You may have not considered that office cleaning methods have a direct link to employee’s health and sick leave rates. In Finland, five per cent of total wage costs are used to pay for sick leave*. Being able to reduce that amount by even five per cent by investing in better hygiene can generate remarkable savings for the employer.

The general standards and knowledge of hygiene have improved steadily, and technology has also taken incremental steps forward in the cleaning industry. As such, cleaning must be even more comprehensive and take into account the spreading of viruses and other situations that require special attention. 

In Finland, employees take an average of 16.7 million sick-leave days annually, which means approximately three days per working-age resident.* Improved levels of hygiene during influenza outbreaks have a measurable effect on the amount of people infected. 

”Poor cleaning, at its worse, can even spread around the germs in the office and public spaces. For instance, norovirus and influenza can be transmitted from, say, door handles,” says CEO Mia Jaaranen from MTB-Siivouspalvelu Oy.



Jaaranen recommends intensified cleaning both at home and in the office during seasonal virus periods. How do you know when it has been cleaned properly? Particularly in places where a lot of people move around, cleanliness-verifying technology should be used in addition to visual inspection. After all, germs are invisible to the naked eye.

”For example, we use UV light and other hygiene monitoring systems in our operations to make sure that the surface in question is really clean of germs and other bacteria. A wipe with a cloth is not enough, but rather, places with most manual contacts must be disinfected, preferably as frequently as possible. Intensified frequency in cleaning during the influenza period is a choice made by many of our customers,” Jaaranen explains. 

Jaaranen also notes the street dust that plagues persons suffering from asthma. “The spring is an especially challenging time for asthmatics working in downtown offices. It is our task to act on the customer’s pulse and react quickly – regardless of whether it is about using hypoallergenic detergents or raising the basic level of the service temporarily or permanently.”

* Eurofound statistics