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A Clean Workplace Can Translate Into Fewer Sick Days, Higher Morale & Productivity
BOSTON, MASS. -- Have you touched an office phone, light switch, keyboard, doorknob or copier today? Depending on how clean they were, you could become sick in a few days or bring bacteria to your co-workers and family.
After 35 years of ‘cleaning up’ after others, Stephen Collins, founder of Stephco Cleaning & Restoration based in Holbrook, Mass., has learned an important lesson he likes to share: There really is a direct correlation between a clean work environment and improved employee health. Many of Greater Boston’s leading healthcare facilities, office buildings and banks trust Collins’s team to keep their work environment clean and help reduce sick days through never-ending ‘germ warfare.’
“Winter cleaning may be more important than Spring cleaning,” Collins notes. “Commercial buildings are buttoned up tight against the New England winter which is good for energy conservation. But reduced fresh air flow along with the arrival of the cold and flu season means workplaces are an ideal place for the growth and spread of germs – and a dramatic jump in sick days. Besides a person’s health, cleanliness of the work environment has a direct effect on employees’ health, mood productivity and attendance,” says Collins.
Collins says, “The trillions of bacteria on any given surface are a primary cause of illness.” Depending on the surface, a bacteria’s lifespan can vary from just a few hours to several days or even months.
Healthcare experts say that cold and flu germs can live from a few minutes to several days outside the body. They are more likely to stay active on hard surfaces--such as stainless steel and plastic--than on soft surfaces or fabrics. Flu viruses live longer than cold viruses. Temperature and humidity also have an effect on the life cycle. Bacteria could live on soft surfaces for days in the case of a sponge, weeks on clothing, or months on carpet. Steam cleaning of softer surfaces kills bacteria quickly. If a soft surface or material smells odd, it usually indicates that a surface is crawling with bacteria. The odor is from gasses that bacteria give off as part of their living, breeding and eating, Collins explains.
Regularly sanitizing surfaces reduces bacteria. Washing hands often and thoroughly is considered the best way to fight catching someone else's germs.
Collins lists several factors leading to an unhealthy work environment:
• Employees are working longer hours, often in space that’s teeming with bacteria;
• Reduced office space forces employees to work in closer proximity to colleagues – shorter distances for germs to travel;
• An increasing number of workers eat in their work space;
• People who sneeze, cough or yawn without covering their mouth;
• Workers who leave the restroom without thoroughly washing their hands.
“Due to budget cuts, some property managers and landlords ask our advice on ways to cut cleaning costs,” says Collins. “We feel it’s a team effort and we work with them, always emphasizing the importance of maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness. By combining thee latest equipment and a trained staff, we can offer excellent results even on a reduced budget.”
Collins says his staff spends about one-quarter of their time on residential customers, the rest on commercial work, including some of the region’s best- known banks, retailers, and professional service firms. “They know that a clean work space also makes a good impression on clients.”
“Our motto is ‘Clean, Healthy Living.’ I like to think that business owners, property managers and landlords view us as more than just ‘the cleaners.’ We’re helping to keep employees healthier and more productive. We’re saving them time and money, protecting their investment, and giving them peace of mind.” For more information: Stephen Collins at Stephco: 800-696-5320 / info@stephcocleaning.com; www.stephcocleaning.com.
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