As the economy reopens and continues its long journey to getting back on track, countless employees who are returning to work after months of home working have one question on their lips: ‘Is it safe in my workplace?’

The pandemic has had a globally disruptive effect on people and the way in which they work and live. Social distancing has had physical and emotional repercussions, as the nation puts safety first. Hand shaking, which was once commonplace, has been substituted with elbow touching or ‘air’ high fiving for fear of passing on the virus.

The challenges for employers eager to have their workforce back on site are no mean feat. Workplaces need to meet a higher standard of hygiene whilst building employee confidence that their place of work is safe.

So how can they do this?

Give them peace of mind

Communicating with your employees is a must. Reassuring them that hygiene standards have been met is key, and the obvious way to prove this is by having cleaning staff as a visible presence during the working day.

Office cleaning has, in days gone by, been carried out ‘after hours’. A cleaning team would enter the premises out of office hours and carry out their cleaning tasks ready for the next working day. But by having a visible presence within office hours, employees can actually see the cleaning being done. This can also have the added benefit of encouraging employees to contribute to keeping their surroundings cleaner and safer for everyone.

It has been proven that productivity can be increased when employees are feeling happy and safe. It’s also an employer’s duty of care to provide a clean and safe work environment. This provides the perfect opportunity to enhance the wellbeing and peace of mind of every employee that returns to their place of work.

Prioritise cleaning in high traffic areas

Busy areas within your work premises could potentially carry the hazard of cross infection. Dirt and grime build up is easy to see, so you know when to clean, but it is invisible germs and infection that are cause for concern.

High contact surfaces or touch points should be cleaned regularly and often, with particular attention paid to door handles, light switches, and stair banister rails etc. Hard surfaces can harbour germs for up to 72 hours, so it is imperative to keep them clean and sanitised at all times.

Keep up high standards

Extra cleaning schedules and routines have generally only been implemented since the outbreak of Covid-19, but the pandemic has certainly given people food for thought. We are all more stringent with hand washing and cleaning in general, and although the majority of the adult population have had at least one dose of vaccine, high cleaning standards need to be continued well into the future.

Here at Brightr we offer a deep cleaning service for Covid-19 infection control and our cleaning teams are available 24 hours a day. For other enquiries about our other daily cleaning services, click here.