Even if you use a professional cleaning service to cover all of the full detail cleaning in your office on a regular basis, there are a few simple cleaning tips that you and all of the members of your staff can follow to help improve work flow and keep your office happy and healthy. Remember that these tips can help improve morale and overall performance, as well. There are a few procedures that anyone in your office can do to help with this, in between your regular visits from your chosen janitorial provider. Your cleaning service will cover these steps on each of their visits, as well.
Here are two simple cleaning tips to help you tidy up some work-related areas.
Organize your filing systems, or go paperless.
The first step to improving your work environment is also the easiest. Organization. No one can argue that being organized is pretty important for a happy and healthy work environment. Our first cleaning tip may be the most obvious – paper clutter. Whether it’s notes, forms, client files, or reminders, the typical work station has a lot going on. Going paperless would be the ideal solution, but for offices that have entire systems built around certain paper flow, the update to full digital filing can be a big move.
Clutter is closely linked to both stress and feelings of being overwhelmed. How can this happen?
Studies show that whether we’re consciously thinking about it or not, everything we look at is stimulation for our senses. When you have a cluttered work station full of papers and items in different places, it draws your eye while you work, and splits your attention between important tasks and trivial items. It’s distracting for our brains to process this clutter, and being surrounded by it overwhelms us with reminders of how much we have to do. These distractions can make us feel like we haven’t accomplished much, even if a lot has been completed.
This can affect productivity in a subtle but very important way.
Sometimes all it takes is building a better filing system to allow paperwork to be handled and removed from your desk. Deciding to deal with the clutter may help lead to conversations about internal procedures that in turn create a more efficient work flow.
Keep anti-bacterial wipes close by.
Another cleaning tip is to keep a tub of sanitary wipes on hand. Most commercial cleaning companies will wipe down and sanitize surfaces while they clean your office. One way for you to assist in cutting down on illnesses and spreading bacteria is by being diligent about cleaning frequently used surfaces in between cleanings. Like any other habit, the more often we do something, and the easier we make it, the more likely we are to continue the practice.
Keeping sanitary wipes or rubbing alcohol nearby makes it very easy to wipe down your keyboard and phone down multiple times each day. Focus on the surfaces on your desk that people touch the most. Especially during both cold, flu, and allergy seasons, this can prevent all sorts of symptoms and shared illnesses.
