COVID or no COVID, your office needs to maintain order and cleanliness to function properly and make the appropriate good impressions. Several decades ago, Chicago Tribune columnist Ann Landers publicized Miriam Hamilton Keare’s Golden Rules for Living.
The rules are as follows:
- If you open it, close it.
- If you turn it on, turn it off.
- If you unlock it, lock it up.
- If you break it, admit it.
- If you can’t fix it, call in someone who can.
- If you borrow it, return it.
- If you value it, take care of it.
- If you make a mess, clean it up.
- If you move it, put it back.
- If it belongs to someone else, get permission to use it.
- If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone.
- If it’s none of your business, don’t ask questions.
If everyone in the office followed these instructions, work life would be immeasurably more peaceful. Unfortunately, there are usually people in every office who do not adhere to them, and even those who do not always do so perfectly, particularly with respect to cleanliness. At our company, we have a nightly trash service and a professional cleaning once per week. Our staff is responsible for disinfecting their own workstations as often as they wish, as well as doing their best to follow the golden rules. And while we still have days where someone comes to see us from the field and spreads boot debris on the floor, a culture of helping and caring for each other and the work environment makes a difference.
There is not a company out there who doesn’t struggle with consistency in the basics of keeping the office clean and stocked with necessary supplies. Click here to download a Cleaning Checklist Template for use in your office to utilize your own checklists.
What Are the Benefits of Having a Clean Work Environment?
The workplace environment impacts staff productivity, performance, and well-being. No matter the industry, maintaining a clean workplace offers the following benefits:
- The best first impressions for both clients, associates and the people working there themselves
- Staff members stay safe and healthy
- Employee productivity gets boosted
- The professional image of the facility is improved
- Proves to be cost-effective for the business in the long run
As Benjamin Disraeli said, “cleanliness and order are not matters of instinct; they are matters of education, and like most great things, you must cultivate a taste for them”. Especially during the coronavirus pandemic, but even in general, following these rules will help build good habits in the workplace.
Is cleanliness important to you?
Stay Safe and Healthy,
Suzanne Breistol
