Most business owners underestimate how important office cleaning really is. Sure, you know that clean bathrooms are necessary to meet basic health standards, and that a pretty good handle on desk clutter is important to keep things organized and cut down on misplaced, damaged or stolen documents.
But, it’s not just about dazzling clients and keeping up the appearance that you’re a credible, respectable business. The quality of your office cleaning services directly correlates with the happiness and productivity of your employees.
The International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) published an in-depth, high-level paper on just how important a clean office environment is for employees’ well-beings, morale and that vital productivity factor.
The study includes loads of statistically significant data strongly supporting the notion that proper office cleaning is fiscally efficient: “A relatively modest investment in improved cleaning produces substantial returns.”
Here are the spic-and-span takeaways of investing in comprehensive, professional office cleaning services:
CUT DOWN CORRECTIVE COSTS
Comprehensive commercial cleaning requires a variety of tasks across a range of cleaning specialties: “No nooks and crannies left behind,” so to say. Cleaning even a compact office or small building is no small undertaking, and still means going through hundreds of individual tasks. So it’s easy to see how a few “molehill errors” can quickly pile up into mountains of messy mistakes. And when this happens, you’re left paying to correct the dingy deficiencies.
ALLEVIATE ABSENTEEISM
There are a host of studies out there proving the causal relationship between poor indoor air quality, dusty surfaces and bacteria-infested carpets and the physical health of employees. As a result, it goes without saying that maintaining a clean facility and reducing the amount of harmful contaminants does wonders in cutting back sick days — not just because of the physical risks of a dirty office environment, but also due to the emotional and mental impairment from, “doing the daily grind amongst the grime.”
What most of these studies don’t show is the positive impact that proper office cleaning has on personnel costs and your bottom line. You’re likely well aware that absenteeism is a big-time cost to businesses.
In 2011, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) reported the average cost of absences to $869 per employee per year. The causes of these sick days? Common colds, flu, stomach sicknesses and headaches. The best way to cut down on these sicknesses? Proper cleaning practices.
PROMOTE PRESENTEEISM
There’s a lot of talk about absenteeism, but less so about presenteeism. This is when a worker feels compelled to come to work, but isn’t able to work at his or her highest level of quality or productivity due to illness, fatigue or a case of the “blahs.” But there should be more talk about this, because presenteeism is responsible for a one-third reduction in productivity!
Here is ISSA’s list of negative effects that presenteeism has on the workforce:
- Spending additional time on tasks
- Decreased quality of work
- Lack of initiative
- Lowered ability to perform at peak levels
- Decreased quantity of work completed
- Inability to be social with coworkers
- Lack of motivation
- Transmission of viruses/illness to coworkers/building occupants/patrons
So, basically, a proper cleaning service is a proactive approach to preventing productivity-squelching presenteeism.
HLW International LLP conducted a study on 400 managers and employees, finding that employee productivity levels were “heavily influenced” by the cleanliness of the office in which they worked. And not only that: Employers with less-than-tidy office environments found it difficult to recruit prospective employees.
And cleaning doesn’t just have a small effect. Proper office cleaning has real and measurable value, with HLW reporting a 5% productivity gain ($125,000) in a 100-associate office with an average salary of $25,000.
And those are just the first three “hot-ticket” items that ISSA’s study includes! It also goes into extensive detail about the importance of proper office cleaning for image enhancement and customer satisfaction, asset preservation, energy savings and reduction of hospital-associated infections (HAIs).
Feeling overwhelmed? Start small. Here are the top things to start with for your office cleaning initiative:
- Carpet cleaning: Check out our recent blog post for more details on fine-tuning this key component of office cleaning.
- AC and heating vents: Are they spreading dust mite detritus throughout your office or facility? Again, head to a previous blog post for the download on dust mites.
- Disinfection: When was last time your facility was disinfected? Look for a professional cleaning service that offers fogging disinfectant.
- Tile floors: Bringing in a professional cleaning service for expert stripping and waxing makes taxable tile look like new, dramatically improving the appearance of your space.
Need some help achieving that spic-and-span office for healthy, happy and hyper-productive employees? Click the button below to reach out to AOA Cleaning and Restoration. We’ll help you turn your office into a hub of efficiency, well-being and positive energy for success.
