The below article was written by Biological Preparations and published in Tomorrows FM, September 2024 Edition
In the facilities management (FM) sector, putting people first is not just a marketing slogan - people are the foundation of this industry. FM businesses are committed to supporting their clients by ensuring that workspaces are welcoming, safe, functional, and efficient. This is especially true in Soft FM, where services like cleaning play a vital role in maintaining clean, healthy, and secure environments. By keeping spaces well-maintained, FM businesses enhance working conditions and help clients achieve their business goals.
However, despite this focus on wellbeing and safety, the continued reliance on certain cleaning chemicals can undermine the industry's people-centric mission. Even with advancements in cleaning technology, many of these chemicals pose significant risks to human health. As more data and research emerge, it's only a matter of time before stakeholders in FM businesses begin scrutinising the products in their cleaning arsenal. Understanding the risks associated with harsh cleaning chemicals is crucial for retaining staff and strategic planning to maintain client trust. Ignoring these issues is a risk that FM businesses can no longer afford to take.
Protecting Your Most Valuable Asset: Your Staff
The foundation of a successful FM business is its team. FM cleaning operatives are indispensable in helping FM businesses satisfy their customer goals and achievements. So, the protection of people must start with these frontline workers in mind. Yet, the FM industry often struggles with high staff turnover, surpassing the overall UK market average of 15%. Among the different factors driving this high turnover, the lack of safety and wellbeing for individual staff has been a continuously raised issue.
Safety and well-being encompass various aspects, from immediate physical health to mental and long-term health. Unfortunately, the very tools meant to maintain cleanliness can contribute to these issues. The reliance on harsh chemicals not only jeopardises the health of the cleaning staff but also undermines the industry's commitment to a people-first approach.
Short-Term Health: The Immediate Impact
A reliable workforce is crucial to meeting targets and servicing customer sites. But with high turnover, every team member counts. A single sick day can lead to overstretched teams or even missed site visits. While sick days are commonly attributed to colds or local viruses, they can also result from overexposure to cleaning chemicals. Such exposure can trigger respiratory issues, allergic reactions, headaches, throat and nose irritation, and even vomiting.
These health issues may seem minor individually, but they add up across operations, as they can cause a significant drop in workforce productivity overall. This is not only a loss for the business but also a clear signal to future recruits and current team members that the current approach to cleaning may be harmful to their health. Meaning that cleaning may not be a long-term career path that they would want to pursue, perpetuating that high staff turnover cycle.
Long-Term Health: The Cumulative Effect
In the pursuit of a fulfilling career that supports financial, personal, and health needs, long-term health is vital. Yet, the very chemicals used in daily operations can pose significant long-term health risks. Here are just a few research examples showing the long-term health affect cleaning chemicals can have.
- Asthma: A US study found that 12% of work-related asthma cases were linked to exposure to cleaning products. Cleaning operatives who didn’t have asthma before joining the industry were more likely to develop it over time due to repeated exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs, inhaled during cleaning, cause lung inflammation and tissue damage.
- Hand Dermatitis: A survey of 5,000 employees across 37 cleaning companies found that 28% of cleaning operatives reported hand dermatitis—10% higher than the general population. This condition is often caused by repeated exposure to harsh chemicals that strip the skin of its natural oils, leaving it vulnerable to infection, chronic pain, and reduced functionality.
- Fertility: While many businesses take steps to protect pregnant employees from harsh chemicals, emerging research shows that chemical exposure can affect fertility even before conception. For instance, phthalates, common in cleaning product fragrances, are suspected endocrine disruptors linked to reduced sperm count in men.
These long-term health issues are not just statistics—they represent the consequences that many people in FM face by undergoing this career path. FM businesses have a responsibility to protect their staff from these risks by adopting safer, more sustainable cleaning practices.
Mental Health: The Unseen Burden
With high staff turnover and a challenging labour market, FM businesses often face the pressure of stretched resources. This pressure can increase the mental load on staff, who are tasked with managing multiple sites and cleaning operations. A UK study in the commercial cleaning sector found that 70% of cleaning operatives identified excessive workloads as a persistent issue, with terms like “stressful” and “backbreaking” frequently used to describe their experience.
This mental strain can lead to burnout, further exacerbating the problem of staff retention. When cleaning operatives are pushed to their limits, their ability to perform effectively diminishes, leading to a vicious cycle of stress, reduced performance, and turnover. Addressing the mental health of cleaning staff is just as important as addressing their physical health, and it requires a holistic approach by workforce management.
