Johannesburg, 3 January 2019 – As the New Year begins, many of us make plans to ‘spring clean’ our lives, our cupboards, our homes and so much more. When it comes to office space, the only thing that springs to mind is getting out of there, with the imminent holidays being uppermost on just about everyone’s mind. However, just as you plan to clean your personal space, de-clutter your surroundings, office managers and those responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of work spaces, should consider the benefits of using the quiet period to give the work or office environment a deep clean.
- Downtime makes for good organisation
While staff are away, there is likely to be very little disruption to the process and more importantly, to the colleagues of the company. The quiet period is the perfect time to get your ‘house in order’, as they say. During the year, when everyone is doing the grind and are too busy to side step their office space or use different bathrooms, it can be a great inconvenience to do more than the required cleaning and upkeep of the office environment.
- Image is everything
First impressions are important. In psychology it is defined as the event when one person first encounters another person, object or scene. In legal terms, a first impression is defined as a first consideration or judgement. In an interview scenario, you are being judged by your employer, however some employers simply don’t think about your judgement of their environment. An unkempt, unhygienic environment does not make for a good portrayal of the work environment and can leave any visitor to the office, with unintended and even unsuspecting forms of a negative mental image of the business. ‘Judging the book by its cover’, is not just a saying, it happens and as beings who are influenced by image, a negative appearance can greatly tarnish the image of your brand – and it does not matter who is affected because word of mouth makes for an impression by everyone with whom this information is shared.
- Hygiene makes for a healthy work environment
Absenteeism from work can be linked to many things in society and in the work place, conditions such as allergies, an unhygienic environment and the lack of free flowing clean air, are also contributors. It is the employer’s responsibility to provide colleagues with a safe and hygienic environment. The International Organisation for Standardisation or ISO, created OHSAS 18001, known as the Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. It is there to guide employers in minimising the risks of an unsafe environment for their colleagues, which includes workplace hazards, but also hygiene standards.
- Creating a welcoming environment for colleagues
The quiet period just before staff return from leave, is a favourable time to deep clean carpets, kitchens and not least, toilets and change rooms. Everyone loves to come home to a clean house and as colleagues spend much of their time at their workplace, if not a great deal more than they do at home, it makes for a good welcome back to work. As workers, who return refreshed and ready to take on the new year, it sets the tone for what is to come and shows appreciation of the employer for their colleagues, who are returning to the office. The ‘welcome back’ message could not be clearer than the actual representation or rather, presentation of the office space.
About Servest
Servest is the largest, majority black-owned facilities management company on the African continent.
The company has a significant presence in Africa with multi-currency earnings. Serves African operations are head quartered in Johannesburg and have a footprint in 10 African countries.
The Group employs 25,000 staff; has over 10 000 sites; our services, which include integrated facilities management, cleaning, parking, catering, hygiene, office services and landscaping, touch the working lives of thousands of people employed by eminent entities.
A feature of the Servest Group strategy is the extension of empowerment into its African markets through training, associations, partnerships and joint ventures. The aim is to create a foundation for sustainable growth through local capacity building.
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More Info on Four good reasons to deep clean your office for the New Year, by Ross Anderson, MD of Office Services at Servest. here: http://www.servest.co.za
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Source: MyPR.
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