There is a school of thought that a cluttered, paper-strewn desk hints at a person who is constantly hard at work, but usually, it is cleaner offices that are more productive. Being organized and maintaining a clean working space is very helpful in getting your best work done.

Let’s see some statistics.

• The average employee loses 9 working days a year to sickness, some of which may be attributed to a lack of workplace hygiene.
• A typical office keyboard can carry up to 7,500 bacteria at any given time.
• Viruses such as the flu can linger on unclean surfaces such as work desks or electronic equipment for 24 hours.

Sick days cost businesses $225.8 billion annually in the United States**. By keeping the work environment clean – and therefore supporting employee health – fewer workdays are lost to preventable illness. Employees are more appreciative of and less distracted by working environments that are clean and free of clutter and foul smells. This results in increased productivity and even higher quality work.

So, How do cleaning offices help productivity?

Increase Focus

In a clean working environment, you are less likely to be distracted by cluttered objects, and that greater level of concentration leads to more and better work being done.

Less Time Wasted

A lot of time can be squandered when searching for documents in a messy workspace. In cleaner, well-organized offices, paperwork can be tracked down easily and quickly.

Less Stress

A cluttered desk can result in you trying to focus on too many things at once, which lowers your stress threshold.

Greater Portability

Instead of wasting time looking for documents, workers in a clean office get more work is done, which helps with profitability in the long-term. The International Data Corporation found that untidy workplaces can lose out on $2.5 million a  year from lost productivity owing to searching for documents.

Less Absenteeism

An unclean working environment could result in staff falling ill and a high amount of sick leave being taken. Clean workspaces should help to cut down on absenteeism.

Improved Morale

Employees in a clean working environment are naturally likely to be happier than those in untidy environments, and employees who are happy in their work are likely to get more done than those who dislike their job.

Holding a workplace to a high standard of hygiene may seem challenging at first, but it is ultimately rewarding for everyone involved. That’s because cleanliness benefits more than just the physical appearance of a work environment. A clean workplace can have a positive impact on employee health and safety, productivity, and satisfaction, making regular and thorough maintenance a no-brainer.

Sources:
*smallbusiness.co.uk
**cdcfoundation.org