It might seem like a miracle that we don’t have to march through a sea of garbage, crumbs, and spilled drinks to enter our work spaces. But our clean working environments are in fact the result of proper janitorial services. There are over two million men and women in the U.S. working in janitorial services, and they are all essential for keeping things running, especially in a commercial setting. Commercial cleaning is integral to a functional, safe, and efficient workplace. It would be very difficult for people to get anything done without maintenance workers providing consistent and effective office cleaning.
It might surprise you to read about some of the undesirable things an office cleaner might face on a regular basis. Here are a few of the things these invaluable men and women are responsible for:
1. Food.
It’s no shocker that many employees in the U.S. (85%) have lunch in their working space. After all, time is money, and simultaneously eating while working is a common, effective method of multitasking. However, we sometimes get so entrenched with our work that we might neglect the mountain of crumbs and strips of lettuce building up on our desks. If we do notice our mess, the quickest way to eliminate the distraction is to simply wipe the debris off the table and onto the floor. Unfortunately, transferring food bits from a desk to a floor does not actually get rid of said bits. Instead, a carpet cleaner of floor cleaner must take care of the neglected mess. These people are to thank for all the clean office floors. Imagine never having your floor cleaned, and the amount of insects and bacteria that would then infest your workplace!
2. Bodily Debris.
While it’s certainly not the place for it, about a third of workers have reported to have at one point clipped their nails at work. One would hope that these clippings kindly find their way to a garbage container, but this certainly is not always the case. Flying nails aren’t the only biological bits that might find their way on desks, floors, and chairs. Mucous from coughing and sneezing might go rogue as well (almost one in four workers have said on a daily basis they’ve seen a coworker cough or sneeze without covering their mouths or noses). Maintenance workers also have the unsavory but necessary task of cleaning away such organic matter left in offices.
3. General Health and Safety.
If an office is left uncleaned there is an inherent increase in the risk of harmful bacteria festering within it. Food and body parts certainly contribute to these health hazard, but so does the behavior of workers. Almost half of employees have claimed to see a coworker leave the restroom without washing his/her hands. Janitorial services, then, are integral to neutralizing the health risks posed by unsanitary habits of some workers. Studies show there is a strong connection between the amount and frequency of workers who get sick with the cleanliness of their work spaces.
Not only do those in the cleaning industry remove possible distractions from workers, they also help ensure the health and safety of them. For the economy to run smoothly depends largely on these men and women who do the dirty work to keep our offices clean.
