You may have noticed that different smells cause you to feel certain emotions. Whether it's disgust, annoyance, nostalgia, or joy, odours are highly linked to triggering feelings in us. But did you know smells can also affect our productivity in the workplace, and clean ones are better for work performance?
A pleasant, clean-smelling office improves workers' moods, and according to studies, boosts their performance. On the other hand, off-putting odours will harm our motivation and productivity.
But the first question is...
Why are we so affected by smell?
A study by a Brown University assistant professor of Psychology, Rachel Herz, found that scents drastically impact our moods. Of the five basic human senses, smell is the one most closely tied to memory, and is among the most emotion-inducing.
This is partly because smells can evoke memories that are linked to and bring back certain emotions. We may love some smells that bring back previous experiences and hate or be disgusted by others for the same reason.
However, it isn't all to do with memory. Our dislike of and disgust at stinky odours is connected to our instinct to avoid danger - that includes danger in the form of infections and illness.
Our brains don't trust smelly odours. They associate bad smells with unsanitary or dirty things. Dirt = germs = illness. Our hatred of those smells is our brain's reaction to protect us from getting sick.
Meanwhile, nice smells release feel-good hormones in our brains that put us in a good mood, relax us and make us think more clearly.
How do pleasant smells positively impact us at work?
They make us feel more confident and productive
One study found that workers who worked around an air freshener that gave off a nice scent felt like they believed in themselves and were more efficient and ambitious at work, as opposed to study participants who worked without any scents around them.
This is likely because the first group's moods were elevated by the pleasant smells it emitted.
Our focus levels shoot up
Mood-boosting pleasant smells give us brain clarity and heighten our alertness, helping us to focus better and avoid the dreaded mid-afternoon slump associated with a drop in work productivity.
The scent of lemon has been found to increase our alertness, based on a study in Japan that tested out the effect of the smell of lemon oil in an office building and found that performance soared by 45%.
We are nicer to one another
We tend to be more social and interact with others better around agreeable scents. This is a great thing for creating a workplace of colleagues who get on well with each other and therefore work well together.
What's more, certain smells even make us more likely to be helpful and compassionate - also advantageous behaviours in the workplace. Some scientists have found that the smell of roasting coffee and baking cookies makes it more likely we will lend a hand to someone we don't know.
Good scents enhance our creativity
Going back to Rachel Herz's study, she found that people's creative problem-solving skills improved when they were surrounded by a smell they enjoyed.
Herz stated that they were more creative because they were in a good mood thanks to the pleasant scents. She even compared these people to a group who were exposed to a smell they disliked that put them in a bad mood, and who exhibited lowered creativity levels.
Keep your workplace smelling good
All of the above is to say, it's well worth it for both you and your employees to work in a space that smells clean, fresh and pleasant.
There are many ways to do this and avoid the buildup of bad odours that hurt workplace productivity: putting basic hygiene and cleaning rules in place for everyone to follow; taking out the bins regularly; having air fresheners on hand; and, of course, regularly cleaning the space.
Regularly cleaning a large space like an office properly so that looks and smells fresh and clean is important but difficult to do without the help of a professional to tackle the dirt.
That's where experts like the team at Vogue Hygiene Services come in to help. We use eco-friendly products, tools, and equipment to carry out our cleaning and sanitation services. Our cleaning professionals are highly experienced and trained in effective deep cleaning and office cleaning.
We provide our sanitation services as well as waste disposal solutions for all industries in the Western Cape, Cape Town, and Gauteng, from retail and commercial to residential and industrial spaces.
Contact us now for a free quote, and a great-smelling workplace.
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