We all know that having a clean, hygienic office can play a significant role in employee morale and productivity, but did you know that your office fragrance may have an impact, too?
While many businesses invest in inspiring decor, ergonomic furniture, and advanced technology, the office scent is a detail that is often overlooked but could play a part in helping your employees stay focused, calm, and energised.
So, what are some benefits of paying attention to how your workspace smells? Here, we’ll explore the benefits, recommend the best office fragrances, offer tips on maintaining a fresh-smelling workplace, and highlight the benefits of choosing a professional cleaning service to keep your office constantly refreshed.
Why office fragrance matters
Creating a pleasant office aroma goes beyond aesthetics. Scents can have a strong psychological and physiological impact on us, affecting mood, alertness and stress levels. If you want to get the best out of your team, it’s worth looking into the effects these different aromas can have and considering how you could utilise these to enhance your workplace environment.
Scents impact mood and productivity
Research shows that scents can affect memory, mood and focus, with certain scents awakening and stimulating the mind and others having a calming and relaxing effect. For example, peppermint and citrus scents enhance alertness, making them excellent choices for spaces requiring high concentration. On the other hand, lavender is known for its calming properties if your goal is to reduce stress and create a relaxing environment.
A good first impression
In addition to having an impact on productivity, the way your office smells can be good for business in other ways.Clients who walk into a fresh-smelling office will get a great first impression. Any unpleasant odours such as dampness, mould or strong food smells will do quite the opposite. Show potential clients and customers that you are detail-orientated and that you invest in every detail of your business. Taking pride in your workplace will demonstrate this. The same goes for potential new employees, too. If you want to secure top talent, ensure your office smells excellent!
Choosing the right scents for your office
Selecting scents for an office requires balancing personal preference with functionality. Below, we’ll look at scent profiles that work well in professional settings.
The best scents for stress reduction
Lavender: Lavender is known for its calming and soothing properties, making it an ideal choice of scent for high-stress environments. A subtle lavender small can help reduce tension and ease anxiety among team members, helping them to remain feeling positive and stress-free!
Chamomile: Chamomile has been celebrated for its calming, relaxing properties for centuries, making it ideal for communal areas, or places where employees may gather to decompress.
The best scents to boost productivity
Peppermint: Fresh and alerting, peppermint boosts cognitive performance and focus – an excellent choice for brainstorming areas.
Citrus: Citrus scents are both refreshing and uplifting, and can be a subtle way to provide an energy boost, great for keeping employees alert throughout the day.
The best scents for energy and motivation
Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus offers a clean, crisp fragrance that clears the mind and airways, helping you feel more awake and focused.
Rosemary: Herbaceous and slightly woody, rosemary can enhance memory, reduce mental fatigue, and increase alertness.
Ginger: Ginger is both spicy and warming, making it a great energiser. It helps boost circulation too, which can contribute to feeling more awake.
Cinnamon: Sweet and spicy cinnamon can increase motivation and mental stimulation.
The best scents for neutralising odours
Green tea: A mild, fresh scent that is both soothing and unobtrusive, making it ideal for shared spaces like meeting rooms and reception areas.
Cedarwood: An earthy and grounded aroma that is not overpowering and will add a touch of sophistication to your office.
How to use scents in the office
There are plenty of easy ways to help get your office smelling fantastic for your clients, customers and your team. Here are some low-cost but powerfully effective ways to get your inject the ideal fragrances into your workplace
Essential Oils & Diffusers:
Diffusers are ideal as they can disperse your office’s fragrance and be easily replaced or refilled. As they are small and generally aesthetically pleasing, you can also have as many as you want! They work well in both small and large office environments so that you can use them for wider, more open spaces as well as in meeting rooms. If you are concerned about the scent becoming overpowering, choose a mild fragrance and adjust scent intensity to your preferences in the future.
Sprays & Air Fresheners:
While traditional air fresheners are popular, their scent can sometimes feel artificial and trigger allergic reactions. However, more contemporary versions can release a pleasant scent, and you completely control how much or little you use. Room sprays work similarly, though their scent tends to be more concentrated. You could also opt for plugin air fresheners, which you can turn on and off to achieve the scent you desire.
Office plants
A more natural way to scent your office is by introducing office plants. Not only will this add a lovely touch of nature to your workplace, but you can enjoy the lovely aromas by choosing a fragranced plant. Plants such as jasmine, eucalyptus, lemon balm, or scented geraniums release natural aromas and add the bonus of purifying the air.
Regular cleaning for consistent freshness:
While adding scents to an office can create a more pleasant workplace, cleanliness is the ultimate foundation of maintaining a fresh office environment that smells good. After all, you don’t want to mask unpleasant odours with your office fragrance. Rather, you want to tackle the underlying causes of bad smells, get your office looking clean and hygienic, and then decide on which smells you would like to enjoy once these tasks are completed.
Partnering with a professional cleaning service for both daily cleaning and deep cleaning ensures that dust, allergens, and other odour-causing particles are removed before they become a problem.
Regular floor maintenance and cleaning, communal area cleaning, and washroom deep cleaning also contribute significantly to the overall air quality and freshness. Without these practices, even the best scents can only partially cover up unwanted odours.
At Alliance Cleaning, we specialise in maintaining a pristine workplace through tailored cleaning routines. Our team targets high-touch and hard-to-reach areas where dust, grime, and bacteria accumulate. With Alliance Cleaning, your office isn’t just visually clean – it’s genuinely fresh, creating a welcoming and professional atmosphere for employees and visitors alike.
Extra tips to make your office smell good
If you want to keep your office smelling great in the long term, here are some extra tips to ensure that you and your team enjoy the benefits all year long!
Rotate scents seasonally
Keep things interesting in the office by changing your office fragrance to match the changing seasons. In the autumn and winter months, you could opt for more warming, spicier scents to keep your team alert even when the colder weather sets in. For summer floral, fresh or citrussy scents will invigorate and energise to keep productivity and morale high.
Encourage employees to clean spaces regularly
Remind employees to maintain cleanliness in personal areas, especially with food or drink items. Whether you use an office cleaning company or not, it’s a good idea to set some office expectations for employees, whether that’s a cleaning rota or just reminding everyone to keep their desks and communal areas clean and tidy.
Use air purifiers
High-quality air purifiers keep the air clean, allowing your chosen scents to last longer and work more effectively. You can choose to buy air purifiers for your office, but also invest in air purifying plants as mentioned above.
Hire a professional cleaning company
Creating a fresh-smelling office goes beyond choosing pleasant scents; it requires a foundation of consistent cleanliness. By carefully selecting your favourite scents and ensuring thorough, regular cleaning with a trusted professional cleaning service, you can maintain a workspace that is productive and inviting.
Ready to transform your workplace and make sure your office smells good all year round? Contact us today and let’s discuss how we can effectively eliminate unpleasant odours in your workplace.
