Keeping a clean office isn't just about keeping COVID-19 at bay
In this article, we look at the importance of a clean workplace to your employees happiness and health
COVID-19 is, no doubt, a major reason why so many people are concerned about when re-entering the workforce. The United Kingdom has one of the largest numbers of cases in the world, and as offices begin to open up, it is important to keep your workplace clean and hygienic. By doing so, we can work on flattening the curve together.
But keeping a clean office isn’t just about keeping COVID-19 at bay – it is also about ensuring your employees and co-workers stay happy and healthy.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to keep a clean office, as well as why. Read on for more information…
Keeping a Clean Office in the Time of COVID-19
Keeping germs at bay is important, but it is much more important during the times of a global pandemic. There’s a good reason behind so many companies making sure they have a reliable source of industrial cleaning supplies to give their workforce the peace of mind they deserve.
Research shows that washing your hands is one of the most effective ways to ensure that you do not contract COVID-19 yourself or spread it to other people. Additionally, not touching your face is imperative, as you can pick up germs with your hands and transfer them to your body.
It’s a no-brainer why you’d want to keep your office clean, and there are some ways to ensure it happens:
Keep Hand Sanitiser Well-Stocked and Available
While you can ask your staff to bring their own hand sanitiser from home, you cannot rely on that in order to keep germs from spreading. Instead, it is important that you have hand sanitiser located in key parts of the office and encourage its use.
You may even wish to have your employees and co-workers have one hand sanitiser per person, or one per desk if they share.
Limit the Use of Common Office Items
Unfortunately, doing this can become a bit pricey, but it is important in the time of COVID-19 as it can be a move that saves lives.
It’s common for many small offices to share items like rubber bands, staplers, pens and other things. Instead of allowing employees to continue passing them around, it is a good idea to buy several and limit the item’s use to one-to-three people. If sharing some items is unavoidable, you should always disinfect it after use and encourage hand washing or regular application of hand sanitiser.
Keep Computers Clean
In addition to common office items like pens and staplers, you may have people who share a computer, iPad or other vital technological items. The best course of practice would be for everyone to have their own, but if this is not possible, clean it well between uses. You’ll also want your employees to use hand sanitiser before and after they use any shared item of technology.
Deep Clean Each Day
Another way to keep the office clean is to deep clean common areas each day. While, again, this is a significant time commitment, it can also save a life. If you’re doing this yourself you need to make sure you’re well stocked-up on industrial cleaning products because these can run out quicker than you may expect.
If, however, you have a cleaning company that comes and performs these tasks for you, the best practice is to have them clean once a day. If this is not possible, increase their visits to what you can afford, and encourage employees to deep clean when possible.
A Clean Office is a Happy Office
In addition to keeping everyone in your office safe from COVID-19, as well as other prevalent germs, a clean office is a great mood and morale booster for your employees.
Below are a few ways a clean office can help improve your workplace for both employees and clients.
Reduced Clutter Increased Productivity
Reducing clutter can increase your employees’ productivity. If your office is a mess or not organised, this adds significantly to employee stress. For example, those who work in disorganised offices spend several hours a week searching for papers or other items. This seriously cuts down on what they could be doing instead.
An office that is free of clutter also generally increases mood and decreases anxiety. It also makes employees feel a bit more professional and ready to take on the day.
It Makes Your Office Appear More Professional
A clean, clutter-free office looks professional and trustworthy. Think about it: if you were coming into an office in order to have a meeting or to discuss a life-changing purchase, how likely would you be to trust the employees if the office is a mess?
In real estate, for example, image is everything. Clients can go to your competitor with the swipe of their phone, so you’d want to ensure they think your business is one they can trust with such a big purchase. Clutter makes you appear disorganised and unprofessional. If you can’t even clean up your office, how will they trust you with such a big life decision?
During COVID-19, you may only be seeing clients virtually, but many offices are street-facing, regardless of this. If your office is on show to foot traffic, you don’t want to turn away potential clients by having an office that seems unhygienic and which doesn’t put the safety and well-being of clients and employees alike as the highest priority.
Staying Clean During a Pandemic
Keeping a clean office during a pandemic is imperative. Like each of us, you’ll want to keep your workforce strong and healthy by enforcing stringent hygiene rules and cutting down on the number of shared materials in the office.
Hand washing is one of the most important ways to keep COVID at bay, but hand sanitiser can be a good substitute, as long as it has 70% alcohol in it.
Keep it clean, keep it safe. It is only the irresponsible and careless who do not factor in a serious cleaning process into their workday during such times.
