A new year often brings good-intentioned resolutions — aspirational goals, and for some, the desire to downsize and declutter. Many people choose the beginning of the year to have a thorough purge as they want to start the year off with a ‘clean slate.’
There’s no reason this mindset shouldn’t apply to what is, for some, a second home — the office. Have you considered that a disorderly office might affect your team’s efficiency and sense of well-being?
In an article by a psychologist at The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, untidiness can be more than just an eyesore: “Clutter can annoy us, distract us or take away much-needed energy,” they argue, and “clutter can also cause feelings of stress, fatigue and depression. Stress can contribute to poor sleep, eating habits and general health.”
So, if your office is getting a little chaotic, why not take some time this year to declutter, reorganize and inspire a sense of pride for your team — setting everyone up for a successful year ahead?
Here are a few ways in which you can tame an office mess.
Rid Yourself of Unnecessary Paperwork
Between office memos, invoices, legal documents, marketing materials and payroll information — to name just a few bits of paperwork — it’s incredibly easy for administrative documents to accumulate.
Spend some time working through these piles. Create a pile of papers that are no longer needed on-site, because enough time has elapsed, or it’s no longer necessary to have on-hand. For papers you do need, look into digitizing them.
Consider seeking out professional document shredding to destroy these papers safely and securely. Some of these sheets contain highly sensitive information. Often, hiring an external team to shred your documents ends up being cost-effective, too, as you’re not paying a valuable team member to do it.
Shredding company paperwork is of the utmost importance; you absolutely don’t want it ending up in the wrong hands. If you do, you’re leaving your company open to a data breach and your team members open to identity theft.
Don’t Stockpile Office Furniture
It’s easy to leave broken furniture to one side so that you can deal with it later. If that day is yet to come, then make this the month you finally get to it. Damaged furniture is unsightly, it takes up valuable floor space, it’s an obstacle for your team to work around, and it may even be a fire hazard.
If the furniture is damaged beyond repair, see if your city offers a furniture collection service or recruit a junk removal company. If the furniture is in good condition, consider donating it to a local school, church, charity or a neighbouring office.
Organize Cables
A spaghetti-like mess of cables is a problem for a few reasons:
- It can create a hard-to-fix tech problem when they arise, which will waste your team’s time.
- Being surrounded by a tangle of wires is visually overwhelming.
- The chances of stepping on a wire are heightened. Stepping on a cable may damage it or lead to a fall and injury.
- Lastly, a tangle of wires is a potential fire hazard.
Schedule someone from your IT department or tech team to neaten cables, remove any that aren’t in use and label the remaining wires.
While decluttering your office will positively affect your team’s well-being, a tidy and organized space will also create a positive impression of your company when clients visit, making you a business that others want to work with. So here’s to neatness in the new year!
