Honor National Courtesy Month And Self Improvement Month 9 Ways Employees Can Improve And Be

Americans seem to fall into one of two categories — slobs or
sticklers for neatness.

This is a country, after all, that came up with the TV series,
“Hoarders.” Conversely, there is a whole set of people who love to watch
tidying expert Marie Kondo on her Netflix series. And what was “The Odd
Couple,” but a play, movie and TV series about a war between a guy who loved
to clean and a guy who didn’t? While that neat/slob dynamic may be amusing in
American culture, even if you’re using an office cleaning service, it can
make for a stressful workplace. After all, commercial cleaning companies will
make your offices far cleaner and tidier, but even the best janitorial
service on the planet doesn’t do everything. Nobody can
afford to have an office cleaning service post guards in the bathroom to make
sure people flush after they go, for instance.

Fortunately, we have some ideas on how office workers can bring
down some of the tension between the slobs and sticklers.

Stratus Building Solutions recently
conducted a comprehensive survey of 500 employed men and women from
around the country about office cleanliness, and came away with the
conclusion that some people should be trying harder to pick up after
themselves.

That’s why, this September, in honor of National Courtesy Month
and Self Improvement Month, we are going to do our parts and share some of
the nation’s workers worst habits in the workplace. If you’re answering “no”
to any of these questions, maybe you can try to do a little better and make
your coworkers happier.

Are you cleaning up after you use the
bathroom? Hopefully you are. This seems like something
everybody would do, but it seems to be done less and less. According to our
survey, 29.2 percent of respondents — almost one-third — said that people are
leaving urine on the bathroom seat. And 25.6 percent are
“forgetting” to flush sufficiently — or leaving the toilet clogged. We also
apparently need to be reminded to wash our hands; 24.5 percent said that
their coworkers never wash their hands after using the bathroom.

Some employees put the toilet paper on the wrong way (7.8 percent)
or “forget” to replace toilet paper (13.7 percent), though we will forgive
the 10.9 percent who make weird noises in the bathroom. But not flushing and
leaving urine on the seat? C’mon, America. We can do better than
that!

Are you cleaning up after yourself after you use the
kitchen? We aren’t doing much better in here either. It isn’t
quite as gross a situation as the office restroom, but still, 34.8 percent of
respondents said that their coworkers allow food to go bad in the
refrigerator. You may want to watch what you bring to the breakroom to eat as
well — 28 percent of you report that your coworkers are cooking powerfully
odorous foods like fish in the microwave. Additionally, 17.5 percent of those
surveyed said that their coworkers leave coffee or water drips all over the
counter, and 26.4 percent leave dishes in the office sink.

A janitorial service company will clean your office kitchen,
transforming it from a slovenly mess into a sparkling thing of beauty – but
cleaning out the refrigerator is often not a service performed by commercial
cleaning companies. Doing dishes often isn’t either, since the time that
takes can be cost-prohibitive. So be a pal, be a friend, be a good coworker –
and remember that others are using the kitchen and breakroom as well and tidy
up after yourselves.

Are you being a good caffeine friend?
According to our survey, 15.7 percent said that your coworkers are taking the
last cup of coffee without starting a new pot. Meanwhile, 11.1 percent
“forget” to take their Keurig pod out when done, and 7.2 percent said that
their colleagues “forget” to refill the Keurig with water.

Still, those are pretty low numbers — 80 percent or more of
coworkers apparently do have good coffee managing habits, so maybe there is
some hope for us after all.

But once again, an office cleaning service, as a general rule,
doesn’t make coffee for its clients. A janitorial
service, such as Stratus Building Solutions,
will clean up the countertop that the coffee pot is on,
but it’s up to the employees to handle the daily kitchen tasks.

Are you exercising
at the office? And managing
your body odor appropriately? Many of you exercise
at the office, but 21 percent said that they aren’t fans
of coworkers exercising in the office because it’s annoying, 34.6 percent
said that it’s distracting, and 18.1 percent said that they think it’s smelly
and sweaty.

Meanwhile, keep in mind that your office isn’t a gym locker room.
Most people don’t mind you bringing in a gym bag that’s reeking of sweat (5.8
percent do, however, mind), and only 6.6 percent said that wearing or leaving
out smelly gym clothes and sneakers is a problem. Still, it may help to
remember that if you’re going to exercise outside of the office, which is a
good thing, try to not bring in the residue of that workout when you do
return.

Are you attracting wildlife into your
office? Unless you work at a zoo, this is not a good thing.
When asked, “Have you ever seen bugs or rodents inside of the office?” 51.3
percent said yes (48.7 percent said no). Sure, the occasional housefly is
likely inevitable, but 22.9 percent of respondents said that their colleagues
leave food in the trash that rots and then stinks. That, of course, can
result in fruit flies or attract mice.

True, commercial cleaning companies can help keep pests away to
some extent, but terrible daily hygiene habits make the fight much more
difficult. It’s a good idea to put leftover food down a garbage disposal,
start a compost heap away from the building or, if all else fails, put food
waste in a trash can with a lid.

Are you staying home when you are
sick? In this day and age, when working from home is easy for
many professions, there are too many employees and executives who are coming
into the office when they probably shouldn’t be.

According to those surveyed, 19.3 percent said that workers
sneezing and coughing all over the office is a problem. In fact, 51.3 percent
of respondents answered “yes,” to the question, “Do you use a paper towel or
handkerchief to open doors because you think your office is
unclean?

Given that, 41.2 percent said that they have seen a coworker throw
up at work, you can imagine why a lot of people think their office is germy
and unclean.

Are you monitoring your volume? When
asked, “Which of these ‘noise pollution’ office
problems are most disruptive to your productivity?” 14.7 percent of
respondents said that their officemates were too loud when they were on
conference calls and 13.5 percent said that video calls were a problem.
Almost a third (30.8 percent) said that coworkers’ personal calls are
disruptive. Many respondents (36.6 percent) said that colleagues laughing and
making loud noises was a problem.

Well, you get the idea. It’s hard to work when other people are
goofing off. On the other hand, if you’re screaming at your desk because you
just saw a mouse, due to some rotting food somebody left in the trash, you’re
forgiven.

Are you courteous with the
thermostat? People were asked what they really find annoying
in office behavior, and over a quarter of respondents (27.4 percent) said
that they don’t like it when somebody demands a temperature in the office
that is too hot or too cold. People like what they like, and there’s not
likely anybody’s going to change anybody’s minds on what the perfect
temperature should be. Still, you can be reasonable about it and talk things
out. Or keep the peace and bring a sweater or a light cotton shirt to
work.

In general, do you clean up after
yourself? Fortunately, according to our survey, most
businesses have some sort of strategy in place for
keeping the office place clean, such as hiring an office cleaning service.
Only 4.4 percent of the respondents said that “no one” cleans the office –
not a janitorial service, not some of the coworkers, nobody. Meanwhile, 21.7
percent of respondents said that they, the employees, do it “when we have
time.” So a little over 25 percent of America’s offices are underperforming
and not using commercial cleaning companies when it comes to keeping their
offices sanitized and well maintained.

If your office is filled with more slobs than neatniks, and
especially if you have rotting food in the trash, urine on the toilet seat and
people jumping on their desks and screaming due to mice scurrying about, give
us a call. We may not be able to stop your coworkers from cooking fish in the
microwave, but we can make that smell go away.

Hiring a professional commercial cleaning
service like Stratus Building Solutions can make all the
difference. Clean office environments tend to boost morale, which in turn
boosts productivity and the company’s bottom line.