According to a recent study conducted by CIPD, the average employer estimated that just over 54% of their workforce were continuously working from home. This has contributed to a surge in businesses adopting a system of agile working, which has made the importance of office cleaning even greater. Many employees now have the ability to be more flexible with both their working hours and conditions to enable them to work to their best ability.
Due to the delayed pace at which businesses are returning to normality, it is likely that agile working will become a regular feature of many corporate jobs over the course of the next year.
Agile working offers employees the freedom to commute to the office at any given time throughout the working week, giving them a sense of freedom that an otherwise predesignated schedule wouldn’t allow. This freedom brings with it an added pressure on businesses to maintain office cleanliness, however, with employees coming into contact with office equipment at irregular intervals throughout the day. In light of Public Health England’s January 2021 figures report, in which data from the past year has suggested that offices have been victim to more COVID-19 outbreaks than any other workplace, it is therefore integral that more thorough cleaning initiatives are put in place.
Office desks can be a hotbed for viruses and bacteria
In a Government study undertaken during December of 2020, the results suggested that coronavirus particulates have been known to remain on inanimate surfaces for up to nine days. Hot desk arrangements, wherein a group of workers share a single workstation during different time shifts, therefore present a greater challenge to businesses operating on an agile working system. While ideal for utilising office space and encouraging open discussion, hot desking presents a greater risk of cross-contamination between colleagues, particularly if they are coming into the office at different times throughout the day. Twice daily office cleaning, both prior to and after the end of the working day, is thus not practical for ensuring the safety of all employees; a far more vigorous or flexible cleaning routine is required.
Following the Prime Minister’s initiative to get businesses back on track and operating in as safe a manner as possible, the Government published a set of Covid-19 secure guidelines
Established for the benefit of all UK employers, these guidelines are designed to ensure the safety of all employees returning to their communal office spaces in the coming months, who may need reassurance from their employers regarding the safety of their business’ workspace. One of the Government’s new guidelines stresses the need for companies to reinforce their cleaning processes, noting that workplaces should undergo more frequent cleaning in high-contact areas, including doorways and desk spaces.
How can we help?
Our dedicated team of cleaning operatives here at Monthind can provide regular disinfectant and cleaning services to suit your company’s individual requirements, including allotted times outside of normal office hours to minimise contact with your employees. Using the very latest technologies and equipment, our cleaning experts are trained to leave no stone unturned when it comes to deep office cleaning, including frequent touchpoints such as computers, keyboards, and desk spaces. Employees can therefore feel at ease working in communal office areas knowing that the desk they’re sharing has both met and exceeded the Government’s new COVID-19 guidelines, irrespective of the number or frequency of workers who have visited the office at their own leisure throughout the working day.