Clean offices a must for effective work

Source: SoftBank Robotics, Infogrid. Employees are concerned about office hygiene.

A study conducted by consumer research firm Milieu Insight in collaboration with SoftBank Robotics and Infogrid has found that 64% of employees polled were concerned about contracting COVID at workplaces.

According to SoftBank Robotics, which provides automation and collaborative robotic solutions (cobotics), the Workplace Smart Cleanliness Study found that:

- More than eight in 10 (84%) cite that cleanliness at the office is important for them to be able to work effectively

- Three quarters of employees think that the most ideal cleaning arrangement is a mix of both human and robot cleaners

- Nearly three quarters (74%) of employees seek greater transparency for cleanliness statistics, especially in air quality (eg. particulate matter) (70%), cleaning frequency (e.g. pantry, toilets) (65%), and virus transmission risk (61%).

Over eight in 10 (85%) are somewhat or very open to having robot cleaners in their offices with the top three most important capabilities for the cleaner cited as:

- Vacuuming/sweeping/mopping floors (84%),

- Air purification (75%) and - Ability to disinfect surfaces (74%)

Milieu Insight’s COO Stephen Tracy, said, “The study helps shed some light on the concern levels of Singaporean workers as many are now heading back to the office. With 64% indicating they’re somewhat or very concerned about contracting Covid-19 at work, office cleanliness and safety are top of mind.

"But there’s an enormous opportunity in applying data and robotics to address these concerns. And the study shows that support is high for integrating things like more data and transparency around office cleaning practices, as well as the integration of robotics, including robo-vacuums."

The Workplace Smart Cleanliness Study was conducted via Milieu’s proprietary survey community who work in office environments in Singapore (n=1,000). The data is representative of all working adults aged 16 and above, and the margin of error is +/- 3% at 95% confidence level. The data was collected in April 2022.