Coping with Employee Messes in Communal Spaces

If we can’t clean up after ourselves, how can we expect to clean up the planet?

Where I used to work, there was a sign posted, “If you make a mess, clean it up.” I remember thinking; geez, you’d think we are in nursery school. According to a recent workplace survey, that cautionary sign is apparently necessary for grownups, too.

You may have read my recent post about coping with annoying employee gossip?  Gossip is listed as one of the top-three pet peeves in the workplace (according to a recent Ranstad study). A second major pet peeve is workers leaving messes in “communal spaces.”  This behavior aggravates many employees. Aggravated employees can lose focus and be unproductive.

Work Rooms of Shame and Pungent Odors
We have all seen and smelled the “bread-crumbs” evidence, and I’ve probably been guilty myself. The meeting adjourns. Conference rooms left with soiled napkins, dirty paper cups, crumpled-up snack wrappers, leftover food and paper airplanes. A mess left for the next meeting attendees to deal with is, without a doubt, annoying and inconsiderate. Cleaning up after co-workers is also an inefficient use of time. 

An even worse scenario: Imagine hosting a prospective client or job candidate and walking into a meeting room smelling of leftover fajitas or tuna fish sandwiches. What about the sluggard who leaves dirty dishes in the break room sink and spills coffee on the counter and floors?  Not only are messes a safety hazard, they can affect employee morale.  Seeds of resentment can sprout into full-grown resentment and infest the workplace like weeds in a garden. 

Maintain Your Image and Employee Morale
What can a business owner or HR manager do to persuade employees to be more considerate?  Here are some ways to influence employees and enlist their support for keeping communal work areas clean, tidy and fragrantly pleasing: 

1. If you are the boss, be sure and set an example.  A workplace culture develops from the top down.
2. Design and post signs. The universally recognized “X” works well and indicates that messes, stinky foods, dirty dishes, etc. are not allowed.
3. Make sure a sufficient number of waste cans, furnished with garbage liners, are strategically placed. This way, if someone has a lunch meeting, smelly garbage can be tossed right away.
4. Maintain ample cleaning supplies such as paper towels, dish detergent, etc. Let the employees know where they are stored.
5. Instruct meeting leaders to begin every meeting with a few housekeeping rules.  Simple reminders set expectations and help keep everyone on their toes. 
6. Develop and distribute a clean-work-area policy.  Ask all employees to sign it.  This process communicates expectations and encourages participation and adherence.
7. Never single anyone out and embarrass them in front of their peers.  However, if one employee isn’t getting the message, speak with them privately.

Finally, let your employees know that a clean, communal work area benefits them as well. Clean work areas are safer and healthier. Remind them, too, that a clean work area is not a goal—it is an ongoing process!

According to a recent workplace survey, workers who leave messes in "communal spaces" is another major pet peeve of American workers.