Having a clean and neat office space is an essential part of helping to keep yourself organized, a relaxing space to work in, and lastly a clean office is a more sanitary office. A clean office helps to keep your employees healthy and not sick. Avoid germ buildup and dirty spaces with these simple tips to keep your office space clean.

So what are some of the hotspots that you should be aware of and how you can help to maintain cleanliness of them? Below are some helpful tips for cleaning these spaces and to help stop the spread of germs.

Clean your computer & mouse on a daily basis

Your computer, mouse and phone are often one of the most overlooked places to clean by employees. Therefore these are one of the places that sometimes harbour the highest amount of germs and bacteria.

In every office, there should be a healthy supply of cleaning wipes, so that you can clean your keyboard, mouse, and desktop phone (if you have one). This not only keeps the workplace sparkling, but it eliminates germs and helps reduce the spread of viruses.

Pay attention to items on your desk

Our desks and workstations can easily become landing places for files, papers, and other debris. Yes, even garbage! Be sure to keep your desk as clean and organized as possible. Shred unnecessary documents, file papers and other documents appropriately, use office recycling bins, and make sure you dispose of food and other waste appropriately.

Keep all your belongings in your desk drawers. These are yours and yours alone. This is a hygienic space to keep your pens, stationery, work notes, reference material, cleaning products, those all-important tissues and even a glass or mug, napkins and some cutlery.

Your bag

The bag you take to work with you is often riddled with germs. This is because you are travelling with it to and from work, meaning it accumulates. All the bugs and bacteria that you may come across on your way to and from work may also attach themselves to your bag.

Bags also tend to be set down pretty much anywhere when you’re at work—including the toilet floor. This, in turn, can allow bacteria to stick to your bag, which will readily treat your rucksack as their new home.

Make sure to give your bag a good wipe down at the end of every week with an antibacterial cloth. It is also a good idea to be aware of where you set your bag. Ideally try to place your bag in an area of the office you know is clean or hang it on the back of your chair, making sure it doesn’t touch the floor.

Fridge

A shared kitchen is everybody’s responsibility, as is making sure that the kitchen fridge is cleaned on a weekly basis. If you are using a fridge to store your lunch or snacks, make sure to keep an eye on your fridge’s temperature. The best temperature for a fridge should always be kept below 10 celsius. Germs in the fridge can build up more quickly when raw meats and vegetables are kept in contact with other food items.

One suggestion is to ask colleagues to date their food and to take responsibility for throwing out-of-date food away. Ensure the fridge gets a weekly clean and staff empty unwanted food stuff at the end of each work week.

Eating at your desk

If you do regularly eat at your desk, be sure to follow these helpful tips. Be sure to thoroughly wash your hands before and after eating. Make sure that if you did bring food from your home, to not have it sitting around your desk all day and instead, store it in the office fridge. Don’t forget to wash your reusable tote bags and lunch bags, especially if you are bringing them into the office on a daily basis. If you plan on bringing in a frozen meal and it needs to thaw, don’t thaw it on a countertop, instead use a microwave to thaw it. Lastly these tips can also be use if you are ordering out for food to the office.

Printer

The office printer is used by everyone in the office, meaning that it is touched by other staff members, as well as yourself. Making it easy for germs to spread from colleagues. Therefore every time you do use the printer, make sure to wash your hands or use antibacterial gel on your hands. You can also use an antibacterial wipe on the printer after you have finished using it, this will help stop the spread of germs within the office.

Coworkers

The more you work with a person, the more your body’s immune system will get used to them and remember their germs. However, when you’re in a coworking environment, the same cannot be said. You simply don’t know where these other people will have been, so it’s perfectly possible that they could be bringing all sorts of different, potentially harmful bacteria into the office.

There are many considerations that should be taken into account when returning to the office. Learn more about how Telsec is helping to maintain a safe and healthy office environment.

Telsec is currently offering offices for Half the price to accommodate social distancing. Contact us today to learn more about our Half Price Office Space.