How to Keep it Clean in the Social Collaborative Office

Collaborative offices are quickly becoming the new norm of office life. An ever younger workforce with different life and educational experiences are part of this radical shift in office design. Another factor leaning businesses to this design model is the ever increasing cost of office facilities. In 2015, Toronto’s financial district had the highest office rental rates in the country with an average rent of $68.19 per square foot. This collaborative office design has both advantages and disadvantages for employees.

Think of the collaborative office as an open concept design. Employees have the ability to move in an environment that suits their needs for daily tasks. It allows team members to meet informally to exchange ideas. In the collaborative design, workers meet many more office employees throughout their day. They are much more likely to meet others who are outside of their immediate department. In this way, individuals with different expertise get together leading to sharing of unique ideas and often new ways of solving problems.

So, there are many advantages to this collaborative model of office life. However, there are some disadvantages also. Typically, in the collaborative design, individuals do not have their own office space or desk. Work stations are set up and are utilized on a first come, first serve basis. Office space per employee is much smaller. What does this mean for the individual?

• At the end of each day or work session all papers and materials must be removed and carried with the worker. Thus, it is harder or impossible to personalize your own workspace.
  
• Workers feel less motivated as without their own desk they don’t feel valued by the company.
  
• Employees must get used to new routines of removing their own garbage and leaving the space as it was found. Conversely, they may have to deal with prior users who leave the space in less than desirable condition.
  
• The wrong type of chair can lead to injury, mixing germs on the phone can lead to illness, and more.
  
• Office employees must learn to work in higher density conditions.
  
• Higher density working conditions and sharing of workstations means more contact and potentially easier spread of illness throughout the office.
  

If introduced properly, collaborative offices have the potential to capitalize on the benefits of the design while minimizing the disadvantages. Health and safety are big concern in high density work situations. Absenteeism due to cold and flu comes at a high cost. The average absenteeism rate in 2011 was 9.3 days per full-time employee while in 2012, the estimated direct cost of absenteeism to the Canadian economy was $16.6 billion. Health and safety are big priorities and facility maintenance requires modification for this design to be effective.

Because equipment and workspaces are shared more diligence is required in cleaning and sanitizing desks, phones, keyboards, work surfaces, eating areas, stair handrails which are all key germ transfer points. Some cleaning practices are standard no matter the office design. Removal of soil and pollutants improves air quality and reduces bacterial and viral load.

All facility designs require:

• The maintenance and regular vacuuming of carpets
  
• Annual or biannual deep-cleaning of upholstery
  

Collaborative offices need to be much more diligent with respect to:

• The cleaning of high-touch surfaces
  
• Sanitizing of work areas
  
• Centralized waste diversion
  

The last is very important. Without ownership of workspace, garbage tends to get left behind on tables for someone else to pick up – not unlike the situation experienced in high school cafeterias! State Farm discovered that wastebaskets must be placed strategically to make it easier for workers to properly dispose of trash. Trash receptacles are essential in high traffic areas including elevator areas, restrooms, break-rooms, near fax and copy machines and main entryways. A receptacle should be placed where mass quantities of food or paper are located. If employees find it difficult to find a receptacle or if those containers are always full, employees won’t do their part.

As well, sanitizing of workspaces can be made much easier if sanitizing wipes are provided at each station for employees to wipe down their own station before and after work.

Facility managers will need to be vigilant in developing policies with employees and creating a plan with their professional cleaning company which will effectively manage the collaborative office. It may require changes in cleaning frequency including daily custodial shifts and changes in cleaning equipment to improve health, safety and appearance of collaborative offices. Your bottom line is affected by not only employee health but also the facility health. Money can be saved with a collaborative office plan and productivity and creativity can be improved if the process of change is implemented properly. As always, working with the right professional cleaning company is key to maintaining facility health and safety.