Have you ever noticed that you get more work done when your office is clean and tidy? Maybe you’ve pored over the data and found that your employees’ KPIs are more on target on a certain week of the month or day of the week.
It may have seemed random before, but then you realise it correlates with when your office cleaner comes in to work their magic. It’s no coincidence! Research shows that a clean and tidy physical environment has a positive effect on cognition, emotions, and behaviour. But why is that?
This article explains how a clean office can boost productivity, regardless of what you do and where you work. For personalised advice, contact our team at Cleantastic today.
If workplace productivity is important to you— as it should be!—, here are the biggest reasons to consider regular office cleaning. Office cleaning:
1. Reduces Sick Days
Employees being ill and therefore needing time off from work can make a significant difference to your workplace. Naturally, you want to reduce sick days as much as possible.
One of the ways you can do that is by having a clean office. That’s because office cleaners ensure the space is sanitary, reducing the bacteria and viruses on surfaces and in the air. As illnesses can spread quickly in environments such as offices and other workspaces, it’s essential to keep them at bay as best you can. As a result, you and your employees are less likely to become ill and need time off work.
2. Improves Concentration
Our brains like order. Scientists at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute found this through a study using fMRI machines and other approaches, confirming what many have always thought. Visual reminders of disorganisation, such as a cluttered office, reduce peoples’ abilities to focus and deplete cognitive resources, leaving them unable to focus as effectively as possible.
3. Increases Efficiency
A clean environment not only has a positive effect on mental processes but physical ones as well. It makes sense— in a tidy environment, you’re much more likely to find the specific item or piece of paper that you need, as it will be in its appointed place. Knowing where everything is and having quick and easy access to it will cut down on ‘search time’, removing another barrier to productivity.
4. Reduces Stress
Things can get lost amongst clutter very easily, which can lead to stress when you can’t locate what you need when you need it. The last thing anybody needs is additional stress, as this can decrease productivity even further.
Many people find that messy and disorganised spaces are stressful for them, which can then clutter their minds with thoughts about, well, clutter. Reducing stress caused by the surroundings will allow people to concentrate on their work, increasing productivity.
5. Boosts Morale
Keeping your employee’s spirits high can be as simple as keeping the office tidy. A clean office leads to a positive environment, where people feel more at ease and comfortable talking with each other to solve any problems that appear during the work day. When people work together, this boost in morale can easily spread throughout the team and has positive effects that flow on through the company.
6. Increases Employee Retention
We’ve found that people enjoy working in clean offices. With happy employees come employees that are dedicated to their work, their company, and their boss, meaning they will want to continue working with you.
Hiring and training new employees can become incredibly expensive, so it’s always in your best interests to retain the great employees that you have. One simple way to do that is to ensure a clean office, so office cleaning is truly a worthwhile investment for your company.
7. Keeps Equipment In Good Working Order
Whether your job is physical and requires manual labour or generally involves a lot of sitting, clicking, and typing, your office has pieces of equipment that are vital to what you do. As such, you want to make sure your equipment is treated with respect and care so that it continues to work well.
If your office is dirty, dusty, and generally unclean, your employees will get the sense that you don’t care for your equipment. They may then treat it with less care than you’d like, meaning it could break down faster and more often. On the other hand, a clean office environment insinuates that you respect and care for your equipment, so they should too.
8. Increases Customer Satisfaction
Whether your customers see your physical environment or not, a clean office will ultimately keep them coming back. Even when they don’t see your office, such as in a call centre, customers can easily sense a disorganised environment by the way your employees speak on the phone. Not being able to find the information they need quickly can come across as unprofessional, injuring your reputation.
Meanwhile, being able to physically see the cleanliness of your office, shop, or another type of environment is relatively straightforward. Nobody wants to shop in a dirty environment that looks uncared for, as customers could get the impression that you don’t care about your business and therefore don’t value their doing business with you.
If either of these types of situations occurs, your employees are likely to notice. This can then decrease morale and cause them to become frustrated and disappointed, which can then decrease productivity.
9. Keeps Injuries At Bay
Much as with ill employees, an injured employee won’t be able to work— or if they can, it may not be to the best of their abilities. Whether your office is a high-activity workplace or a low-activity area, injuries can happen at any time, especially in an unclean environment. Keeping your workplace clean and tidy will reduce occupational hazards and keep your employees coming back to work at their best every day.
Ready To Boost Productivity In Your Office?
Could your office be cleaner than it is?
If so, you now know how important it is to keep everything in good, clean condition! If cleaning the office yourself is a daunting idea, Cleantastic is here to help.
We provide office cleaning all across Australia, including Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Gold Coast, Brisbane and Adelaide. for companies large and small, allowing you to spend your time doing what you do best. To request an office cleaning quote, contact our friendly and professional team at Cleantastic today.
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