How a Clean Office Boosts Workplace Morale and Productivity

How clean are your workstations? The average desk is home to 800 bacteria per square inch. That's close to 14 times what's on a toilet seat.

Office phones come in at about 1,600 bacteria per square inch. The elevator button you push multiple times a day has over 600 bacteria per square inch.

Your employees touch those surfaces all day long. But germs aren't the only thing that spread in a messy office environment.

Clutter slows down work and makes people feel stressed. Poor cleaning habits can lead to damaged equipment and tools.

What are you doing to create a clean office environment?

From preventing illness to decreasing accidents, a clean office improves employee safety and saves you money. Keep reading to explore the benefits of cleaning your office regularly.

Improved Morale

A clean space makes people feel better. Your employees don't want to look around the office and see trash, dirt, or clutter. They're in a better mood when they see a clean, bright, appealing physical environment.

Clutter can increase stress. That also creates a negative feeling at the office.

Why does it matter how your employees feel? Happy employees equal better employee morale. And better morale helps your business run more efficiently.

When employees feel good about their job, they're more motivated to work hard. That means greater productivity, which helps your bottom line.

Happy employees are also more likely to stick around. Turnover can cost you 33% of the annual salary to replace an employee who quits. For a position paying $50,000 a year, that's $16,500.

It's much cheaper to keep your current workforce happy. One way to do that is by giving them a clean, safe, organized environment.

Easier Access to Tools and Materials

Your employees need easy access to the resources they use on a regular basis. If they're searching for files, tools, or supplies, they're wasting time that could go toward completing work.

It might not seem like much, but the lost time adds up. Say an employee spends 10 minutes looking for needed items even three times a day. That's a half hour of work time lost.

Now, add up those lost minutes across all your employees. You can easily lose hours of work time from your employees if they're constantly searching for the right tools.

It's also frustrating when you can't find what you need. That can decrease morale.

Giving employees easy access to the things they need can increase productivity. High productivity improves your profitability. It also helps you meet deadlines to keep your customers happy.

Quality Tools and Equipment

Dirt, grime, and clutter affect your tools and equipment, too. It can interfere with electronic components or gunk up the moving parts of machines.

Damage to those tools and equipment slows down work. It can cost you money on replacing parts, hiring a repair person, or completely replacing the items. You also waste money on lost productivity until it's up and running again.

Fewer Illnesses and Absences

A dirty office is a breeding ground for all sorts of germs. Exposure to those germs can cause illness to spread throughout your staff. That adds up to lots of sick days.

Clutter and disorganization in work areas put employees at risk for injuries. Items sticking off the shelf in the warehouse can cause an employee to trip. Spills on the floor that aren't cleaned immediately cause slipping hazards.

Those injuries often mean more missed work. Your worker's comp also kicks in, which can cost you money in higher premiums.

Employers in the U.S. see productivity losses costing $225.8 billion annually because of absenteeism. All those illnesses and injuries add up to big money for your business when it causes employees to stay home.

Even workers who show up to work sick cost you money. They're not as productive when they don't feel well. They may get other employees sick, which causes additional productivity losses.

By cutting down on illnesses and injuries, you can also reduce absenteeism at work. Cleaning won't solve all of your absenteeism problems, but it can cut down on some of the illnesses and injuries that result in sick days.

Improved Focus

Clutter and messes make it tough to concentrate on work tasks. Dirt, grime, and smells can make employees feel uncomfortable. Those things draw their attention away from what they're doing.

A messy environment also takes away workspace. Employees might not have the space to spread out and do their work properly.

Cleaning up creates a more comfortable environment where your employees can concentrate. Being able to focus helps them work efficiently to boost your company's productivity.

Better concentration can also result in better quality work. Employees can put their full attention on tasks and do them well. When they're distracted, they might make more mistakes or forget what they're doing.

Higher Quality Standards

If you slack on cleaning and organization, you send the message that quality work doesn't matter. Why should employees care about their quality if they work in a messy environment?

Your priorities set the tone for what you expect. Keeping a clean, organized office sets the expectations a little higher.

When you maintain your workplace, you set a standard of respect. You respect the office and the people in it. Your employees should do the same.

It also helps everyone feel more pride in the company they work for. It's tough to brag about working for a company that's dirty and disorganized.

Better Impression on Clients

It's not just your employees that benefit from a clean office. Your clients don't want to see a dirty, chaotic environment when they come to the office.

Instead, you want to impress them with a neat, organized, well-maintained office. It makes a positive impression that helps build your overall image in your customers' minds.

Enjoy a Clean Office

Do you keep a clean office? Or do you constantly have to sort through the clutter to find what you need?

A simple cleaning routine can make a major impact on how your office runs overall.

Check out our commercial cleaning services. Enjoy all the productivity, morale, and health benefits of a clean office without spending hours cleaning yourself.