TIPS FOR A GREAT (AND CLEAN) NEW YEAR
One New Years’ resolution that you can tackle with good faith is the commitment to maintaining a healthy, happy, and PRODUCTIVE office workspace (and it applies to in-office AND work-from-home personal work areas!).
Here are five useful, smart, simple ways to boost your immunity in the New Year, along with encouraging a more creative, comfortable workstation.
- Organize and declutter
Set yourself up for success in 2023 by starting the year with a fresh, decluttered workspace.
Begin by sorting through any old projects, papers and printables from 2022 and delegating them into their proper places. Invest in a filing cabinet, colored binders, or a folder system to keep important documents close by (but out of the way).
Remember the saying “out of sight, out of mind”? It applies to what you allow into your visual field while working! Sort and stash space-takers like heavy books, old reports, and receipts. That way, items like calendars, clocks, and current projects can exist without competing for your attention.
And while knick-knacks may have a homey, personal quality to your desk, select just a few to brighten up your workspace, and store the rest away. Smaller items like picture frames, trophies, tins and crafts collect dust quickly, and can impact the look and feel of your station (not to mention air quality!).
2. Wipe and dust your surfaces
According to Hughes Environmental Research, the average person creates 1/3 ounce of dead skin each week–about the weight of a car key!
While that 1/3 ounce might not seem like much, the average home in the United States collects around 40 pounds of dust each year.
Eradicate lingering dust and allergens at your workstation by keeping a microfiber cloth at your desk for personal use. Get into the habit of wiping down your space at the end of each day, with an extra 5-10 minutes added to nooks and crannies at the end of each week.
Need a little extra help for those hard-to-reach surfaces? Vanguard offers professional high-dusting services to enhance the air quality of any office, atrium, or workplace!
3. Clean and disinfect your electronic touchpoints
Did you know your laptop/computer keyboard is 20,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat? (hey – we said these tip would be useful, not that they wouldn’t be gross!)
Many people assume places like bathrooms or locker rooms are the major culprits for spreading sickness and allergens, when in reality, the dirtiest places are on and around the items we touch the most every single day!
According to emerging research, keyboards are the second germiest office items, followed by mobile phones, a computer mouse and, finally, trackpads – which had 162 times more bacteria than money!
Reduce the spread of infection by keeping high-touch point areas disinfected daily. Unsure about how to make the biggest impact? Professional cleaning companies understand important criteria for total disinfection like proper chemical dwell time, and how not all chemicals are suitable for every surface.
Learn more about Vanguard’s enhanced office cleaning services HERE.
4. Re-energize recycling efforts
9 out of 10 office employees report they would contribute to recycling efforts if it was easy.
What does this tell you? When it comes to company-wide recycling efforts, if you have the tools, your employees will use them!
Start by adding recycling bins to high-traffic areas such as kitchens, cafeterias, and lobbies. Encourage team recycling with motivational signage, and even consider inspiring employees to reduce single-use coffee cups by investing in company-branded reusable cups!
5. Keep hand sanitizer easily accessible
According to the CDC, approximately 85% of 4,817 U.S. adults frequently engaged in either hand washing or using hand sanitizer after contact with high-touch public surfaces.
Make the choice to disinfect simple by installing hand sanitizer dispensers along high-traffic hallways, near entryways and exits, and close to bathrooms as an add-on to traditional handwashing.
Because studies show that up to 90% of employees have gone to work sick, mitigating contamination is crucial to maintaining a healthy office environment. Not only will the presence of hand sanitizer subliminally communicate a feeling of safety, but it will inspire office-wide use, in turn driving down the risk of illness and added employee sick days.
FOOTER:
Vanguard Cleaning Systems of Minnesota and Wisconsin is here year-round to help you keep your office environment fresh, inspiring, and free of clutter.
Schedule a FREE 15 minute consultation HERE.
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