Mrs Hinch, aka Sophie Hinchliffe, is on a mission to empower people to clean their homes after declaring it can 'soothe your soul'. The cleaning influencer openly discusses how cleaning can help her deal with her anxiety and control her panic attacks. Many of her hinchers credit Mrs Hinch for helping to improve their mental health and it is evident in the messages that she shares on her stories daily. With employee wellness a firm part of our culture, this grabbed our attention.
'Hinching' has now replaced the word 'cleaning' and Sophie's 2.4 million #HinchArmy are inspired daily to share pictures of their #HinchHauls, all full of Sophie's favourite cleaning products with names such as Dave the feather duster and Kermit the glass cleaning cloth. With this huge level of following in such a short space of time and links to mental health, it's time employers took notice.
Workplaces too could be freshened up and made more productive by those who are willing to follow her advice and take control of their employee wellbeing. According to a poll by Bankers Box at Fellowes, 94% of employees believe being more organised in the office makes them more productive so we decided to try the #hinchhalfhour for ourselves. Here's how we got on:
Sara Jolly, our regional Head of Create would describe her desk as an organised mess. Reluctant to give it a go, she agreed to throw away five unnecessary things. By the time she was finished, she had a full sack of stuff she no longer needed! She said: "Well, it's very clean and it looks very spacious. I do feel a little bit bare but overall good. I've gotten rid of loads of stuff that, quite frankly, I don't think I'd looked at for four years. Now it's in the bin and I don't have to worry about it."
Kristie Wilson, our Campaign Executive is the main point of contact for our North East sales team. She said: "There's a lot less clutter so it's not going to take me ages to find something. A lot of people come to my desk to find things and it's just easier for everybody to be able to get what they need rather than sift through loads of mess. This is definitely something that I should do more often because I won't let it keep building up. It was starting to get to a point where I was embarrassed when people were coming over to my desk but I never just took the time to sort through it. Having that time to focus on getting it sorted really helped and I feel much better for it. I'd definitely do it again."
By taking the time to 'hinch' our workspaces we can help to cut down on the office junk that doesn't encourage you to stay focused. A workspace that sounds, looks, feels and smells great, and reflects the individuality of the people in it, while meeting business needs, will be more efficient and morale-boosting. We know that cleaning isn't necessarily the solution to improving employee wellbeing but it certainly works well alongside our other wellbeing initiatives such as MeSpace and Wellness Wednesdays.
So, don't scoff at Dave and Minkeh, give it a go and see how it can help boost your productivity. You may find that you're not just cleaning, you're sweeping away the daily grind.