Workplace cleanliness is an important part of keeping a productive and healthy workplace for your employees.
There are many benefits to keeping your office clean. One, you get more productive employees who are motivated to work. Two, you avoid accidents from happening in the workplace. Three, you also create a professional atmosphere that makes it appealing to work within the eyes of clients as well as your own employees.
With that said, one way to throw a wrench into getting the benefits of a clean office is sanitation issues.
There are many common sanitation issues that workplaces should learn how to manage. Below are some of them for your reference, as well as different ways on how to solve your sanitary issues.
1. Food
If you work in the food industry, then food sanitation is one of the big issues you need to resolve.
However, food sanitation issue can still crop up in your workplace whether you are in the food industry or not.
In our work, oftentimes, we skip some steps in the work process during our busy hours. This is a common practice.
In the food industry, though, it can have more detrimental effects than in others. Thus, you should make sure that you avoid skipping sanitation steps in the work process to avoid food-related sanitation issues.
Make sure that all utensils and cutlery that handle food are washed thoroughly. Aside from that, make sure that all food items are stored in the right containers and in the right storage areas to avoid contamination, as well as early expiration of the items.
2. Bathroom
The bathroom can be one of the dirtiest places in the workplace should one not keep it clean.
According to MaidSailors (Commercial Cleaning New York), the bathroom is one of the key places in the office that should receive a regular bout of cleaning.
Also, the bathroom is one part of the office that your visitors or potential clients are likely to see and use. Thus, aside from the reception area, the bathroom in the office should also make a great impression.
Make sure that all bathroom items like toilet paper, soap, and other toiletries are always refilled. Check up on bathroom trash bins as well and throw these away when you can, even if they aren’t full to the brim.
3. Paper clutter
Paper clutter is a common sanitation issue for all sorts of workplaces. Despite the fact that we are in the digital age, some offices haven’t made the transition to digital and paper-free work operation.
Paper clutter can be found in all parts of the office and there are many ways you can manage that.
One solution is by converting all paperwork into their digital forms. These can be made into paper any time but going digital can be more convenient because you can access the documents anytime.
Another solution is to create creative office workspaces that naturally accommodate and take into account the paperwork that an office is constantly receiving.
Although paper is a common resource most used in offices, it shouldn’t mean that you should leave it lying around. So creating the right home for it is a good solution.
4. Pantry
Another part of the office that is likely to encounter all sorts of sanitation issues that should be addressed is the pantry.
It’s the part of the office that handles food and utensils. Aside from that, it’s also likely the place where a lot of food is wasted.
Keeping this area clean is important because doing otherwise can affect the overall health of employees.
When trying to maintain the cleanliness of the office pantry, it’s best that you involve employees in keeping the office pantry constantly clean. Tell them that they should throw away any expired food that they encounter in the office refrigerator.
Aside from that, if the garbage can is full, then they should throw it away instead of stacking them up against one another. Tell them to wash dishes as well after they’ve used them.
5. Air Quality
An aspect of workplace sanitation that a lot of offices tend to forget about is air quality.
Most tend to not notice the benefit of having good air quality in the office. Not only is it good for overall respiratory health, but it helps employees focus and concentrates on their work.
With that said, there are several ways you can improve air quality in the office.
Plants are a simple solution. Not only do they improve air quality, but they also make any place look good no matter if you have a minimalist office design or a quirkier office design scheme.
Also, regularly checking up on the air vents in the office is also a great way of addressing the poor air quality in the office.
When you try and avoid the most common of sanitation issues in your office, you avoid other issues in the office from popping up. It’s best that you resolve them before it turns into another issue altogether and with the solutions listed above, you are sure to do just that.