A clean, clutter-free office or classroom leads to healthier, happier, more productive employees and students.
Keeping Your Office and Classroom Clean Will Ensure a Productive Environment
An unclean office or classroom can leave germs and virus' lingering on desks, phones, computer equipment, and pretty much everything you touch on a daily basis, for around 24 hours, give or take.
What that means is, if a contagious person comes into school or work, blows their nose and does not adequately wash their hands afterwards, then uses a vending machine, touches a doorknob, or sits down at a computer, and it is not thoroughly cleaned in the interim, you can pick up the germ or virus the next day without ever having known the contagious person was there.
The fault does not necessarily lie with the contagious individual--their symptoms may not have manifested before they went into work or class.
For these reasons, high-performance janitorial services must be viewed as a proactive remedy for the unintended consequences of everyday human action.
An additional burden plaguing offices and classrooms around the world is clutter.
While nuanced studies have proposed that clutter increases the creativity in certain individuals, by far and large, it creates stress and disorganization in the majority of the population.
The Challenge
Most organizations cannot afford the expense of paying a custodial team to walk around and clean up or organize every mess they come across the moment it is recognized.
As a matter of fact, most cleaning crews rarely interact with the vast majority of the staff and clean at night when nobody but the security guard is present.
For these reasons, it is vital that the ongoing and immediate or incidental needs of the school, office, and classroom are effectively communicated with those responsible for cleaning up at the end of the day.
Additionally, it is equally important to educate students, teachers, and employees about personal hand-hygiene, proper etiquette when sick, office and desk organization, as well as daily cleaning and organizational habits.
Sick Building Syndrome and the Cost of a Dirty Office
Sick building syndrome is an illness commonly associated with office workers employed in a workspace with poor ventilation, combined with low-quality indoor air, as well as chemical contaminants, little to no natural light from the sun, and stress.
One of the most significant hurdles, when dealing with SBS, is the fact that it is poorly understood, rarely recognized, yet contributes to millions in healthcare costs, employee absenteeism, and reduced worker productivity.
Poorly understood and most often unrecognized, sick building syndrome (SBS) costs companies millions every year through employee absenteeism, decreased productivity and even increased health care premiums.
In addition, some costs are less apparent, at least initially, because they stem from the emotional impacts of SBS which often create exaggerated responses.
In extreme situations, electromagnetic radiation and biological contamination can also contribute to the illness.
Typical signs and symptoms include:
- A cough.
- Chest pain.
- Shortness of breath on mild exertion.
- Edema.
- Palpitations.
- Nosebleeds.
- Cancer.
- Pregnancy problems and miscarriages.
- Extrinsic allergic alveolitis.
- Legionnaire's disease.
- Humidifier fever.
- Pneumonia, and;
- Occupational asthma.
Source:
Improvements to ventilation systems alone could save U.S. businesses billions of dollars per year.
Based on a recent analysis, the projected practical benefits of increasing ventilation rates in U.S. offices to 32 cfm per person, in buildings with lower existing ventilation rates, include 0.6% to 1% increases in work performance and 10% to 19% decreases in sick building syndrome symptoms in 12 to 16 million workers, plus 7 to 10 million days of avoided absence.
The associated total annual economic benefit ranges from $9 billion to $14 billion.
The estimated annual energy and implementation costs were very small relative to the estimated benefits.
For changes in ventilation rates in other types of buildings, such as homes and schools, no analyses were identified of the costs and benefits at the national level.
Indoor Air Quality Scientific Findings Resource Bank - National-Level Opportunities
The Importance of Working in a Clutter-Free Environment
Office and classroom clutter has been shown to negatively impact the performance of students and office workers, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars per year in lost productivity.
Consider, for example, a recent study conducted by Harvard University.
[The] study found students who worked in a clutter-free workspace were able to work steadily for 7.5 minutes longer than the students attempting the task in a cluttered workspace.
The study concluded that an untidy workspace can “undermine people’s persistence in completing tasks.”
Additionally, a report published by the International Data Corporation found that;
[...] searching for lost documents equates to businesses losing around $2.5 million in lack of productivity.
Time to Tidy Up! Less Desk Clutter Makes You More Productive, Data Shows
The Benefits
There are several demonstrated benefits that maintaining a high standard of cleanliness in your classroom or business can offer, including:
- Increased occupant cognitive ability.
- Decreased instanced of absentee and presenteeism, and;
- Increased engagement.
These factors commonly contribute to higher than average outputs from students and employees, and more profitable enterprise for business owners.
Green Cleaning Tips
Green cleaning practices are a cornerstone requirement for eliminating many of the VOC's and other toxins that negatively impact occupant health.
Adopting these practices has also been shown to improve efficiency, reduce cost, indear organizations to prospective customers and employees, and eliminate more germs without harmful side-effects.
- Use certified green cleaning products, or EPA approved Safer for Use chemicals when cleaning.
- Always allow for proper ventilation during and after cleaning and disinfecting.
- Use natural ventilation, HEPA filtered HVAC, and air purification systems instead of air perfumes, oils, and scented candles.
- Dust and vacuum with a HEPA filtered vacuum often and in accordance with the average foot traffic in your facility.
References & Resources
- The secret to becoming more productive at work may be this simple: clean up
- Does a clean office improve productivity?
Takeaway
Improve the manner in which your classroom or office is cleaned and disinfected can have a marked improvement in overall occupant productivity, which translates into higher student test scores and increased profits.
The added health benefits of switching to green cleaning practices and products will pay for the short term costs of implementation as a result of reduced healthcare costs and low worker or student productivity.
Implementing these practices effectively can be challenging, especially in large facilities, so consulting with a local professional is highly recommended.
If you would like to find out more about the health and productivity benefits of a clean, healthy office or classroom–contact us today for a free quote!
In Bakersfield CA, call (661) 437-3253
In Fresno CA, call (559) 206-1059
In Valencia CA, or Santa Clarita CA, call (661) 437-3253
