While office cleaning may seem like a mundane task, a messy desk isn't always a productive desk. In fact, when it comes to workplace clutter, less can really mean more.
If you work in an office,
cleaning probably isn't your main concern. However, having a clean and tidy work environment is key to your health, professional image, and workplace relationships. The whole idea of being a right-brained creative type can only make so much sense; no one really works best in pure filth and mayhem.
Your Health
When it comes to actually cleaning and sanitizing an area, you may not think of an office environment as posing major health risks. However, during cold and flu season, or when food enters your cubicle, the potential for spreading germs and attracting unwanted insects and rodents can increase the risk.
Simple, regular tasks like taking out the trash and wiping down desks, phones, keyboards, and other surfaces, can make a big difference when it comes to your own health, as well as that of your colleagues and clients. Illness is more than a personal inconvenience, too; it can reduce your effectiveness on the job or even your ability to come to work and give that killer presentation you've prepared.
Your Professional Image
Regardless of your expertise within your field, others will judge you based on your appearance, deportment, and work setting. While you may or may not have access to the latest technological gadget that just hit the market, the sleekness and organization of your work space can make or break your career.
Even if you don't meet clients at your own locale, the accessibility and orderliness of your files and other resources is key to your productivity. When either your boss or your key client wants something found or done, ASAP, your timeliness and efficiency depends on the systems and order you already have in place. Keeping up with office cleaning and organization is key to your ability to deliver, when it really counts.
Your Workplace Relationships
From a potential promotion to a teamwork-friendly reputation, your cubicle or desk can be a benefit or hindrance to your aims. When foul smells or piles of paper and last week's take-out containers spill over into others' areas, you probably won't be the most popular person on your floor. That popularity may not seem important, now, but it might affect your chances for upward mobility within the company or your perceived value as a good team player.
Whether your office cleaning skills could use some sharpening, or you need to hire someone else to do your dirty work, the key is to get it done and keep it up. The result can benefit your popularity, professionalism, and even your physical condition.
