While keeping the office clean might seem like a chore and a waste of working time, it can actually impact your staff in more ways than you think.
Plus, you don’t have to clean the office yourself to reap the benefits. Enhanced cleaning services that focus on employee’s health can work to improve staff happiness, motivation and even improve worker retention.
A clean office impacts happiness
Of course, cleaning the office is important for maintaining good hygiene. But in terms of mental wellbeing, a resounding 94% of employees say that a hygienic, healthy, and risk-free workplace has a positive impact on their overall happiness. And as we spend around 40 hours a week at work, this doesn’t sound too surprising.
Despite there being so many of us who want to have a clean work environment, office cleanliness still appears to be a challenge.
While a lot of larger businesses employ daily cleaners, who wipe the surfaces and vacuum, small businesses may not have the budget to do so. And even daily cleaners may not be doing a proper job. As such, it’s left to office staff and managers to deal with the task, in between their huge workloads.
So, it’s no wonder cleaning the office can get left to the bottom of the priority pile. And with such a large number of us wanting the workplace to be cleaner for our own happiness, it’s time the chores became a priority.
A clean office is cost-efficient
Research has also shown that those who are working in an unclean space have a bigger interest in finding work elsewhere. According to PeopleKeep, 42 million Americans left their job voluntarily in 2019, which is a massive 88% increase from figures seen in 2010. And with recruitment to pay for, and the loss of man force, rehiring a single employee can actually cost the company around 6-9 month’s salary.
When you put the figures together, with the impact cleaning has on employees’ happiness, it shows that keeping the office clean actually saves the business money. Technically…
A clean office improves productivity
The aim of cleaning the workplace is to maintain good hygiene levels and remove pollutants, dust, and allergens from the air. Overall, this can help reduce symptoms of those with asthma and other respiratory illnesses and prevent others from developing issues.
This focus on better health can help improve productivity for everyone in the office. With full attendance, more can get done in the working day – ultimately saving and making the business thousands of dollars.
Putting a monetary value on productivity caused by a cleaner office, the Journal of Indoor Environment Quality calculates that reduced respiratory disease can result in savings and gains of $6-19 billion a year, while another $1-4 billion can be saved from reduced asthma and allergies.
So, a cleaner office = cleaner air, improved productivity, and billions of dollars. It’s a no-brainer, really. While we all assume cleaning is just a simple part of life, there can actually be huge benefits to everyone in the office.
