We begin to see, therefore, the importance
of selecting our environment with the greatest of care, because environment is
the mental feeding ground out of which the food that goes into our minds is
extracted.
~Napoleon Hill
Whether you have a one-person office or a hundred-person
office, maintaining a clean work environment is important for so many different
reasons – the health of your workforce and orderly presentation are just a
couple of these.
Honestly, until about five years ago, I had no idea that
cleaning products had any effect on people or the environment. I am not an avid
environmentalist, but I do believe that we have a responsibility to leave the
world in at least as good a shape as we found it. In addition, I feel that when
environmental concerns impact worker productivity, we all need to start paying
attention.
According to a report by Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory published in the Indoor Air Quality Scientific Findings Resource
Bank, productivity may increase as much as 10 percent simply by improving air
quality. This is not a small number especially considering we spend 90 percent
of our time indoors.
As you can probably imagine, cleaning agents are the number
one affecter of our indoor air quality. Normal cleaning products emit gases
called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and odors that can cause or worsen
breathing problems, skin allergies and other health concerns. The EPA provides
vast amounts of information on the potentially harmful effects of various
cleaning products on their website at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/occupgd.html.
It used to be that green cleaning products and services were
cost prohibitive, but they are much more affordable now. That said, each
business should consider how improving the air quality in their office by using
green products can impact their productivity.
Finding quality green cleaning products can be a challenge
as so many claim to be green. Environmental Working Group produces a Guide to
Healthy Cleaning, in which they evaluate all the different products’ claims and
score them in terms of how green they really are. There are many other groups
out there that do the same type of thing, and we are, undoubtedly, going to see
more of them as the importance of air quality in the workplace increases.
If you decide to hire a professional cleaning firm, you will
need to find out exactly what “green” chemicals they claim to use and verify
that they are actually using them. As this really is something that affects
your bottom line, you will have to monitor things to ensure that the right
chemicals are being used.
Now go out and make sure that you are maintaining the best
possible work environment for your staff by ensuring the proper green supplies
are being used. Not only is this the right thing to do for the health of your
employees and our environment, but it will also contribute to the profitability
of your company.
You can do this.