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Benefits of Keeping a Clean Workplace
Keeping your workplace clean is an important task. A clean and fresh work environment will present visitors with a favourable image of your business and benefit the health and safety of staff, improving their morale and productivity.
Proper cleaning procedures will ensure a high level of hygiene in the workplace. This can be particularly important in the healthcare, catering and education sectors where the risks to staff and the public through the spread of germs, bacteria and infection can be high. These procedures can help you to comply with the relevant legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. With minor illnesses such as colds, flu viruses, coughs and other bugs accounting for 27 million of the sick days taken in the UK last year, effective cleaning can assist in reducing this number by preventing illness from spreading. This will have the knock-on advantage of decreasing the amount of stress among staff and increasing morale in the workplace as sick days do not need to be covered and productivity remains high.
Of course workplace cleanliness is not just about hygiene and the spread of germs. A comprehensive cleaning regime will reduce the amount of accidents in the workplace by cleaning up spills and removing clutter that could cause slip and trip hazards.
When choosing cleaning products and equipment, the health and safety of those doing the cleaning should be respected – make sure they wear the correct PPE (personal protective equipment) and take account of the relevant legislation such as the Work at Height Regulations if they are cleaning high up, or the Manual Handling Operations Regulations if heavy or unwieldy objects needs to be moved.