When a manager faces the task of increasing employee engagement or productivity in their office, cleaning is probably not one of the first things to come to mind. While a clean office is obviously not an end all be all solution to boosting employee performance, the level of cleanliness in the workplace does in fact have significant bearing on overall productivity. This is also true when it comes to academic performance and learning of students in school settings. Multiple scientific studies conducted in recent history have demonstrated the correlation between cleanliness and performance. Approximately 88% of students feel they were distracted by unkempt learning environments enough that it affected their ability to learn and focus on tasks.
A less than spotless office becomes a distraction in that eyesores such as clutter, dust, stains, and discoloring, are essentially like visual noise which pulls attention away from the task at hand. It is easy to understand how unpleasant odors caused by damp and/or dirty carpeting or neglected trash receptacles would cause distraction adversely affecting both engagement and morale. Keeping a clean office makes a good impression and conveys an organizational attitude of order, efficiency, attention to detail, and accountability. On the other hand, uncleanliness is a major cause of workplace stress and in some cases employees take the issue into their own hands taking time and energy away from the work they were hired to do, to fix a cleaning problem.
A work environment that is not clean can also be a costly health hazard. In the United States workforce illness costs about $576 billion a year, when accounting for both workers’ compensation and sick days. While cleanliness would not in most cases help to prevent injury resulting in workers’ compensation claims, it may be surprising to find that 39% of the $576 billion in losses is derived from lost productivity of present employees experiencing symptoms while at work.
It is important to have a proper cleaning program to prevent such instances as well as to prevent the generally healthy from coming down with illnesses which either hinder their performance or result in absenteeism such as the flu (especially in winter), or severe allergies which can be a year round issue. All of C.M. Cleaning’s cleaning programs are designed to do just that, so that you can be sure that the value of your office cleaning exceeds what the naked eye can see.