Protecting Health: A Crucial Priority for FM Businesses
In the facilities management (FM) sector, customers are the lifeblood of any operation. Without them, there would be no FM business. Although many FM operations are business-to-business (B2B), strong customer relationships remain at the core of success. A crucial aspect of this is ensuring that the health of everyone within these spaces is protected, which brings us back to the importance of addressing indoor air quality and the overall environment that FM businesses help create.
Indoor Air Pollution: A Growing Concern
In the UK, the population spends an average of 90% of their time indoors. This makes the quality of indoor environments not just a convenience but a necessity. For FM businesses, part of fulfilling customer needs involves promoting healthy and welcoming spaces where people want to spend time, whether it’s the client’s own staff or their customers. However, recent research highlights a growing issue: Indoor Air Pollution (IAQ).
IAQ refers to the quality of air within a building or structure, directly impacting the health and comfort of those inside. While many factors contribute to IAQ, cleaning chemicals play a significant role. A London-based study revealed that improving indoor air quality could boost productivity by up to 15%. But the benefits extend beyond productivity. Enhancing IAQ can lead to higher staff satisfaction, improved company reputation, and overall better wellbeing.
Many cleaning and hygiene products, such as polishes, disinfectants, and all-surface cleaners, release volatile organic compounds (VOCs). While FM cleaning operatives are most exposed to these chemicals, the staff who spend their entire working day in these environments are also at risk. Breathing in these VOCs can lead to similar short- and long-term health conditions as those experienced by the cleaning staff. Additionally, research has shown that high levels of VOCs can reduce cognitive performance in office environments by up to 13%.
For FM businesses, it is essential to demonstrate to clients that they are not contributing to indoor air pollution but are instead helping reduce health risks for both the client’s staff and their customers. By taking proactive measures to improve IAQ, FM businesses can position themselves as leaders in health and safety, further solidifying client relationships and enhancing their reputation in the industry.
The Trade-Off Myth: Better Solutions for a Healthier Future
The misconception that effective cleaning can only be achieved with harsh chemicals is a challenge that many FM businesses face. However, this trade-off between people’s health and commercial success is not necessary. Advances in cleaning technology have introduced a range of alternatives that allow FM businesses to excel in both areas.
A common belief is that naturally derived products are less effective than their chemical counterparts. Yet, ongoing research and development in the cleaning industry are challenging this narrative. With the introduction of more sustainable cleaning products coming into the market, it's also important to note that not all eco-friendly products are created equal. These products vary in cost, effectiveness, and their ability to protect people and the environment. However, when an FM business identifies a product that balances these values, it can reshape how the industry cares for people and customer sites.
For instance, certain biotech cleaning brands are 100% naturally derived. These products, made from natural ingredients, carry a lower hazard classification, reducing health and safety risks, protecting the immediate health of users, and safeguarding the long-term health of staff. Beyond health benefits, biotechnology aims to improve productivity through less labour-intensive cleaning processes, such as residual cleaning, biofilms, and odour degradation at the source. This not only helps staff achieve their daily cleaning objectives more efficiently but also allows them to manage their time and energy better, which in turn supports their mental health.
Not only this but by continuing to use traditional cleaning chemicals it can affect FM businesses to target and retain customers. With the growing zeitgeist around health and staff wellbeing, employers want to ensure that the businesses that support their business, like FM operators, will enhance their environment for their staff and customers, not add risks and wellness blockers. Being proactive in choosing the right products to work with not only will help your operations and staff retention but provides those FM businesses with a USP that they could showcase to potential clients.
By adopting these advanced cleaning solutions, FM businesses can ensure that from the start of the cleaning cycle, their staff are better protected, customers and their teams are better safeguarded, and the client’s business environment is healthier and more appealing.
Aligning Health and Success in FM
The facilities management industry is at a pivotal point where the health and wellbeing of both employees and clients must be prioritised alongside commercial objectives. For FM businesses, understanding the risks associated with traditional cleaning chemicals and embracing more sustainable, health-conscious alternatives is not just a matter of compliance but a strategic advantage. By doing so, they can protect their most valuable assets—people—while also driving business success.
In an industry built on creating safe, healthy spaces, the tools and practices employed must align with this mission. As more research and data emerge, FM businesses have the opportunity to lead by example, demonstrating that it is possible to protect health, enhance productivity, and maintain strong customer relationships—all without compromise. The future of FM is one where innovation and care go hand in hand, ensuring that the spaces that they manage are not just clean, but truly safe and welcoming for everyone.
