Career profile for Cleaner

What does a Cleaner do?

Cleaners perform any combination of light cleaning duties to maintain private households or commercial establishments, such as hotels and hospitals, in a clean and orderly manner.

In addition, Cleaners duties may include making beds, replenishing linens, cleaning rooms and halls, and vacuuming.

What kind of tasks does a Cleaner perform regularly?

Cleaners are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Keep storage areas and carts well-stocked, clean, and tidy.
Carry linens, towels, toilet items, and cleaning supplies, using wheeled carts.
Clean rooms, hallways, lobbies, lounges, restrooms, corridors, elevators, stairways, locker rooms, and other work areas so that health standards are met.
Sweep, scrub, wax, or polish floors, using brooms, mops, or powered scrubbing and waxing machines.
Empty wastebaskets, empty and clean ashtrays, and transport other trash and waste to disposal areas.
Replenish supplies, such as drinking glasses, linens, writing supplies, and bathroom items.
Clean rugs, carpets, upholstered furniture, and draperies, using vacuum cleaners and shampooers.
Wash windows, walls, ceilings, and woodwork, waxing and polishing as necessary.
Dust and polish furniture and equipment.

The above responsibilities are specific to Cleaners. More generally, Cleaners are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Performing General Physical Activities		Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
Assisting and Caring for Others		Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public		Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Performing General Physical Activities

Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Assisting and Caring for Others

Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Performing for or Working Directly with the Public

Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

What is a Cleaner salary?

The median salary for a Cleaner is $26,220, and the average salary is $28,010. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Cleaner salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Cleaners earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Cleaners earn less than $19,370 per year, 25% earn less than $22,230, 75% earn less than $31,320, and 90% earn less than $39,140.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Cleaners is expected to change by 11.3%, and there should be roughly 183,300 open positions for Cleaners every year.

Median annual salary: $26,220
Typical salary range: $19,370 - $39,140
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 11.3%

What personality traits are common among Cleaners?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Cleaner are usually higher in their Realistic and Conventional interests.

Cleaners typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Cleaners typically have strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Cleaner tend to value Relationships, Support, and Independence.

Most importantly, Cleaners strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Cleaners somewhat value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Cleaners very slightly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Cleaners must consistently demonstrate qualities such as self-control, attention to detail, and cooperation.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Cleaners, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

What education and training do Cleaners need?

Working as a Cleaner may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.

Cleaners need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.

Educational degrees among Cleaners

35.1% did not complete high school or secondary school
40.8% completed high school or secondary school
14.1% completed some college coursework
4.4% earned a Associate's degree
4.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
0.7% earned a Master's degree
0.3% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Cleaners

Cleaners may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, public safety and security, or administration and management knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Cleaners might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Public Safety and Security		Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Chemistry		Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Chemistry

Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Important Abilities needed by Cleaners

Cleaners must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Cleaners need abilities such as trunk strength, oral comprehension, and oral expression in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Cleaners, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Trunk Strength		The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Stamina		The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Extent Flexibility		The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Trunk Strength

The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Stamina

The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.

Extent Flexibility

The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Critical Skills needed by Cleaners

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Cleaners frequently use skills like service orientation, coordination, and time management to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Cleaners, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Service Orientation		Actively looking for ways to help people.
Coordination		Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Time Management		Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Social Perceptiveness		Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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