When the question is as direct as in the title above, hardly anyone would answer in the negative. Indeed, we have grown to believe that office cleaning is paramount to the productivity of any work place.
A clean office not only keeps germs at bay but also motivates staff morale. Office cleaning also helps restore order, remove clutter and as a result office items become easier to locate, especially in open office layouts. However, there are drawbacks to office cleaning too. Read on to discover some of the pros and cons of office cleaning.
Pros Of Office Cleaning
Hygienic Purposes – This is perhaps one of the most basic reasons why any office cleaning work is undertaken. High traffic around office areas leads to the stirring of dust and dirt particles. These particles are then blown and settle on any surfaces they can find; be they office tables or even on the shelves and counters. As the dust particles fly through the air, they are seamlessly breathed in by office workers. The result can be anything from simply coughs to more serious respiratory infections such as asthma, and dusty lung. These conditions greatly impair the productivity of office workers so it is important to prevent them from happening by doing routine office cleaning.
For Aesthetic Purposes And Enhancing Employee Concentration – The appearance of grime on the office windows or cobwebs hanging precariously on every ceiling can prove to be quite an eyesore. In order for employees to perform to their optimum level, there needs to be as few distractions as possible. One major distraction is a dirty office. Imagine seated in a seminar room with white ceilings full of cobwebs and dirty patches – no matter how intense the meeting is, you are bound to be distracted and lose concentration. The aesthetic appeal of a clean office does not only make the workers cheerful but will also enhance their focus and concentration.
Good For Image – A dirty office does not only dampen the morale of the office workers but could also give a very bad impression on the entire company. So, you are in the hotel industry and guys from the quality assessment and compliance departments pay you a visit and the first thing that greets them is dirty windows and dusty floors. The kind of report they would give would truly affect your reputation. It is important, therefore, to adopt proactive office cleaning measures so that your image and reputation does not suffer. If you are an entrepreneur or the company owner, this will save you a lot of time and money you would have otherwise spent on damage control once word spreads out there about the deplorable hygienic conditions in your place of work.
Enhances Overall Employee Satisfaction – It is not easy to get your employees satisfied and motivated to face each day at work, and it becomes even harder with a dirty office. You will notice that employees feel more motivated when they walk into a fresh-smelling room each morning. Add to that a clean fridge where they can keep their lunch, a clean water dispenser, working desk, washrooms etc, and you could be looking at a very motivated staff. The sense of satisfaction brought about by a clean office has a direct connection with the level of satisfaction of the office workers.
Preserving Office Assets– The durability and longevity of office assets has a direct relationship with the frequency and manner in which it is cleaned. Hardwood surfaces require constant polishing so that they can not only retain their flair but also last long. Windows should be regularly cleaned using the right solutions as a means of preserving them. It is important to remember that if windows are left for long without cleaning, they become prone to cracking. The same rule applies to virtually every other office asset – from desktop monitors to fridges, water coolers and office furniture.
It Is A Welcome Break – Office cleaning, especially daytime cleaning, requires a small break and this break is normally a welcome relief for the staff. It enables them to freshen up before they can get back for the next stretch of hours. This is especially important for offices that do not have mid-morning tea breaks, as staff can now use this break to prepare for the next stretch leading up to lunch time.
Cons Of Office Cleaning
The Disruptive Effects – While many may embrace the short break that comes while their office is cleaned, some may think of this as unnecessary bother. Every company has its own rules regarding the official office cleaning hours. During these hours, it doesn’t matter what position you hold, you simply have to excuse yourself and let the cleaners do their job. This can be disruptive; especially if you had a project you are working on and are on a time crunch.
Possibility Of Security Breaches – There are certain departments in every company that contain crucial information that everyone should have access to. Departments such as the finance, procurement, human resource and accounts may have some classified information getting into the wrong hands during office cleaning routines. How would it feel if you stumbled upon a list of candidates for retrenchment while going about your office cleaning duties in the HR office? Worse yet, how would you react if you happened to find your name on the list? The excitement or anxiety in you would definitely get the better of you so much as to spread the word, therefore compromising the security of the company’s information.
Possibility Of Losing Time And Business – Depending on the industry you are in, office cleaning could affect your business negatively. A telephone operator handling a huge backlog of calls may end up not contacting all the company’s prospects because of these kinds of disruptions. We all know that time wasted can never be recovered, especially when we are talking of business time. At times, you may have to weigh the benefits of proceeding with that crucial meeting against having it disrupted for a few minutes.
Conclusion
Evidently, office cleaning has its perks and drawbacks. Be that as it may, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
Therefore, we could possibly conclude that as long as the time lost during the actual office cleaning hours is not significant, or as long as there are no breaches on the company’s security information, then office cleaning remains an indispensable part of any place of work. Needless to mention, there are lots of professional office cleaning companies all over Singapore. A little background check will ensure you end up with a great company for all your office cleaning needs.