When running a successful business cleanliness is not something that is often given a second thought. But have you ever tried working in a chaotic or dirty environment? It is near impossible; the mind wanders and becomes distracted regularly, it is difficult to focus on the task at hand and you end up cleaning before you even start what you wanted to do.

If you employ staff then it is no different for them; in fact the distractions are usually worse because it isn’t actually their business so the lack of cleanliness becomes more than a distraction, it becomes a de-motivator and source of irritation.
An office-based business that is clean and tidy will have a better chance of success, that much is simple and there are bundles of research to support this fact. But aside from hiring your own cleaning contractors, are there any work-based rules you can implement or things you can do to help maintain positivity and focus? We think so:

1.    Enforce a good filing system
If you need paper documentation, make sure it gets filed by each member of staff on a regular basis. Paper clutter looks untidy, and can lead to things being misplaced and lost if not kept on top of.

2.    Discourage eating at the desk
Provide a social room if you have the space. Watching other people eat is distracting to other members of staff, can make your workplace untidy through scattering of crumbs and will actually decrease the productivity of that member of staff by keeping them at their desks. A fifteen minute break from your computer screen and workstation to eat can help concentration levels throughout the afternoon period.

3.    Make the entrance hall a priority
If guests and clients visit your offices regularly, make sure your entrance hall is bright and always clean. Keep up to date magazines in a waiting area and make tea and coffee making facilities available. Put yourself in your visitor’s shoes – would you want to sit around in a dark, cold room waiting for a meeting with someone who doesn’t maintain his work place? We didn’t think so.

4.    Store archive files off site
This is a good idea for smaller businesses where space is at a premium, or larger businesses where there is an awful lot to keep hold of. For various reasons as business documents need to be kept for a certain amount of time, so in order to prevent piles of boxes stuffed full of paper cluttering up your office, store them elsewhere. If you have to rent a small storage unit, just do it, it is better than your staff having to walk past piles of boxes each and every day.

5.    Re-organise the place
Assess your office – are you really making the most of the space? Organising desks efficiently can really help productivity and open up considerable more space for storage units and other such filing cabinets. Organising your desks in a sensible and attractive fashion can transform the feel of your office and make it much easier to keep clean.

6.    Keep on top of office plants
While indoor plants can look fantastic, they can also look disgusting if not maintained. Put someone in charge of plant maintenance or do it yourself; as soon as leaves being to go brown discard them. Do not ignore them so much so that they begin to rot. Then you really do have a morale killer on your hands.