Spring marks a new beginning, so why not a fresh start with the office as well? The office has lot of papers, official documents and files besides many employees. It is bound to get untidy and dirty after a full year’s work, so it is good to choose spring as the cleaning time. Cleaning is not just any other work and may not be directly related to the sales reports and the profit charts, but it is good to clean offices. A neat and tidy workplace improves the overall productivity of the work, motivates the workers and brings about a feel good factor. It has also been found that this also reduces absenteeism.
Some Reasons For Cleaning The Office
There may be many papers and files in the office which are no longer needed. So, spring cleaning is absolutely necessary. Some of the reasons are:
Increasing productivity and accuracy: The cleaning process is required for increasing the efficiency of the workers. If our table is organized in a way that we find everything without searching much our energy for working receives a high. Wasting time in finding things reduces productivity and act as an unnecessary disturbance.
Reducing injuries: Cleaning the working place also prevents any accident that one might face. A worker may fall or trip by stumbling on something which is improperly kept.
Easy access to important records: We do not know which particular file we might need at a certain point of time. We may be searching the financial reports dating a few years back. Keeping things in order allows us to find them easily. If the office is clean and in order then you could find everything without any worry.
Reduces absenteeism due to illness: Often dust, germs and flies in the workplace are responsible for many kinds of allergic reactions or asthma. If the workplace is kept clean, these illnesses just remain an excuse.
Checklists For Cleaning
There are some checklists which tell us how to go about with the cleaning process. At first, everyone should be encouraged to clean their own place of work.
Sanitizing wipes should be used for cleaning desks, armrests, phones and the keyboards of the computers.
Microfiber clothes are the ideal for cleaning the screens and the monitors of the electronic devices. Brushes and electronic dusters are the perfect to clean up the corners.
An office should always have disposable gloves for people with too much sensitive skin.
The employees can be divided into groups and asked to clean the office. This gives them a feeling of ownership. The kitchen is a great place to start with for the cleaning purpose. Generally the appliances like the fridge, the microwave and the coffee maker bear an over day brunt. So they have huge deposits of dust, expired and perished eatables and residue while or after cooking. They can be cleaned with the help of cleaners, pads and sponges.
Cleaning does not always mean taking care of the physical appearance of an office. Cleaning also involves looking after the machines and the electronic appliances. The files and the folders in our computers should be neatly organized with proper names. A compressed air duster should be used to clean the keyboard and the computer vents. The computer cords and the wires should always be without a tangle. The company should have proper document retention facilities. There should be a backup of the files and the passwords should be changed often for security reasons. One should update to the most recent app or operating software. The items in the trash or recycling bin should be deleted. The unneeded files should also be deleted. The unused programs or the apps should be uninstalled. The cookies and the caches should be cleared from the internet browsers. One should also unsubscribe form unwanted mails.
It is very good for an office to have a shredder as it can help dispose the confidential documents after they have been used. Plastic storage boxes are also very important as they are ideal for keeping items like scissors, gum, staplers and sellotape. Label Maker again helps us to label the various files and the documents.
The general office cleaning checklists also include dusting the entire room, cleaning the rugs and the carpets, polishing the wooden furniture, vacuuming the upholstery and cleaning the floor.
How To Start With The Cleaning Process?
The cleaning process may seem a great ordeal at the beginning, but will soon become a fun process if some positive approaches are followed towards cleaning the office.
The work should be divided among groups. For e.g. one group should be allotted the task of cleaning the kitchen, other the cupboard whereas other the files.
– There should be snacks and refreshments for the people involved in the cleaning.
– It will be nice if some prizes are kept for various bests.
– Creativity and innovation should rule the roost as this produces the best results.
– The right organizational things like the microfibers and the cleaners should always be kept handy.
– Accessories like containers should also be kept ready.
There are many things in the office which can be recycled instead of being thrown away. Papers and bottles can be recycled.
Donation bins are also a great idea as one can donate things which they do not need anymore.
Office setups which are complex should be organized with help taken from professional organizers.
The important thing to be kept in mind is that, as cleaning process can made fun filled, it should not turn into an annual fest. The employees may take this as an opportunity to dirty their workplaces and then again waste one full day in spring cleaning. They should be encouraged to keep their workplace clean throughout the year and clean it on a weekly basis. If the desks and the files are organized every week, the work process will become faster and productivity is bound to be enhanced. Regular instructions and occasional workshops on importance of cleaning play an important role in having a good looking and clean office.