Clean buildings are critical to the health and performance of both workers and businesses.
Clean Indoor Workspaces are Essential for Business Success
The amount of time U.S. adults spend indoors--typically at home, at work, or traveling between the two locations--has been thoroughly documented in recent years.
Studies have found that in North America and Europe, we spend 90% of our time indoors.
Some jobs have you out and about more, and kids tend to spend a little more time outside than adults—but for most of the developed world, it’s more accurate than you might think.
(In some places and in some seasons, that 90% is actually an underestimate; in the United Arab Emirates, it can be more like 99.9% indoors for some people.)
We spend 90% of our time inside—why don’t we care that indoor air is so polluted?
The impact of indoor air quality and surface cleanliness on the transmission of disease and the development of chronic illness has also.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the health effects of indoor air pollution include:
- Eye, nose, and throat irritation.
- Headaches, dizziness, and fatigue, and;
- Respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer.
Additionally;
The link between some common indoor air pollutants (e.g., radon, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, Legionella bacterium) and health effects is very well established.
Researchers also have been investigating the relationship between indoor air quality and important issues not traditionally thought of as related to health, such as student performance in the classroom and productivity in occupational settings.
Generally speaking, we spend so much time inside that our indoor environments can't help but impact our physical health, and, positive or negative, that affects the way people think, perform, behave, and cooperate.
Countless studies have established clear links between high-quality indoor environments and optimal human health and performance.
The cleaner and healthier a building is, the better the people who spend a significant amount of time in it feel and perform.
Conversely, dirty workspaces can leave workers feeling like they're dragging a weight with them everywhere they go.
According to a recent article by the UK business magazine, BusinessMatters;
The easiest way to improve productivity at work is by keeping the employees happy.
The easiest way to keep the employees happy is by giving them a cleaner cubicle to work in.
If the work environment is not clean, employees will feel as if they are being dragged to the office against their will.
Importance of office cleaning in improving productivity at work
Preventable Illness Costs Big Time
The return on cleaning program investment is commonly measured in cost reductions.
One of the most commonly cited costs associated with low-outcome cleaning programs is the unchecked transmission of influenza through schools and office buildings, resulting in increased healthcare costs and absences, higher overhead, and lower work quality.
According to data recently published by EcoLab;
In a given year, it’s estimated that U.S. employees miss 111 million workdays because of the flu alone, resulting in an estimated $16.3 billion in lost earnings each year.
Broken down to the individual employee level, research solution firm Circadian found that unscheduled absences in general cost roughly $3,600 per year for each hourly worker and $2,660 a year for each salaried worker.
Those costs are attributed to many factors, including wages paid to absent staff, overtime pay, reduced productivity and morale and poorer quality goods and services.
In a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 59% of participants said unplanned absences disrupt the work of others, 40% said they reduce the quality of work and 20% said they require additional training.
References & Resources
Takeaway
Our indoor environments directly impact our lives on multiple levels.
Keeping the buildings clean and safe for human occupation and industry will be critical to business success in the future, especially as investor and consumer demand for improved workplace conditions, business accountability, and sustainable operations continue to increase.
Onboarding and managing the requisite labor and material resources necessary to ensure the highest standards of cleanliness are achieved and maintained may prove cost-prohibitive for many organizations.
Outsourcing is a proven method for onboarding highly in-demand cleaning and disinfection services and experience for a fraction of the price of maintaining a similar service in-house.
If you would like more information regarding the effectiveness of high-performance infection prevention and control measures, or if you would like to schedule a free, no-obligation on-site assessment of your facility's custodial needs, 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
In Palmdale, CA, or Lancaster, CA, call (661) 371-4756
