A busyworking office can quickly become untidy and disorganised throughout the week. Staff have better ways to spend their time than cleaning up after each other. Most workers are simply too busy to even acknowledge the mess.

While professional cleaning can rectify this, it doesn’t prevent chaos from taking over the building during working hours. Specialist London office cleaners have been sharing their best cleaning hacks to help everyone contribute to keeping the place clean, tidy and enjoyable.

Businesses in the capital are some of the busiest in the country and every little tip and trick can help with keeping up appearances in London offices.

It is essential that offices are kept clean and tidy for many reasons. A clean office boosts productivity and leads to employees being able to perform to the best of their ability.

A dirty office building can also give off the wrong impression to visitors and clients, no one should miss out on potential contracts because of dirt and grime.

There are also health risks from being within messy offices, not just from the spread of germs, bacteria and virus but also the hazard of slips trips and falls from spills on the floor or items left in corridors and stairwells.

Which is why it can really benefit any business to know all the tricks of the trade to keep everything sparkly clean.

1.  Create Zones

It can be easy for tasks to be performed at one space, no matter what they are. Even generic office assignments can cause clutter and this can pile up over the working day.

Set aside designated zones, depending on what task is to be completed. For example, there could be tasks which involve rummaging through historic paperwork; if there is a designated space for this, staff are more likely to clean up after themselves for the want of leaving the area clear for the next colleague who requires the space.

If these forms of tasks are performed at personal desks, it is easy for employees to lead to disarray and have paperwork beginning to pile up that has failed to be filed.

Creating clear zones for coffee, tea and food preparation will eliminate crumbs and spills around desks and encourage staff to eat in these areas, instead of near equipment and paperwork.

2.  Keep Only The Essentials Within Reach

There are always colleagues that are infamous for hoarding items on their desks and surrounding areas, but this should be discouraged.

It may seem like a time-saving solution as these staff members won’t have to frequently visit office supply cupboards throughout the day. But having all these items in their immediate vicinity will quickly create so much clutter, they may not even be able to find what they need.

Encourage just the essentials within arms reach. Nobody needs numerous pens and mountains of printer paper near them all day every day.

3.  Review The Filing System

Is the current filing system a nightmare to understand or has it perhaps been neglected for so long that there isn’t much ‘filing’ going on?

Staff will always be reluctant to put things away if this task is going to be difficult.

Using colour-coded filing systems and even cabinets for each day of the week, client or staff member can make a dramatic difference.

This will lead to more numbers of staff putting paperwork where it should be, reducing clutter on desks and other office areas and decreasing the risk of anything important going missing.

4.  Add Organisation To Personal Draws

Personal desk draws are often a haphazard area, personal items, snacks and client paperwork can all be mixed up in one.

Providing something to create obvious divides and can stop food residue impeding on documents or office supplies being muddled with client files.

This can be anything from plastic dividers, small storage boxes or files.

5.  Make It Easy

There is going to be huge reluctance from staff to clear up after themselves if what they need isn’t close by.

Provide surface wipes in kitchens and workstations to clean up any crumbs or spillages. Personal bins at desks can avoid rubbish being left on desks.

Even small equipment like dustpanscan be overlooked if staff aren’t aware of where they are kept, leaving dirt to be trampled throughout the rest of the office if not cleared.

Make it obvious where cleaning items are, whether with signage, company emails or during induction.

6.  Coat Hooks

It may seem like a trivial addition, but hooks for personal items can make a world of difference. Especially in winter when large coats, hats and scarfs are draped over office chairs, this can quickly make the place look untidy.

Many commuters will also require large bags for coming into the office, to carry work laptops, gym gear or even to bring the daily food shopping back home.

Instead of these cluttering the office, provide a space to hang them up or safely store them. If you are a large business, consider offering employee lockers.

Outdoor storage can also be a benefit, bikes and electric scooters need to be left in a secure place and in London, many staff don’t feel safe chaining these on the street.

Bringing them into the office not only creates more mess but it can also drag mud in as well. Large, secure outdoor storage spaces can really help.

As most of us spend an average of 8 hours a day in the office, it’s crucial to make every effort to keep the place presentable, for both mental and physical health and to portray the company in a good light.

By implementing just a few of the above hacks, you will swiftly be able to see a difference in the office and reduce the amount of dirt and disarray that builds up over the day.

© New To HR