In old folklore, your space and environment reflect your state of mind. A clean work space leads to a person being productive and constructive. On the contrary, the psychology hoarding and having no organization causes anxiousness and increasing the amount of decisions that must be made day to day. No matter the size of your business, whether it is just you operating a small business or you have a staff of one thousand employees, it is essential to keep work areas free and clear from clutter.
Makes For Happier Employees
In many instances, due to the sheer volume of time that employees spend working, they will treat their office as their second home. After all, an employee spends eight, ten or even twelve hours in an office. It lays claim that a business should invest effort to ensure their work spaces are clean and organized.
Because a clean work desk means zero distractions. It also eliminates the time it takes for you to rummage through a cluttered desk just to look for an important document or a paperclip.
Boosts Creativity
Some employees would argue that the mess on their desk can help them think and be creative. However, scientific studies about clean offices state otherwise and that too much clutter can be detrimental to clear, creative thinking.
Here are three simple ways to organize the desk space to ensure no chaos:
- Put office documents that do not need immediate attention in a “later” basket.
- When working, only allow papers and stuff that you use at that very time to be on your desk. Put the rest in your drawers.
- Get into the habit of emptying your garbage basket and cleaning your office table every single day before leaving.
“Taking the time to remove clutter your office space can help you organize your thoughts. Not to mention that your next big idea might be sitting under the pile of documents,” says the owner of Bellevue Janitorial Services, who’s company services hundreds of offices and has had several clients reach out to them stating how their services allow their employees to “work happy”.
Improves Work Focus
Having a clean office area is crucial to a successful and efficient business.
In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, 103 student participants were directed to sit in a room with a clean work space and or in a cluttered room. They then moved to a separate room afterward and were asked to work on an unsolvable geometry puzzle.
The Result: Those who sat in a clean work space spent 1,117 seconds on the task, while the other group only spent 669.
The numbers are clearly there, a clean and organized work space is key for a company or organization to ensure their employees work smart, efficient and stay happy.
