Keeping your office premises clean and tidy is crucial for creating a safe and positive working environment. You might be surprised to learn that dusting goes beyond the spread of germs and being visually appealing. A clean, inviting office, dusted at least once a week, is also linked to increased mood and motivation.
In this article, we discuss the six reasons to keep your office dust-free so that your business can reap the rewards of increased productivity and staff morale.
1. To prevent allergens
Dust is no friend to our immune systems as it can cause numerous symptoms that range from sneezing, coughing and itchy eyes to more serious breathing difficulties, particularly if someone has a pre-existing condition, such as asthma.
Over a prolonged period, excess allergens can have a negative effect on overall health, resulting in sickness and absences. You can counteract this by keeping a dusting schedule and taking care to clean hard-to-reach places. It is also worth decluttering your office space giving dust fewer surfaces to settle on.
2. Protect ventilation systems
The purpose of a ventilation system is to circulate clean, fresh air to help reduce indoor pollutants and humidity. Ventilation is essential to ensure that staff who spend hours inside are kept comfortable while also lowering the probability of germs spreading.
However, if you do not keep your environment free of excess dust, your ventilation system will not work effectively, in fact, it may make the situation worse by spreading the dust around even further.
3. To reduce stress levels
You probably know the expression ‘a tidy home is a tidy mind’, well the same can be said about the office. Dust and clutter cause a marked increase in cortisol, aka the ‘stress hormone’. This hormone can exacerbate anxiety and feelings of unease, apathy and even depression.
What’s more, you will probably struggle to run an effective business that is unorganised while full of staff who are unmotivated and unhappy. The good news is that by turning things around and tidying up your environment, you can instantly improve staff morale.
4. To avoid germs from spreadingÂ
When it comes to the importance of dusting, one of the more obvious reasons of why is to prevent the spread of germs. Bacteria feel right at home in offices as the presence of people indoors all day makes it the perfect environment to multiply. The result is an increase in staff sickness, which will have a detrimental effect on productivity and output. We cannot always prevent a cold from spreading at work, but by showing due diligence, your staff will feel confident that you are doing all you can to stop unnecessary illness.
5. Keep out pests
There are few things more detrimental to staff morale than evidence of pests making themselves at home in your office. By not maintaining a cleaning schedule, you run the risk of common critters like spiders, ants and flies running amok – this is even more apparent if you have excess clutter and leftover food around. Rodents, cockroaches, etc. seeking shelter and food will find a way to get inside. All the more reason to not take your cleaning obligations for granted.
6. Make a good impression on visitors
First impressions count, and if you have visitors and potential clients visiting your premises, you want them to leave with a positive impression. Layers of visible dust and general clutter will not present your business in a professional light and could result in you losing out on a lucrative contract or business opportunity.
Reasons to keep your office dust free: final thoughts
We hope our reasons to keep your office dust free have given you some food for thought on how you could better improve your office environment. Did you know that Scott & Sons offers a commercial cleaning and office cleaning services that can be tailored to the needs of your business? Get in touch with a member of our team today and see how we can help you.
