Secondhand Stress at Work - Zinny Factor

One thing I always take note of is the appearance of anyone’s workspace. My eyes tend to whirl around and I seem to pick up even the very minute details.

I love art in various forms and even though my workspace is presently very minimalist, I still appreciate it when I see a tidy and beautiful workspace, it makes me feel more comfortable to be around.

What do you think? Same thoughts as mine?

See below, some reasons to have a clean workspace.

1. An untidy workspace could get you stressed out

If you have to look at a messy workspace first thing every morning, that can increase your stress level since you’d hardly know what, to begin with. It can also reduce your productivity as you may find it difficult to locate certain documents.

It’s just like living in an untidy place, you may find it difficult to locate certain necessities just when you desperately need it. It’ll pay you more to have a neat and organized workspace.

2. Health Benefits

Your office may have a cleaning service that comes once or twice a week. But many are not allowed to move items on desks especially because it sort of infringes on privacy.

This could mean that your workstation may not have been touched in several weeks or even months. If you frequently snack and eat at your desk then there’s sure to be some crumbs lying around your desk area.

It’ll be wiser to clean up if you don’t do so regularly, at least for the sake of your health and well-being.

Clean your keyboard too as that’s where your fingers would go, and you know how our hands get in contact with every other thing.

Let management know when air ducts should be cleaned or when anything needs fixing. It’s important that you maintain clean habits around the workplace to avoid transferring germs.

3. You appear to be more professional

I don’t know about you, but for me, if your work area looks fairly decent then you’d look more professional to me! And I guess, that should go for most people, it feels like a no-brainer.

A tidy environment shows competence and professionalism. We often say that appearance goes a long way in depicting how you should be addressed. Well, so does the appearance of your workspace.

Having a clean workspace is the easiest way to impress your boss and others in higher positions. What image do you want to portray at your office? What do you want co-workers to think of you?

4. A Little mess may not harm you

As much as we may like to dispute it, sometimes, having an untidy desk can actually pay off at work. A study found that having a messy environment at the start of a project can promote creative thinking and help individuals come up with newer ideas.

And on the other hand, a clean working space could make the mind focus on order and on what is to be expected. If you need to come up with unconventional and new ideas, you may need to start a bit messy and finish clean.

I guess this is good news for creative people. So tell me, are you among these type of people?

QUICK TIPS TO HAVE A CLEANER WORKSPACE

  1. At the end of each day, clear out the trash and wipe down your desk area.
  2. Don’t set trash down on your desk as this may eventually lead to clutter. Rather, take the trash out as soon as you have it. Better still, you can keep a trash can under your desk to make it easier to dispose of. Dispose of trash every day after the close of work.
  3. Create a space for everything and keep things within close proximity.
  4. Set timelines to discard unimportant stuff/ documents, not everything needs to be stored in hard copy. Store things digitally to reduce paper and save trees.
  5. Finish up your projects soon enough to avoid desk clutter.
  6. Start making use of your drawers or get a storage box.

See this video of Melissa Maker where she shares some tips on how to organize your workspace. I had the opportunity to work at Clean my Space for some time, it was a great team and one of the things that attracted me to the company was her Youtube videos.

So I thought it’d be great to share a video from the cleaning Pro herself.

I also loved this post from Kachee’s blog on essential items for your office desk/ drawers. You should check it out.

How do you keep your workspace clean? Do you have other tips or suggestions to add? Please share below in the comment section.

by Zinny
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