Maximising your productivity with a clean and organised office
We spend a good proportion of our lifetime in work, and hopefully, that time is as stress-free as it can be for our employees. No employer wants their staff to be unnecessarily stressed in the workplace, especially when with simple steps it can be lessened.
The rapid rise in books and TV shows on cleaning and organising your home is a clear indication that people want to do something about any clutter and mess that they might live with, so why would they want to encounter it at work too?
Take a minute and picture a messy office. Staff are sitting at their desks surveying the environment around them and feeling the tension rise due to a cluttered workplace. This can’t be good for their morale or productivity.
Benefits of having a clean workspace
A workforce that is happy to be in the office, is a productive workforce. The power of a clean workspace should not be underestimated, as we are all influenced and impacted by the environment around us. It’s important to make sure that a workplace is safe, clutter-free, and hygienic.
Here are some of the top benefits of having a clean workspace:
A Happier Workforce
Being in a clean and tidy workplace can trigger a range of positive emotions, including satisfaction, clarity, contentment, and calm. Whereas you can expect the opposite in a dirty and unhygienic environment, with an increase in discontent and stress.
Knowing where everything is and not having to look at clutter and mess helps our mental well-being, creating a sense of peace and tranquillity. All feelings matter and make a difference in our outlook at work. It makes sense then that having a clean and tidy office helps to boost employee happiness and morale. Pride in your workplace is of paramount importance.
Reduced Stress
Untidy environments can be stressful and studies have found that an unclean workplace can impact the mental health of employees by increasing stress levels.
Walking into a clean and tidy workplace on a Monday morning where surfaces are clear, the windows are clean and the sun is filtering through, has to reduce those Monday morning blues and make employees keener to go to work.
Increased Efficiency
A tidy office that has been thoroughly cleaned helps with concentration and positively impacts on productivity and better work performance. Whereas a messy office creates the wrong impression and has a negative effect on efficiency.
Time wasted searching for documents, stationery, or equipment needed to help employees to get the job done, impacts productivity. The easier it is for us to complete tasks and projects, the better prepared we are for the next job on our list. Helping employees to more quickly tick off what’s on their to-do list.
Improved Health
Consistently raised stress levels can increase the risk of serious illness according to a number of workplace studies. Stress can also decrease your energy levels creating a feeling of fatigue and lethargy.
Our minds can be impacted by disruptive feelings and thoughts about coming to work in a messy and cluttered environment. This might lead to anxiety and a low state of mind.
Having your workflow affected by a distracting environment, can steal joy and lower job satisfaction. If you are not able to complete everything you’d hoped to in the time you’d agreed can increase stress levels and make employees feel fearful about approaching their colleagues.
Decreases the Number of Employees that Call in Sick
Cleaning and sanitising workspaces will reduce germs and therefore lower the risk of coughs, colds, and other viruses, helping to reduce the number of sick days employees take.
Keeping offices clutter-free can also make your workplace safer by lowering the risk of accidents and injury. No one wants an employee to be hurt and injured at work.
Enhanced Professionalism
A clean office can enhance professionalism among employees. It sets the tone and establishes a healthy culture. If mess and clutter are given space to accumulate, it creates a bad impression and communicates that it’s okay to be slapdash in your approach. This will make room for lacklustre performance and lower standards.
Stimulates creativity
Think of an organised and tidy workplace as a sanctuary for your staff, with lowered stress levels, and less frustration, and exasperation because your team knows where everything is. Files are put back in the correct place, there’s a clear floor space with no overflowing rubbish bins and nicely ordered and organised shelving.
This creates a nurturing environment for incubating ideas, creative thinking, and unhindered imagination, and opening up wider opportunities for innovation and problem-solving.
Increase employee retention rate
Employees are much more likely to stay with a company that cares about the environment their team works in. That wants staff to be happy and as stress-free as possible.
It makes sense that a clean and tidy office engenders pride in a workplace and that in turn impacts on how employees view work as a whole.
Our Tips for Maintaining a Clean Office
While professional cleaning services like Cleanology provide the necessary routine cleaning and specialist cleaning services such as carpet cleaning and deep cleaning, there are also steps that employees can take to promote office cleanliness.
Why not encourage staff to avoid eating at their desk, and have a specific break area for them? Give employees responsibility for keeping their workstations clean and tidy and keep them accountable for this. This could include wiping surfaces and equipment and keeping their desks organised and tidy. Ensure employees have access to nontoxic and environmentally friendly cleaning products that are safe and easy to use.
For a full list of benefits of using a professional cleaning company please visit our ‘What are the benefits of outsourcing cleaning‘ blog post.
As experts in commercial cleaning for over 20 years, we provide professional commercial & office cleaning services, property maintenance and support services to companies across the UK. Our clients include blue-chip corporates, royal palaces and some of the world’s most famous brands.
