It’s National Clean Off Your Desk Day!
The second Monday in January is celebrated as National Clean Off Your Desk Day. While we doubt you’ll see any greeting cards mentioning this un-official holiday, we thought it would be a good time to review the benefits of not only cleaning your desk but of keeping your entire workplace clean.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, cleanliness is on our minds — the workplace included. But is your office clean? Think again. The average office desk has more than 10 million bacteria. If your office has multiple desks, then it’s no wonder why illnesses run rampant in the workplace.
But there are other reasons why a clean office is important. First impressions matter in the world of business. The way your office looks impacts new hires, clients, stakeholders, and more. In addition, cleanliness impacts employee productivity and the overall relationship they have with your business.
Here are other important reasons to maintain a clean office.
Reduced Sick Days
It should come as no surprise that proper cleanliness will reduce employee illness. As we’re learning from the COVID-19 pandemic, illnesses spread rapidly and impact our health more than we think. Germs collect on our desks, chairs, the break room, on doorknobs, in the bathroom, and in other places.
If you clean your office regularly or call a professional office cleaning service, you’ll have fewer employees calling in sick. With more employees in the office working, your business will be more productive. This will help you increase your revenue.
Improved Mood
Do you feel better after cleaning your home? There’s a reason for this. When you’re in a clean and sanitized work environment, you’re more comfortable in your space.
The same goes for the office. You and your staff will feel better at the office, resulting in full days of work and more productivity.
Better Concentration
Why does a better mood result in more productivity? Your staff will have more concentration. There’s a connection between a positive mindset and concentration, so your staff will feel great while getting more done.
A dingy workplace impacts concentration in other places. Lots of clutter is distracting and your staff will easily lose focus. Really bad smells will also distract your staff. They will also be less productive and uncomfortable.
Better Relationships With Employees
As the last few points proved, no one likes being stuck in a dirty office — including your staff. Throughout the workday, they will keep thinking about how they want to leave the office. That’s why employees may dart out of the office at 5 o’clock rather than completing their work for the day.
You wouldn’t think that cleaning out the bathrooms or taking out the trash will improve employee relations, but that could be a reason why your connection with your staff is turning sour.
A clean office tells your employees you care about their comfort and their health, which will influence them to work harder and stay focused.
More Organization
How often have you been unable to find that important paper? Or maybe your reports are getting mixed up with other documents? If this sounds like you, it sounds like you need better organization skills.
An unorganized office causes stress for many reasons. You can’t find anything, you’re constantly looking at the clutter, and you’ll feel embarrassed having people in your office. Organization also makes you more productive; that time you spend trying to find things can be used toward accomplishing your work.
A better-organized office will also benefit your employees. Their stress levels will reduce and everyone can find everything they need in the office.
Extended Equipment Life
Office cleanliness not only pertains to organized papers and clean bathrooms. Your office likely has lots of equipment, or at least a printer and fax machine. This equipment requires maintenance and even cleanliness.
Are you keeping up with this? If not, then it’s time to start creating an equipment maintenance schedule. Failing to maintain your equipment may result in lost efficiency, more breakages, and will inevitably slow down the equipment over time.
How do you clean your equipment? All types of equipment have their own maintenance requirements. At the very least, make it a point to dust your equipment. If your whole staff is using the equipment, be sure to sanitize them regularly.
Easily Create a Tidy Culture
Does your whole staff clean the office? Likely not, especially if you hire a cleaning company. But you can still instill a clean culture in your office. This way, you can ensure your workplace is clean before the office cleaners.
For example, you can influence your staff to keep a tidy workplace and clean up after themselves. If you all tend to eat in the breakroom, enforce your staff to wash their own dishes. Even something as small as ensuring there’s no trash lying around will make the biggest difference.
At the same time, you shouldn’t expect perfection. Just ensure workspaces are clean and your staff cleans up after themselves. You should instill these practices in everyone, regardless of their position or status in the company.
Improved Customer Satisfaction
What if your business attracts foot traffic? If so, business cleanliness is absolutely integral. No customer wants to shop in a dirty business. If a customer walks in and sees a store that’s completely messy and unorganized, they may leave to support a competitor that takes cleanliness seriously.
Not only that, but who knows if the next person walking through your business doors is a supervisor, the CEO, or even a government official. In this case, a dirty workplace is more than just about an embarrassment — it turns into a liability.
Earlier, we covered cleanliness and employee productivity. The same goes for client-facing roles. If your employee spends all day in a messy workplace, they will be less enthusiastic and won’t perform in their roles as well.
At the end of the day, your business is your image. If your office is unclean, that reflects on the public’s perception of you. Especially since there are commercial cleaning services that can easily keep a clean workplace.
Make a Clean Office a Goal
From the break area to the desk, you’ll be shocked how dirty an office can get. A clean office has many benefits. But how should you keep your workplace tidy?
We offer home and office cleaning services, with many specials so you can still save money. If you’re based in the Lewisville, Texas area, take a look at our cleaning services.
Leave A Comment