Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Keep buildings in clean and orderly condition. Perform heavy cleaning duties, such as cleaning floors, shampooing rugs, washing walls and glass, and removing rubbish. Duties may include tending furnace and boiler, performing routine maintenance activities, notifying management of need for repairs, and cleaning snow or debris from sidewalk.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Coordination
- Time Management
- Active Learning
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Transportation
- Law and Government
- Telecommunications
- Personnel and Human Resources
What the work involves
- Service, clean, or supply restrooms.
- Gather and empty trash.
- Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming.
- Follow procedures for the use of chemical cleaners and power equipment to prevent damage to floors and fixtures.
- Mix water and detergents or acids in containers to prepare cleaning solutions, according to specifications.
- Notify managers concerning the need for major repairs or additions to building operating systems.
- Requisition supplies or equipment needed for cleaning and maintenance duties.
- Clean windows, glass partitions, or mirrors, using soapy water or other cleaners, sponges, or squeegees.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (62.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (33.4%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (50.4%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 88% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 88% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 96% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 76% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 95% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 95% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 54% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 78% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 33.42%
- Contact with others about half the time: 1.29%
- Contact with others most of the time: 26.61%
- Constant contact with others: 38.68%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 40.5%
- Fairly important: 22.38%
- Important: 20.03%
- Very important: 8.79%
- Extremely important: 8.3%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 19%
- Fairly important: 1.37%
- Important: 43.84%
- Very important: 16.76%
- Extremely important: 19.03%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 8.22%
- Some freedom: 40.75%
- A lot of freedom: 51.03%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 19.6%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 31.06%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 11.25%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 9.66%
- Every day: 28.43%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 44.68%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 32.43%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 11.35%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 3.31%
- Every day: 8.22%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 32.2%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 19.61%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 13.44%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 15.34%
- Every day: 19.41%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 52.52%
- Fairly serious: 12.01%
- Serious: 4.41%
- Very serious: 7.04%
- Extremely serious: 24.02%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2023
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O*NET-SOC 37-2011.00 · SOC 37-2011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8