GP PRO, a division of Georgia-Pacific and a leading maker of advanced dispensing solutions for commercial facilities, surveyed 200 maintainers working in U.S. facilities to gain insight into their work habits and mindset, dispelling some long-held misconceptions about maintainers and the work they perform.

“Our goal in conducting this survey was really to help humanize the people who clean and maintain the facilities we all frequent every day, to debunk and dispel some of the misperceptions related to the individuals themselves and the work they perform,” said Ronnie Phillips, Ph.D., senior director of washroom innovation at GP PRO.

As an example, Phillips noted a long-standing complaint within the cleaning industry about high maintainer turnover and a general lack of maintainer loyalty. “Our survey found quite the opposite to be true,” he said.

In fact, the survey found that 41 per cent of participants have worked in the cleaning industry for more than 10 years. Among maintainers between the ages of 25 and 64, nearly all (98 per cent) plan to stay in the industry long-term and 57 per cent plan to continue in their current role as long as possible. For those between the ages of 25 and 54, 55 per cent see opportunities to advance within the industry.

As well as dispelling some common misconceptions, some of the study findings shed light on the maintainer experience as they move through their daily tasks:

• How do the survey respondents refer to themselves? Maintainer was chosen by 36 per cent of participants, cleaner was chosen by 30 per cent, janitor by 23 per cent and custodian by 12 per cent of participants.
• When faced with choosing which bathrooms are most often messiest – men’s or women’s – the result was almost evenly split, with 54 per cent choosing men’s restrooms and 47 per cent choosing women’s. When surveyed by gender, however, 82 per cent of men chose their own restrooms as being the messiest, and 85 per cent of women chose women’s restrooms.
• How do employees spend their work hours? Nearly half (45 per cent) of respondents said they tune into podcasts and 15 per cent to audiobooks, whereas 24 per cent work in silence, and just 17 per cent listen to music.
• Not only is job tenure high but so is job satisfaction, with 82 per cent of maintainers stating they are somewhat or very satisfied in their current role. Although one quarter admit the work is messy and dirty and more than two-thirds (67 per cent) wish cleaning toilets were faster and easier, only eight per cent say the tasks are unenjoyable. 68 per cent of survey respondents are pleased with the pay, 59 per cent appreciate the good healthcare benefits, and more than half (55 per cent) credit the flexible schedule for their level of job satisfaction.
• What about public perception? While 46 per cent of survey respondents said they’ve received comments conveying appreciation for their work, their attention to detail, and facility cleanliness, 11 per cent stated they’ve never received words of appreciation or respect from the public.
• When asked how they perceive themselves in their role, 46 per cent of maintainers stated they see themselves as important, appreciated, and relied upon, responding with statements like “A simple thank you can make my day so much brighter,” “I am always striving to do my best,” “I bring dedication and commitment to my work every day,” and “I hope people recognize that behind every clean space is someone dedicated to making it happen.”

“The big takeaways from these findings are that maintainers are hardworking, loyal, and motivated professionals who enjoy the work they do and take great pride in it,” Phillips said. “That’s something we can all aspire to.”

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GP PRO partnered with Savanta, a leading market research consultancy to program and execute the survey, and to provide final data analysis. To view the full survey results, visit gppro.com.