Welfare in the Workplace.

With the rise in workplace staff welfare initiatives, the benefits are clear to see such as greater engagement, empathy with the employer, improved communications / messaging and enhanced two-way appreciation.

Aligned with this drive, we would also like to reinforce the message and support The British Cleaning Council in their drive to gain acceptance of minimum standards of cleaning in workplaces. Our experience at the CAP Programme would confirm that this initiative would help to reduce sick days and protect against future pandemics.

The British Cleaning Council claims that such an initiative could help reduce the national bill for employee sickness which reportedly reached £103 billion in 2023.

This suggestion was a key recommendation of The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Cleaning and Hygiene Industry’s 2022 report.

A set of simple minimum standards should be co-designed by relevant authorities such as OFSTED, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and others to set out some of the basic criteria which are too often missed. For example, attention to the regular cleaning of touchpoints is an obvious standard.

Within our own Programmes – The CAP Award for Housekeeping (cleaning) and the Clean Safe Standard, we and our client have seen the improvements in cleanliness adding to staff wellbeing.

Has this added to the cost base? No, with the correct structure, cleaning tools and work efficiencies, it has in the vast majority of cases reduced the cost and qualitatively added to staff retention and well-being across a range of industry sectors from healthcare to education and from the office to the factory environment.

We would say that cleanliness in the workplace is an essential welfare benefit and an economic essential.