HOW TO CLEAN YOUR OFFICE TO ENRICH YOUR MOOD, FOCUS AND BEHAVIOUR
We have all had days at the office where stress, anxiety and increasing workloads can bog us mentally and physically. However, few seem to question whether their office space and its cleanliness influences how they feel on a day-to-day basis.
Today, many businesses become engulfed in the company's primary functions to achieve success, and this usually means focusing on productivity in the office to ensure objectives are met. Sadly, tidiness and organisation can take a back seat, and many fall victim to and are controlled by the untidiness that they work in.
Tidiness in a working space is paramount to ensure that mental health and productivity are stable in an office. Clutter and mess are proven to cause anxiety, stress, and unstable decision making. Ironically, this impedes primary business functions, which require efficiency and productivity.
Any office environment needs to be aware of how vital tidiness is and beyond the satisfaction of an aesthetically clean space. In this blog, we will explain how tidiness affects an office environment and give practical tips on how to ensure your office space never bogs you down again.
What is a tidy space?
Tidiness in your office space is all about organisation. This includes only having essential items that you use on your desk, organising your space through practicality, keeping all those cables under control, and digitising your notes and documents.
Why is this important?
Cleaning affects our cognition, emotions, and decisions.
Untidy workplaces cost companies each year as time is wasted searching for lost documents and equipment. Employees lose their sense of control, as they are no longer mastering their environment; in times of stress, this can be detrimental.
When our brains sense a loss of control, the constant reminder of visual disorganisation becomes draining and decreases the ability to focus on a task properly.
Also stemming from a lack of control, untidiness drains our mental inspiration and can heighten feelings of stress and anxiety. Lastly, decision making in unclean environments can be inattentive, unstable, and less agreeable. None of these qualities are valued in any office and you will be disconnected from your peers when displaying this behavior. Therefore, it is vital to turn the tides on untidiness and maintain a clean and organised space to mitigate these messy symptoms.
How does one keep a tidy space?
It is simple to keep your area tidy. Decluttering and only keeping the essentialshandy is critical; however, if your space is getting overwhelming and you donot know where to begin, here are some simple steps you can follow to turnthat untidy frown upside down.
Start small; if your cables, documents, and rubbish have gotten too out of control, start small, and tackle the wires one day, and begin digitising documents over the week. Once you make a start, it gets much more manageable.
Make it a time challenge. If you have other essential tasks on the go during the day, set a short 10–15 minute timer during your break and see how much you can get done. Even in that brief time, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.
Involve others. If tidiness has become not only an issue for you but your whole office, start a team cleaning initiative! Make it fun. Working in an office is all about teamwork.
Be proactive. Untidiness can build and build over time. To avoid being overwhelmed by this in the future, make sure you are pre-emptive in your strikes against mess. Throw rubbish away as soon as you get it, digitise documents as you get them, and regularly tidy your workspace.
A key takeaway here is that tidiness is more important than you think. Do not let untidiness control you and your office. Control it.
If you would like some professional advice or merely a helping hand to keep your office tidy, clean and hygienic in the uncertain times, please feel free to drop us a line and see how we can assist.
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