There are many people that do super important jobs and consistently go along, under appreciated and unrecognized for their work. I’ve noticed this especially in my own dorm hall. We have the same staff that clean our floor every day, and since I live on the ground floor, sometimes it can get pretty bad with people consistently coming and going. What frustrates me is the disregard that some people have for our custodial staff. They have to deal with the most disgusting things and never get the thanks they deserve from the people on our floor. They are a crucial part of what keeps our school and daily lives running smoothly and cleanly, yet we do nothing to show them we care.

A lot of Americans hold the belief that it doesn’t require a lot of skill or intelligence to be a janitor. As one janitorial company puts it,  “That kind of remark [belief] couldn’t be further from the truth, yet it does reflect an attitude held by much of the American public that does little to help uplift the self image of the nation’s 2 million plus janitors who work their butts off doing very menial, tedious and sometimes dangerous work for a public that shows little appreciation or understanding for the contribution these workers make to our country’s economy and social systems.” There are many jobs that go under appreciated in our society, and make huge contributions to how we function. Mike Rowe explores all of the ‘dirty jobs’ that allow our society to function on his long-running infamous show “Dirty Jobs,” experimenting with jobs from sewer maintenance to road kill collector. We shun this work because of stigma or because we would not want it ourselves, however, everyone deserves respect and appreciation for what they do to contribute to the common good. Some people risk their lives in dangerous situations so that we can live comfortably. We need their contributions to keep our society running, and if it weren’t for them, our lives would be a whole lot different, and a lot less convenient.

In general, janitorial staff have a lot more to deal with than just cleaning. A lot of times they are also responsible for dealing with maintenance requests and emergency clean-ups, and other tasks that I don’t even know about. All I know is that I love where I live and I have little to complain about; it’s always clean and I am so grateful for that. I don’t know what I would do without them, and they do a great job. I feel like more people should be appreciative of what they do and consider how difficult our lives would become if they did a bad job.

Even though it’s barely anything, it might be nice to just strike up a conversation with a worker you see and ask them how their day is going. One time I started talking to a lady who cleans our bathrooms, and I said “I’m so sorry you have to clean this when people do these ridiculous things!” I was referring to some obscenely gross stuff that someone did in one of the stalls. She said, kind of annoyed, “It’s okay, they pay me to do this.” It wasn’t a phenomenal conversation or anything magical. The point is that at least I expressed something nice.

Please do not make disgusting messes just for the sake of a funny joke or prank. It’s not only immature, but it’s inconsiderate of the people who have to clean it up. It might be funny to you but it’s definitely not to them. Next time you see a janitor or maintenance worker around Penn State, consider telling them a quick “thank you for your work” or “thanks a lot.” It might go a long way!

Fun Fact: National Custodial Worker’s Recognition Day is October 2nd, but you can celebrate any day by baking a nice treat or making a sweet card!!