A Salute to the Janitors and Custodians of the World

How well do you know the person who cleans your office?

If you are like most people, you recognize their faces and wave or say good night when you leave. You might know their names. At Office Pride, we encourage you to take notice and get to know them a little better.

This month, we celebrate National Custodial Workers Recognition Day on Oct. 2 and Thank Your Cleaner Day on Oct. 16. We salute the more than 23 million men and women who keep the places where we all work, shop, worship and play, and where our children learn and grow, clean, safe and well-maintained.

At Office Pride, we deeply appreciate our franchisees and the cleaners who work for them. The cleaners for each of our independently owned and operated franchises are employees, not contractors. They are professionals who take their jobs seriously and maintain Office Pride’s award-winning safety record. They show up on time, uniformed and ready to efficiently handle what needs to be done. They clean offices to the specifications of the customer while maintaining Office Pride’s high standards to ensure tasks are done to maximize sanitization and prevent cross-contamination. They consistently ensure that your space – whether an office, church, school or other workplace – is safe and clean for employees, guests and students.

Most Commercial Cleaners are Part-Time Workers

What do you know about the people who clean your office?

Many Office Pride franchise locations hire cleaners as part-time employees who also hold down other full-time or part-time jobs. Industrywide, about a third of them are millennials. Some are parents, some are full-time students and some are retired.

Part-time employees might work for one of Office Pride’s independently owned and operated franchises for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they need additional income to reach a specific goal: paying for a child’s sports uniforms or music lessons, saving for college tuition, planning a great vacation or making a car payment. Some are husband-and-wife teams who clean together so they can make an extra mortgage payment each year and pay off their house earlier. Office Pride custodial positions may help people on their path toward financial independence. Some who begin work as cleaners may eventually become managers and then someday, own their own franchise cleaning business.

Just Say Thank You  

Whatever the case, the cleaners in your office are just like most other people: They have dreams and aspirations. They want to do a good job and feel appreciated. If you would like to show your appreciation to your cleaner, consider signing a card from the gang to say “Thank you.” Rest assured, that simple “thank you” – or even better, a compliment to his employer for a job well done – means a lot.

Todd Hopkins, Office Pride founder and CEO, says, “Office Pride’s mission is to honor God by positively impacting people and workspaces. This includes providing clean and safe workspaces. The cleaners who work for our franchise locations are on the front lines, providing an important service every day. We are grateful for their commitment to their customers and for what they do for our Office Pride brand.”

To all the janitors and cleaners everywhere: Happy National Custodial Workers Recognition Day! And, thank you.