You absolutely should be proud of having a good honest job! That's more than many can say.
Several people I am close to are or have been cleaners, one friend is now the boss of her own company (having left school at 16 with no qualifications) and now employs many others to do same as you are cleaning commercial places, offices, call centres etc. She's often saying everyone THINKS they can do the job and not everyone CAN! She's had some people apply who clearly had an attitude about them regards cleaning and be all shocked when they were rejected. She says these types
1 tend to be shit cleaners
2 treat their colleagues like shit and cause bother
3 are unreliable and often "call in sick" etc
I couldn't do it now - not because it's "beneath me" cos I'd be shit at it! She and I have discussed this at length. I have ocd, contrary to certain tv shows  (seriously don't even get me started!) this doesn't necessarily mean this would be a good job for me! I couldn't do it because although the places I cleaned would be cleaned to an extremely high standard it'd take me bloody ages! Cos I can't just eg wipe a desk down, I'd take everything off it, wash it, disinfect it and polish it, and then I'd clean everything that was to go back on it, and the legs and the chair and it's legs and it's adjusting knobs etc etc it'd take me about 2 hours to clean one desk! There are also certain parts of the job that would be too anxiety inducing for me to do, I wouldn't be able to even touch other peoples bins for instance, I can't even walk near to bins on the street!
So I have HUGE respect for what you do and so should they!
What are your critics jobs? Qualifications?
In your position I'd be telling them to stop being such rude snobs to me and that I was proud to
1 have secured a good honest job in the current climate
2 prioritised your family's needs
3 found a job I am good at
4 am contributing to the health and safety of those office workers
5 not to be a snob like them!
Even family! Your dh I Hope is telling the in-laws to wind their necks in? And if not why not?
Your colleagues at the offices you need to perfect a Paddington stare/resting bitch face for them in return and maybe learn some ways from other cleaners in how to deal with people like that?
You're doing fantastic!
I hold 2 degrees, a number of vocational qualifications, and am currently unemployed due to ill health at the moment. Mainly but not only the ocd. In my time I've worked in factories (on the production line), retail shop floor, hospitality (Dish washing, waitressing, bar work etc) and I've done these kind of jobs before and after (and during!) getting my degrees too.
You do what you have to do to earn when you're able to work. Actually looking back those were the jobs I got along best with my colleagues and while the work was physically demanding it was also low stress, very satisfying to have clear "goals" and meet them, and actually lots of fun had with my colleagues both in and out of work, several of whom I'm still in touch with. Other jobs I've had that were treated as "higher status" were boring, stressful, poorly defined, and the "office politics" stuff was a royal pita!
They would say the same if you were to become a bin lady ..... but the first to complain when their bins weren't emptied
Exactly!
My parents raised us that NOBODY is above or below anyone else! Not really! We're all conceived and born the same way, all die alone essentially and we all poop! We ALL make mess that needs cleaning up by SOMEBODY!
I'm willing to bet your critics would absolutely be the FIRST to complain if the cleaners at their workplaces disappeared! They'd certainly be moany arses if they had to empty their own bins, and clean their desks etc!
@ScrapThatThen I LOVED factory work! Fed into the best parts of my ocd (precision, accurate counting, attention to detail) loads of good natured "banter" (in the friendly sense), radio on and we'd even singalong sometimes especially this time of year with the Xmas songs, there'd be tinsel etc on the rafters... I have very happy memories of being a factory worker. Sadly it was the low pay meant I really needed to go for something with a "higher status". Where I was living then the rents were high, if I could have afforded to stay in those jobs I probably would have.
Let me tell you who the real hero's of the nhs are - the cleaning staff!
Totally agree I'm also an ex nurse and good cleaners are absolutely crucial in medical settings. I left the nhs around the time the cost cutting measures included ending the contracts with the specialised medical cleaning companies and hiring "regular" cleaning companies instead - that massively backfired as my mentors and myself and others predicted. This was the time when there was the explosion of hospital acquired infections and associated scandals. The cleaning wasn't the only factor but it was certainly a major one in my opinion. Not the fault of the "regular" cleaners they simply hadn't been trained and weren't being resourced well enough (there were also things like what cleaning fluids were used were changed to cheaper less effective products!) to do the job properly. A good example I think of just how important cleaners are.
You're doing an amazing and valuable job! 