5 Tips to Keep Your Workplace Clean and Healthy

The Coronavirus is spreading across the U.S.

For business owners, our top priority is our employees’ wellness. Not just during this time of crisis, but throughout the regular flu season, too.

When employees miss work, productivity tanks and your revenue takes a hit. The added expense of sick-time payout takes a toll, as well.

Keeping your team healthy can be challenging, but it’s worth your best effort.

Since it isn’t reasonable to keep your workforce in a protective bubble (except during crisis times like COVID-19), here are five tips to help you keep your work environment and employees clean, healthy and germ-free.

Keep Your Workplace Clean and Healthy

Follow these tips to keep your workplace clean and healthy and protect your employees and customers.

1. Prevent spreading germs

Wipe down your office and/or waiting room chairs (pay special attention to the arms where people rest their hands), telephones, desks, keyboards, mouse, doorknobs and light switches daily – or more frequently as needed – using a disinfectant wipe or Lysol spray and a towel.

If neither is available, use a mixture of three tablespoons of bleach to one gallon of lukewarm water.

Simply spray the solution on the surface to be cleaned and let it sit for three-five minutes. Wipe with a clean towel. (Be sure to use a very light mist for electronics.)

2. Clean carpets and upholstery

Carpet and upholstery – office chairs included – are breeding grounds for bacteria and germs to grow. Soiled carpet and upholstery can cause health issues like allergies, skin irritations, rashes and flu-like symptoms.

A thorough hot-steam extraction method will remove embedded bacteria, germs and dust particles, leaving a fresh-scented and healthy work environment.

As an added bonus, keep your employees stress-free by providing them with a clean workplace too – they deserve it!

3. Encourage healthy lifestyles.

Healthy people result from healthy lifestyles.

Encourage your employees (yourself, too) by providing fresh filtered water and set a goal of drinking eight glasses of water a day.

Also, provide a basket of fresh fruit that includes oranges (Yay for vitamin c!), apples, bananas and purple grapes.

Consider some of these ideas to motivate your team toward a healthier lifestyle:

• Reimburse employees for getting the flu shot in the fall. For larger companies, the flu shot can often come to your workplace.
• Remind employees to clean their cell phones daily. Can you believe a cell phone has more germs than a toilet? YUCK! (Don’t forget your computer keyboard, either. Germ Central!)

• Place a hand sanitizer on each desk, customer-interaction area and hang them on the wall for warehouse workers.

4. Send the sickies home

Send sick people home immediately. One sneeze, the share of a phone, or cough could spread the disease to a co-worker and before you know it, you’re down two people rather than one.

Some companies have forced a policy that adds a day home sick to each day someone calls off for illness. After day three of being sick, a doctor’s note is required before they can return, as well.

5. Clean the restroom

It seems like a simple task, but how many businesses have you walked into to find the bathroom is neglected?

Not only are 94% of consumers going to avoid your business, but what about your employees?

Germs are everywhere in the restroom.

Make sure to not only disinfect the obvious spots like toilet seats and sink areas, but also include the floors – especially around toilets and urinals.

Don’t forget about sink handles, doorknobs and toilet flush handles.

A hot-water extraction can be used by a commercial cleaning company (such as HammondKnoll, ) on floors and walls to remove germs and bacteria.

Last but not least, be sure to keep the bathroom well-stocked with soaps, sanitizers and paper towels. Place a trash can by the exit so the towel can be used to open the door on the way out.

Final thoughts

Follow these tips to keep your workplace clean and healthy.

Do your best to prevent spreading germs, regularly clean carpets and upholstery, encourage healthy living among your team, send the sick people home and clean the restrooms thoroughly and often.

Whether we are fighting the Coronavirus, the annual flu or some other epidemic, creating a healthy, clean and germ-free environment for you, your employees and your clients will set you apart from the competition and will help your business to flourish and grow.

Do you have feedback or tips that would help other businesses? If so, we would love for you to share them with us!