Productivity levels in the office should always be a priority for employers. Given the fact that there is a lot of distractions that could pop up, being proactive against the reduction of productivity in the office is important.

With that said, one of the biggest productivity killers is an illness. Illness doesn’t only make you less able to work, it’s also compromising your immunity. It’s a matter that affects both your career and your personal well-being. Hence, it’s important to keep a clean and sanitized workplace to prevent the spread of diseases or viruses in the office.

On that note, here are several effective cleaning tips that will help prevent the spread of illness in your workplace.

1. Always empty the trash bins

When people see a full trash bin, the inclination isn’t to throw away and empty the trash bins. What we do is we tend to stack our trash on top of one another like a precarious and very dirty Jenga game.

The trash bin is full of all sorts of garbage that can accumulate and grow all sorts of germs and bacteria. Leaving it lying around in the office can contribute to the lack of sanitization in the office.

Thus, inform people in the office that as much as possible, if they see a full trash bin, they should empty it out instead of waiting for other people to do the job for them.

2. Clear the clutter on your desk

Your desk is your haven and your mini headquarters within the office. It’s your home base, so to speak, so you should treat as such.

Make sure that you always keep a clean and tidy desk so that you are able to focus on your job. If there are any unrelated paraphernalia on the desk, remove those or hide them away. Keep your trash away from the desk and avoid eating at your desk as much as possible.

Use your lunch break to get out of sitting on your desk all day and eat at the office pantry or eat outside of the office.

3. Wipe the tools that are frequently used

No matter what type of industry you work in, make sure that the tools or office equipment that you use most often are cleaned almost as often as you use it.

For example, if you’re a regular office employee that uses a computer, then you’re using the keyboard and mouse a lot. With that said, you should make sure that you clean your keyboard as well as your mouse often.

Germs that get to our hands or when we sneeze can land on these two office pieces of equipment so make sure that you wipe them away.

Do wipe your desk as much as well. If you can, try to clean other office types of equipment like the copy machine or other equipment that you think might be receiving frequent use but not a lot of people think of cleaning.

4. Clean the toilet regularly

The office toilet is an important part of the office. After all, it’s where we “get our business done” so to speak.

With that said, the toilet is the one area in the office that you definitely shouldn’t skimp on cleaning. It gets treated to a lot of our bodily fluids and it should receive a cleaning at least once a day to be safe.

According to Maid Sailors – Commercial Cleaning New York, you should also remember to always keep toiletries in stock. Toilet paper, hand sanitizers, soap, and cleaning solutions for the bathroom are all important. Also, empty the trash bins in the toilets as well.

5. Do not forget to disinfect

Aside from regular cleaning, you need to go the extra mile and make sure that you disinfect your office on top of the usual cleaning that you do. By disinfecting your office, you reduce the instances where viral infection can spread all over the office.

If you don’t disinfect, people who touch or go to high-traffic areas in the office can be infected by someone who’s sick. Afterward, they will get sick and then you’ll find the office filled with a lot of absentees because of a virus going around.

You should set up disinfectants all over the office in key areas, especially areas where people are often going to the office pantry or the toilet.

6. Wipe off the dust

Dust is something that plenty of people find irritating. People who have allergies or are sensitive to dust will have a rough time if you don’t regularly dust your office space.

Make sure that you wipe areas down to avoid dust build-up. Aside from that, dusting should be done when there are few to no people around so that you don’t accidentally send dust their way.

With these six effective cleaning tips, you make sure that you’re not only cleaning your office but that you are making it a healthier place to be in. Having a clean office makes people more productive, have more focus, which makes them produce high-quality work. Thus, cleanliness is always a good investment.