5 Tips to Clean Your Office in a Hybrid Working World

As life gradually returns to normality, the effects of the pandemic are still widely noticeable within the working world, with many businesses still trying to find the new normal. Life after lockdown has seen an increasing number of businesses adopting a hybrid working model, designed to offer flexibility to employees through a combination of remote and office working. Permanent office working is now looking to become a thing of the past with 63% of high-growth businesses using hybrid working models.

Why are companies adopting hybrid working?

The hybrid working model brings a whole host of benefits for both business owners and workers alike, so it’s no surprise that this new way of working is becoming widely adopted. Increased flexibility is one of the most attractive factors for employees, with them being able to regain a sense of work-life balance. Some further selling points for the hybrid working model include:

• Increased productivity – the hybrid working model has allowed workers to utilise their time better and avoid daily commutes to the office.
• Reduced sick days – with less people in the office, it’s far easier for workers to maintain a level of social distancing, helping to reduce the spread of illness in the workplace. This should see the number of people taking sick leave drop.
• Improved wellbeing – hybrid working has led to increased happiness amongst many workers, with them being able to take control over their schedule, spend more time with loved ones, dress more casually or simply avoid the daily commute.
• Reduced business costs – with less staff in the office at one time, businesses have the opportunity to reduce the size of their office spaces and expenditure on utility bills.
• Avoid loneliness - maintaining regular contact with other workers will help to prevent employees from feeling isolated or lonely, which a permanent work from home model could lead to.

What is the impact on hybrid working on hygiene and cleanliness?

 Despite the many positives of adopting the hybrid working model, it does come with its drawbacks. To truly set your business up for success in a hybrid working model, you should ensure that office spaces are clean, safe and comfortable. One key factor to consider is how adopting this way of working could impact the cleanliness and current cleaning schedule of your office space.

A hybrid workspace often sees a varied influx of employees within the space, each with differing schedules, making it challenging to schedule in a full office clean. The irregular working patterns and smaller office spaces will also likely lead to hot-desking, which inevitably may create a less hygienic space. A recent study found that microbiological activity is 18% higher in hotdesking environments, which could result in increased illness amongst your employees.

All of these changes will require business owners and facility managers to think differently when it comes to their office space cleaning schedule to ensure all cleaning protocols are adhered to and to ensure that employees feel safe.

Office Cleaning Tips for Hybrid Working

With your office hygiene standards becoming increasingly crucial, we have put together our top 5 tips to ensure the cleanliness of your office is kept to the highest standard.

Have a daily cleaning schedule

The first step to maintaining the cleanliness of your office space would be to adopt a cleaning schedule which is designed to meet the unique needs of your office space. It’s important that cleaning occurs between groups of people attending the office, for example if a group attends on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s, the office should be thoroughly cleaned on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning before the next group arrives. This way, you can minimise illness and infections spreading between the two groups.

Prioritise communal areas

The adoption of the hybrid working model has seen a rise in the number of employees visiting the office for collaborative work. This will inevitably see an increase in the use of meeting rooms and communal areas, meaning these areas will require enhanced cleaning. These spaces should be prioritised within your cleaning schedule to ensure your employees can work productively in a safe environment.

Provide hand sanitiser dispensers

Another effective way to minimise sick days and reduce the spread of infection within your team, is to provide hand sanitiser dispensers throughout your office space. You should consider locating these in high traffic areas such as kitchens, meeting rooms, reception areas and washrooms to encourage employees to clean their hands where they can. Not only will this help to improve office cleanliness but will also help employees to feel safer and more comfortable with working from the office.

Hire professional cleaners

If you are struggling to create a cleaning schedule that meets the demands of your hybrid working arrangements, why not leave it to the professionals and hire a team of high quality commercial office cleaners? Choosing a reliable and flexible team of commercial cleaners who will be able to tailor a schedule according to when your staff will be using the space will be one less thing you will need to worry about. Not only will hiring professional cleaners allow you to concentrate on other important aspects of business, it will also improve the quality of cleaning with a higher return on investment.

Consider automatic key fobs

Our final tip to consider when adopting a hybrid working model would be to introduce automatic key fobs. Automatic key fobs make access to your premises far simpler for employees which is all the more important in a flexible working model. As well as increasing ease of access for employees, key fobs also improve hygiene standards within the workplace. The use of a key fob will mean fewer people will be interacting with high traffic touch points such as door handles, which in turn will minimise the spread of illness amongst your employees.

Is your team back in the office?

If your team is returning to the workplace and you’re in need of a reliable and flexible commercial cleaning service to help minimise the spread of infection, then we can help. At Jani-King we tailor our cleaning services to meet the needs of your business and work our schedule around you. Get in touch with us today to find out more about how we can help your business adjust to hybrid working.