How a Clean Workplace Improves Staff Morale
Maintaining a clean workplace is not only good for business but it is also good for your staff. Have you ever wondered why commercial cleaning is an essential part of corporations and institutions? It is because providing a clean and tidy workplace is the basic foundation for any successful business. Whether your business is retail, food related, industrial or corporate, a clean work place is the first step to a happy and productive work place.
You wouldn’t return to a shop or cafe that was noticeably dusty, grimy or cluttered. You wouldn’t feel very good about sitting in an office that was untidy with papers, files and left over food scraps. You certainly wouldn’t want to sleep in a hotel room that had not been cleaned after the previous occupant. When you are buying goods or services, you want to know that the business you are buying them from has the same basic values as you do, otherwise how can you determine the quality of their work?
As important as your customer’s impression is your staff’s impression. You can’t expect that your staff will feel good about turning up to a work place that is dirty, cluttered or disorganised. Studies have shown that a clean and tidy workplace is essential for staff well being and employee retention.
Ensuring your staff have a clean workplace will help them feel better about working for you and will improve over all morale because it will demonstrate that you value their comfort, safety and health. A poorly maintained workplace will leave your staff feeling as if their comfort and health is not valued or respected. They will feel less positive about coming into work every day and they will find it difficult to maintain personal levels of cleanliness when their surroundings are cluttered and dirty.
If management doesn’t care about how clean the office or work place is, then how can you expect your staff to care? Providing them with a clean working environment will encourage better organisation and hygiene habits in your employees. A clean workplace will show that the business is cared for and valued by management and these values will transfer to your staff. It will improve productivity, which always has a positive impact on the morale of your employees. Providing a clean workplace will give your staff the best opportunity to be productive and comfortable at work.
Another way that a clean work place boosts staff morale is because a clean and fresh workplace will improve the health and well being of your staff. You will have less incidents of infection and illness in a work place that has clean facilities and surfaces. Maintaining a sanitary kitchen area and toilet amenities will reduce the chance of infections caused by poor hygiene and food preparation practices. Keeping desks and keyboards clean and sanitary will also prevent the spread of illness and infection. A recent report showed that keyboards can harbour germs like e.coli, coliforms and other highly infectious bacteria.
Some good practices to encourage are:
Hand washing after toilet use. Use signs and always have soap and towels available
Encourage a desk clean and tidy at the end of the day
Provide a lunch room and discourage people from eating lunch at their desk
Hire a commercial cleaning service
Have regular clean outs, where old equipment, files and documents are put away or replaced.