6 Tips for Keeping Your Office Clean & Tidy
Offices, and workplaces in general, are difficult places to keep clean and tidy, especially if you have many employees or a large premises. But why should you bother to keep your office dirt and clutter-free? According to Fidelis, some of the benefits of having a clean office include: giving your clients a great first impression, increasing employee productivity, boosting the happiness of your workers, safe-guarding employee health, reducing trip hazards and, finally, ensuring the office continues to run smoothly. If you’re looking to transform your office into a place that’s fresh and mess-free, then follow our simple tips for achieving just that.
Office Cleaning
1. Stay organised
There are simply ways to keep your office area clutter-free and that’s to keep your workspace organised. If you have employees who are slightly messy, then encourage them to keep their desks tidy throughout the day. Give them drawers and other equipment to store their belongings, preferably with a lock and key also.
You could hold competitions once a month whereby you give a prize to the employee with the most tidy or organised desk. Make it a creative-yet-competitive task for everyone to enjoin and aim towards, but with the added benefit of a tidy and organised workplace. Implement some simple and easy-to-follow rules, such as:
Putting everything back in its place once it’s been used
Making sure everyone knows where and how things are stored
Kindly asking workers not to leave items out, especially on the floor
2. Declutter regularly
If you come across things you no longer need or want, then make sure you get rid of it. It can be easy to hold onto clutter in the workplace, not knowing what to do with it or if you might need it at some point in the future. Instead of using up space archiving things that you’ll likely never need or use again, remove it from the office. Instead of putting your unwanted items in landfill, see if someone in the office would like it or you could give it to a charity shop.
There might be another office nearby that you could offer it to. If that doesn't work for you, then do your best to recycle it. Tips will take a wide range of different waste types and recycle it accordingly, so only put it in landfill if there’s no other option. Remember that for electrical items, you will need to dispose of it responsibly, preferably at a waste management site.
3. Regularly check communal areas
Communal areas that are dotted in and around the office can be incredibly beneficial, more so if they’re meant for employees to enjoy some downtime on their breaks. According to the Colour Business Centre, there are many advantages to be had by having a communal area in the workplace, among them being: to encourage collaboration, to let off some steam, to encourage creativity and to open up about what they might be experiencing outside of work.
But where your communal areas boost morale, productivity and happiness amongst your workers, they can also be one of the dirtiest places in the office, especially if everyone congregates around there throughout the course of a working day. Another benefit to be had from a communal area is that they’re, usually, tiled and consist of a kitchenette or lounge space. This makes these spaces a lot easier to clean.
If you don’t yet have a communal space for your employees to enjoy, you might well be thinking about having one fitted. If you’re designing your new communal area yourself, think carefully about the materials you choose. This will either make it harder or easier to keep clean and hygienic for all. For example, some of of your design choices could be:
Having tiled or laminate flooring - these will be easy to both vacuum and mop as well as make it quick and simple to clean up spillages and crumbs
Having seating with wooden armrests - armrests should be made out of a wipe-down material to allow for easy disinfecting at the end of the day
Tiling the walls of your kitchenette - splashbacks are ideal for keeping painted walls clean as the tiles can be wiped down
Installing no-touch taps and soap dispensers - you can purchase taps and soap dispensers that work solely on sensor technology, so workers won’t have to physically touch those elements of the communal area
Communal areas are where you’ll find the most people congregating, which is why they can become messy and dirty quicker than other parts of your office space. With this in mind, you should check the area at the end of every working day, looking out for crumbs, spillages, splatters and other debris that could be easily vacuumed or mopped.
4. Empty your bins & do the recycling
This might sound like an obvious one, but emptying your bins and making sure you recycle is all part of keeping the office clean and fresh. Bins, over time, emit unpleasant odours that can be difficult to eradicate. Not only that, but an overflowing recycle bin can look messy but it could present a trip hazard if it’s left to spill out onto the floor. Ensure your office continues to smell pleasant and clean and mitigate trip hazards by taking the bins out on a regular basis, preferably at the end of each working day.
5. Implement a ‘no eating’ policy
Discouraging employees from eating in the office is a great way to keep unwanted smells and unpleasant food debris out of the workplace. Many office buildings have dedicated spaces for employees to eat in, such as communal canteens or a sectioned-off part of the office consisting of tiled flooring for easy spillage clean-ups.
However, despite a move towards eating at the desk, many workers still do this and it is proving to be an increasingly unpopular habit. Many people eat their lunch at their desk, but not only is this making the workplace environment messy and unclean, it’s also speculated that those who eat their lunch at their desk take just 16 minutes away from the keyboard, as opposed to the usual 1 hour that most office workers are entitled to.
This equates to working an extra 20 days over the course of a year, states the HR News. So having dedicated places to eat or encouraging workers to go out of the office on their lunch breaks not only makes the office space cleaner, but it also allows workers to enjoy their breaks, thus boosting morale and productivity upon their return.
6. Employ regular professional cleaners
One of the most efficient, cost-effective ways of keeping your office clean and tidy at all times in employing a professional commercial cleaner near you. Here at Upbeat Clean, we have a team of dedicated, fully-trained professional cleaners who work tirelessly to ensure your premises are kept tidy and clean throughout the working day. Whether you wish to bring in our team of specialist cleaners on a regular basis or for a one-off deep clean that you’ll be able to stay on top of, you’ll always be able to count on us here at Upbeat Clean to keep your office looking, feeling and smelling fresh.
If you would like further information about our commercial office cleaning services near you today, then get in touch with a member of our friendly, knowledgeable team today - we can tailor our professional cleaning services seamlessly to your needs and exceed your expectations every single time.