Being clean and tidy and work can have an enormously positive impact on our productivity and our mental health. If the first thing we see at our desk every morning is disorganised clutter, it’s difficult for us to prioritise our daily tasks, and our products can be stifled as a result.
Moreover, being surrounded by empty cups, water bottles, papers, and biscuit wrappers creates an unhealthy working environment and isn’t good for our mental health at work. In this post, we take a look at the links between cleanliness and our mental health and examine why it’s vital for our mental health to keep our offices and workspaces clean, neat, and tidy.
Does cleanliness affect our mental health?
If you spend any time on social media like many of us do these days, you will see many social commentators discussing the benefits of being clean on our mental health. One such person is the popular Mrs. Hinch, who reveals how cleaning up helped her tackle her anxiety in a recent book. While you might think Mrs. Hinch’s story is the exception to the rule, you would, in fact, be wrong.
In a 2010 study by researchers at the University of California, they found that in a micro-study conducted among cohabiting couples, living spaces that were cluttered were more likely to cause depression and fatigue in the couples, as opposed to living spaces that were restful and restorative. Moreover, in a 2014 study by the journal Mindfulness, it was revealed that participants in a study who mindfully washed the dishes after eating reported a 27% reduction in nervousness and a 25% improvement in mental inspiration.
These are remarkable figures and prove that there is science behind the suggestion that cleanliness improves our mental health. Let’s move on to take a look at some ways in which a clean workspace can improve your mental health and increase productivity.
Cleaning removes harmful germs and pathogens
Because we can’t see germs and harmful pathogens, we tend not to consider them to be such a problem in our day-to-day lives. But if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that cleaning is of the utmost importance for our physical and mental health, as it helps stops the spread of germs and viruses. Suppose your desk or workspace is continuously cluttered with dirty dishes and discarded food papers. In that case, you’re allowing bacteria to grow and develop, which creates an unhealthy space in which you sit daily. This is not only bad for your mental health but is dangerous to your physical health, too.
Organising your papers increases productivity
It might be stating the obvious, but if we are confronted by a messy desk every morning, with papers strewn everywhere, it can be challenging knowing where to begin. Spending a few minutes at the end of each day, discarding used papers, and filing important ones allows us to keep on top of our paperwork and doesn’t make our desk space seem oppressive. Suppose we’re buried under an avalanche of paperwork. In that case, it’s nearly impossible for us to be productive at our desks, meaning we can get behind with our work and various assignments, which increases stress at the workplace.
The act of cleaning releases endorphins
While you may wish to seek help with some cleaning in your office space, practising small cleaning rituals daily is a great way to practice meditation and is a physical act that releases endorphins in your body. As many of us know, these endorphins react with the chemical receptors in our brains, which helps to combat stress, lessen anxiety, and ward off the onset of depression. From this perspective, it’s super easy to see how cleanliness positively affects your mental health.
Pleasant smells can improve your mood
It’s remarkable the positive impact the smell of your workspace can have on your output. If your workspace doesn’t smell fresh or worse if it smells damp and dingy, this can negatively impact your ability to produce good work. From a biological standpoint, because your olfactory response is linked to the limbic system, scents that you associate with positive experiences can help you reminisce. Therefore, if you fondly remember your time spent on a beautiful Greek with your partner last summer, introducing a smell that mimics this experience can have an extremely positive impact on your mental health and productivity.
Your colleagues will thank you for your cleanliness
Something that is often overlooked by messy people is the fact that their mess is usually inadvertently shared by others. If your workstation is shared with others, it’s vitally important that you maintain high levels of cleanliness, as your mess isn’t just impacting you; it’s affecting all of your colleagues around you. Even if you have your own office space, colleagues that come in and out of your space to interact with you throughout the day will be disheartened by the mess, and you will develop a bad reputation at work. After all, maintaining excellent relationships with our colleagues is one of the most important ways of taking pleasure from our work, so don’t risk a negative relationship simply because you can’t keep your workspace tidy.
Can I get help to clean my workspace?
If you’ve decided that you want to maintain a healthy workspace to improve your relationships with your colleagues and improve your mental health, congratulations! While there are many small things you can do yourself to improve your cleanliness at work, sometimes you need a little extra help to keep you on your toes.
That’s precisely where we come in. At Clear Choice UK, we provide our clients with a professional, thorough, and exact cleaning service to meet their personalised requirements. We can offer you professional cleaners when you need them most, so you can benefit from our temporary cleaners. This means you don’t have to worry about retainers or paying a cleaner year-round, and you can employ our services at a convenient time for you. If you’re looking for a reliable, trustworthy, and professional cleaning service for your business in Yorkshire, then give us a call now on 01132 711432, and we would be delighted to work with you.
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