Are you trying to build a work environment that is more sanitised or more sanitary?
There is a difference.
A sanitised work environment is generally inoffensive, and is designed to satisfy the strict (and habitually self-serving) requirements of the HR checklist.
A sanitary work environment, on the other hand, is one that’s designed to be favourable for the health and proper functioning of the organisation.
Do employees have enough free time and appropriate physical space where they can meet and mingle? This is likely to be important for relaxation, stress relief and the serendipitous generation of new ideas.
Are the key working areas of the business fit for purpose?
Too often the answer is no.
Take for example a professional services firm; it could be a consulting firm, law firm or accounting firm. The existing mantra at many professional services firms is the “open plan” office, a form of madness which takes the much needed physical space that staff need, and plonks it right in the heart of productive work areas. The result is noisy chatter, annoyance for anyone who needs to concentrate for more than 30 minutes at a stretch, increased stress levels and reduced productivity. The workspaces at your typical professional services firm will satisfy the HR checklist, but they are often not fit for purpose.
Sanitized is not the same thing as sanitary.