If your workplace has a communal area, it’s highly likely that it’s caused you problems more than once.
Keeping a break area or communal kitchen clean can be one of the greatest challenges of any office, and in fact a 2010 survey carried out by OfficeTeam revealed that over 40% of employees identified that having to clean up other people’s mess in communal spaces was the most annoying workplace behaviour.
One of the reasons why communal area chaos is such an issue is because many workers believe that cleaning this space is not their duty, and that the responsibility for organisation and cleanliness lies at somebody else’s door. However, having untidy and dirty communal areas causes frustration amongst employees, and in turn, this results in a negative mood which reduces productivity. In short, chaotic communal spaces can have a direct impact upon the company’s profits.
If your communal kitchen, staff room or break area always has cluttered surfaces, a crammed fridge and overflowing bins, it’s time to take steps to tackle the problem.
Create Some Clear Guidelines
If standards are ever going to improve in your workplace’s communal spaces, there needs to be clear guidelines that employees can follow, for example:
- Disposing of all rubbish properly in a bin
- Wiping down all surfaces following use
- Wiping down the microwave after using it
- Only storing adequately sealed foods in the fridge
- Not leaving dirty mugs, cutlery and dishes in the sink but cleaning, drying and putting them away following use
Informing Employees
It’s no good devising a plan but then failing to inform employees.
One of the easiest ways is to put up a sign in the communal area outlining the guidelines, however sending out a mass email and notifying staff at a meeting are also good ways to do this.
Allocating Responsibilities
Allocate the responsibility for caring for the communal area to a designated employee. It will be their task to encourage the workforce to adhere to the set guidelines.
Rewarding Success
With any luck, everyone will want their communal space to be clean and tidy, however offering rewards as an incentive for positive results is a good way of ensuring that the guidelines are stuck to.
Even little things like buying a weekly box of biscuits for everyone to share is a simple yet effective way to increase employee enthusiasm for their new organised communal area.
Hire A Cleaning Expert
Today’s modern workplaces are busy places, and often your workers just don’t have time to clean the communal areas thoroughly. If you would rather ensure that your employees are using their time productively and working at the jobs that they are being paid to do rather than tidying the kitchen and break room, the best solution is to hire a professional cleaning company. Their trained and skilled employees can take care of all of these issues, making sure that your workplace remains hygienically sanitised so that your workers’ morale can stay high.
