In the U.S., employees spend at least 1,896 hours at work every year. Still, workers aren’t always as likely to put the same care into maintaining a clean office as they do in their own homes. This can result in a lackluster (or even unhealthy) office environment that won’t do much to attract new clients or current employees. The good news is that there are a few things you can do to make your employees more enthused about office cleaning.

Equate cleanliness to safety and health

Maintaining a clean office isn’t just about tidying up common areas or making one’s desk look neater. It’s really a health and safety issue at heart. Yes, everyone will probably feel happier when the workplace looks better, but they’ll also feel and function better as well. By keeping the workplace clean, employees won’t have to use as many sick days throughout the year and will likely be more productive in general. There will also be fewer hazards around that could lead to workplace accidents. Finally, cleaning regularly can ensure that documents and devices are better protected in case of a natural disaster.

Hire an office cleaning company

While some organizations might be tempted to save money on cleaning by putting their regular employees in charge of these tasks, it’s a move that likely won’t pay off in the long run. Chances are that either your daily productivity or your cleanliness efforts will suffer in this scenario. Usually, it’s a much better idea to work with commercial cleaners on a fairly regular basis. These office cleaning services in Virginia can take care of the duties your employees would likely miss, like carpet cleaning, window cleaning, and deep-cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms. Of course, you’ll want to encourage employees to maintain this cleanliness in the interim; you can assign smaller responsibilities or enact “house rules” pertaining to shared dishes, fridge, and microwave etiquette, and emptying smaller trash bins. That way, your commercial cleaners can focus on the larger areas and your employees will take ownership of the messes they make.

Schedule deep cleaning events

Your office should undergo a deep clean at least twice a year. While you should definitely hire commercial cleaners to tackle these jobs and to handle the upkeep in between, you can get your staff involved in areas that might otherwise be ignored. For example, your staff can be in charge of their own desks, team meeting areas, and storage closets. You can treat this as a team-building event that allows your workers to take a break from their daily responsibilities. You might even consider donating any leftover clothing items that are still in good shape.

Let’s face it: for most people, cleaning isn’t ever going to be the most enjoyable activity in the world. But if you drive home how important it is for health and overall well-being, your employees will be much more likely to make an effort. And if that effort still doesn’t quite cut it, at least you can always hire professional office cleaning services in Virginia. To request an online proposal, reach out to us at Lambert Cleaning in Staunton, VA.