How to Get Staff On Board With Office Bathroom Cleanliness

March 23, 2017

When multiple people share a bathroom facility, the environment can quickly lose its sparkling shine and clean smell. All employees play a role in maintaining a clean bathroom environment for colleagues and guests in between professional cleanings. Here’s how to convince everyone that bathroom cleanliness is part of the job.

Table of Contents

Toggle

Many Hands Make Light Work!

Try these tips to encourage staff members to go the extra mile and keep facility bathrooms clean every day:

Post bathroom etiquette reminders in the stalls. Basic hygiene goes a long way to keep bathrooms looking and feeling clean. Remind users to wash their hands, wipe up splashes, and use courtesy flushes/fans/non-offensive air fresheners to help.
Create a rotating schedule of duties. No one should have to shoulder the bathroom cleaning burden alone. If your professional cleaners only come out once a week or once a month, ask employees to rotate basic cleaning tasks. Daily sweeping, trash takeout, toilet disinfection, soap and toilet paper checks, and sink wipe downs will keep the bathroom ready all day every day. Keep plenty of refill products on hand to encourage a clean-as-you-go mentality.
Provide a strong example. Leaders can set the example for other staff members with strong etiquette demonstrations or a turn in the rotating schedule. When employees see a manager or owner taking responsibility for the shared space, they may comply with less resistance.
Enforce consequences. Some behaviors in the bathroom are unacceptable. Employees should never treat the bathroom space with disrespect. If you can pinpoint the culprit, intervene. Ask him or her to correct the situation. Other people shouldn’t have to suffer for one disrespectful person’s actions.

Nobody enjoys bathroom duty, but office spaces (vs. public facilities) have an opportunity to maintain an example of cleanliness. When everyone contributes, everyone can enjoy a clean and safe space. Commercial cleaning services can help, but bathroom cleanliness really depends upon the good habits of those who use the restroom the most.