Average Americans spend roughly 20 hours per week working for their household, which includes not only cleaning but also repairs and general maintenance, that translates into 1,040 hours per year, as seen in the results from the American Time Use survey. The results of this survey imply we are spending quite a lot of our free time making our homes look beautiful and clean. What are the reasons behind it? Probably it’s because we like staying in a pleasant environment, given the amount of time we are spending there.
So, bearing that thought in mind, what about our office spaces? Again, average Americans spend around 40 hours or more per week working in different types of offices surrounded by a different number of colleagues. If you take all these numbers into account, most of our time being awake is consumed not by our family and friends, but by our colleagues in the office. And, if such a big chunk of our lives is spent in our work environment, it’s only natural we would like for it to look the best way it can. Looking its best isn’t measured only by the price of the furniture and electronics – sure, it does play a significant role, but all of that doesn’t count if the entire office space isn’t kept clean and presentable. That is where professionals come in handy, making sure the whole place is maintained with proper care.
The state of the office environment is imperative, as it is a important factor in the employee’s satisfaction. Your office not being in the best of conditions can affect people’s effectiveness and encourage them to be less productive.
Still, having your offices commercially cleaned can be seen as a costly investment, but maintaining a clean work environment can actually pay for itself times and times over, and in more ways one can think of. In fact, there are many advantages to hiring professional office cleaning services:
Clean work environment improves your staff’s health.
A shared workspace and its surfaces are crawling with bacteria and germs which can cause sickness. Having your offices properly cleaned decreases immensely potential health risks and can also reduce the amount of worker sick days, which consequently leads to better productivity. Professionals are trained and know all the sanitation practices which will keep the office completely clean and germ-free. There are even some who suggest that the cleaning industry should be under the healthcare industry as it has such an important role in affecting people’s health on a daily basis, which is something to consider.
Professional office cleaning can save you time and money.
Hiring professional office cleaning service gives the employees the possibility to concentrate on their own tasks and projects which require more time and skill, thus saving up a lot of time which leads to more money being saved. Having professional service taking care of the cleaning gives everyone in the office a piece of mind and lets them be more productive when working in a pleasant environment.
Regular cleaning improves the longevity of building assets.
Having your offices professionally cleaned on a regular basis can do a lot for the building assets, such as carpets, floors, tiles or any other equipment. It extends their lifespan significantly and prevents excessive wear. Let’s take, for example, probably one of the most overlooked pieces of furniture when it comes to cleaning work spaces – office chairs. They come in different sizes and colors, different models, but they all share the same purpose – providing comfortable support for your employees on a daily basis. Now just imagine how much time people spend sitting on them and how much of a health risk they actually represent, especially in companies where they are shared (call centers, for example). Just wiping them off with some tissues won’t do the trick, because they do get dirty fast and can be a source of transfer for all sorts of germs. That is why it is important to have somebody professionally clean the entire workspace and not overlook anything, not even our chairs, making them last longer.
A clean and presentable office space can be used as a valid marketing tool.
Just imagine this situation – a potential client enters your building. The first impression is everything, in the appearance of your business as well. Before even greeting and shaking hands, the first thing him or her will probably do is to look around to assess how everything looks. Will they feel more confident in doing business with you if they see a clean, orderly office that people feel invited to or a cluttered, untidy space? Our bet is on the first one, and it’s safe to say that is a clear winner in this battle of the offices. Having your working place always clean and well kept creates a hospitable environment and can certainly have a positive impact on your business’s reputation.
The appearance of your building can set it apart from others.
When talking about first impressions, let us not forget the big picture – the building your office is in can also add up to the positive feedback from clients and its appearance can separate one building from another and bring some added value, just by having, for example, your windows professionally cleaned on a regular basis. Talk about hidden advantages of hiring professional service when you put everything into perspective, right?
The list of benefits when hiring professionals to take care of the cleanliness of your office doesn’t end here; these are just the ones that come to mind first. One thing you should remember is that there is no place a professional will overlook – as we said earlier, just keeping an office chair clean can have lots of benefits for the overall health of your employees. Having such a detailed approach will then lead to having all your office assets in perfect condition – from carpets and floors to bathrooms and kitchen utensils, making them last longer and saving you money to invest elsewhere.
When you connect all the dots between hiring professional cleaners, health conditions and overall satisfaction of your employees, their productiveness, attendance and performance, potential client’s impressions and willingness to do business with your company, the investment into professional cleaning service becomes much more understandable and easier to digest, as it gets harder to cut your cleaning budget when you realize all the advantages it can provide you. Always choose a reputable service as you’ll be able to make a detailed and unique cleaning plan with them to best suit your company’s needs – every good business will strive to make their clients happy and content with the provided service, which can include additional benefits, such as cleaning the items they possibly do not usually clean. And of course, make sure you have an agreement with the company of your choice, in written form.
So, in the end, let us try and answer the question from the title – just how important is it to work in a sparkling environment? After going through all the details that come into hiring professionals to take care of the cleaning process, the answer somehow imposes itself – it could be one of the best decisions you make for your office and your employees in the long run.
