Not too long ago, a large company went through a financial downturn resulting in bankruptcy. As a result, employees were furloughed, maintenance was postponed and all services were cut to the bone. Recycling and other green concepts were ignored or minimized for the duration of the downturn.  

One of the first services to be reduced was the custodial operations, which resulted in tenants being responsible to not only keep their areas dusted but also emptying their own trash. The custodial staff was reduced to a skeleton crew whose primary responsibility was to service restrooms, break areas and high visibility public areas such as meeting rooms. The intent was to reduce custodial costs by at least 70 percent with the goal of catching up later on.

The actual results were both positive and negative. One of the positives included a greater awareness of dropping trash or soiling a work area with the expectation that the janitor will take care of it. The tenant soon realized he/she would be cleaning up after themselves so they became tidier in their own work areas.   

A negative outcome was that instead of carrying trash to the communal trash bin, office workers would dump the trash into either the restroom or break room cans when no one was looking. This shortcut increased trash removal for the custodial staff and resulted in finger pointing and blame which hurt morale.

Although the custodial staff knew there was the possibility of reductions, they did not have a Plan B or Plan C to fall back on with focus on protecting everyone’s health. Vacuuming and carpet spotting was all but eliminated. Over time, the entire building developed a dingy look and had a strong musty odor, which only added to declining morale and the perception of gloom.  


posted on 4/8/2013