important reason you need to keep your office clean is that it can affect productivity. If your employees are constantly having to deal with a messy work environment, they will start getting irritated and lose focus on the tasks at hand. This will limit the amount of time they spend working during the day and most workers want to get out of the workplace as soon as possible. Productivity is not about how much you produce but about how much time and energy you save doing so.
Preventing Work-Related Injuries
Perhaps the most important factor to consider when keeping your office clean is that it can prevent work-related injuries. A messy environment means that one or more people could accidentally fall on an object or cut themselves while moving around the office with heavy objects in tow. Preventing work-related injuries will thus save your business money and inconvenience. You won’t have to pay out any compensation costs due to negligence and laziness in maintaining the place of work in which your employees spend most of their days.
It’s The Law
Finally, it’s also important that you keep your office clean because there are laws about workplaces and how they should be maintained. Your local council or government department may have standards that they enforce on all businesses within the region. If you don’t follow such guidelines and create a healthy working environment, your company could face some serious consequences such as fines and even shutdowns if the issue continues to persist. You also need to make sure that employees know their responsibilities and what they need to do to keep your office space clean.
As you can see, keeping your office clean does not only shows people how much professionalism you have but also keeps morale high and productivity even higher than before. If you want to keep up with the times and create a good impression among your clients, customers, employees, and others who visit your business premises regularly then it’s important to keep things looking tidy at all times. Just make sure you hire the right cleaning service to take care of your office space for you so you can have peace of mind knowing that everything is under control.