To think cleaning isn’t an unskilled job

[Thisisus909]

I am shit at cleaning. If I cleaned for 20 hours my house would look tidier but definitely not shiny clean.

I have had several cleaners ad hoc or for a season and they have always amazed me with how much cleaner they get the house.

Maybe I am just particularly bad, but I do think it’s a skill and we should give a bit more respect to those who do practical jobs. Calling it unskilled seems insulting. Just look at all the blogs and insta influencers who make a career out of training us mere mortals in how to do it better.

Well it’s not skilled like being a doctor or a lawyer or an accountant is, and yes it’s manual Labour. Is it a skill? I’m not sure. I can achieve what my very good cleaner achieves, albeit it would take me longer, becayse I do it less than her, and I’d not say I was skilled.

That doesn’t mean it’s not a valued job or a good cleaner isn’t worth their weight in gold.

No, I disagree. There are various tips and tricks you can learn to get a better result but you don't need to go on a training course or study. It's a normal life skill, not a professional one. I think if I were being paid and judged on my cleaning I'd put more elbow grease into it and more time so I'd get better results than when I'm just doing my own place.

Cleaning is hard, physical work, and anyone who earns a living doing it has my respect. But it’s not a skilled job.

There are lots of jobs like cleaners that are important and that we should recognise and value because they're essential.

Recognising and valuing them does not mean we need to describe them as skilled. If we describe all essential work as skilled, you're losing language we use to describe jobs undertaken after years of education and/or training, like surgeons or solicitors or qualified tradespeople.

It’s definitely a skill to clean well. I have never cared for the labelling of anyone’s job as unskilled or semi-skilled, most jobs require a level of skill and if you want to be paid then it needs to be of a high standard. Yes they’re not a doctor, but neither is my hairdresser or my accountant.

The problem is that you're considering 'unskilled' to be an insult rather than what it really is - a description of a job that doesn't require skills uncommon to the average person.

It seems to me to be akin to many trades. I can clean, I can paint, I can use tools, I can garden. But not as well who people who those things for a living.

I do think cleaning is looked down on and paid worse than trades because it’s mostly women that do it.

I think yabu. Of course cleaners deserve respect and they work hard in a manual role but a lot of the time it take no training. "Most" people off the street could do it.

You seem to be placing some judgement on the “unskilled” label which simply means that it’s a job that you don’t need training for. That doesn’t mean cleaners aren’t worthy of respect or decent pay.

It's a job where skill and knowledge is gained through a wider experience than cleaning your own home.
There is also time management skill , the ability to prioritise, and often good inter-personal skills.
It also carries responsibility and trustworthiness.
Just because it's not a skill that requires a degree, it is, nevertheless, skilled.

@GammyLeg

Cleaning is hard, physical work, and anyone who earns a living doing it has my respect. But it’s not a skilled job.

This.

My cleaner is definitely skilled. I could clean my house for days and days and it wouldnt look half as good as after she's done it

I agree with you OP - cleaning/housekeeping is a skill I lack!

I am 'book clever' and fine with work things but I find keeping my (tiny 2 bed) flat clean and tidy so stressful.
I'm pretty sure I'm dyspraxic which probably doesn't help matters. It's not so much the cleaning but the organising and remembering to do things regularly that I struggle with.

Unskilled jobs just means the person didn't go to college or uni or wherever for qualifications and / or training doesn't it?

I'm thinking that during the pandemic most people have been hoping cleaners are skilled!

@GammyLeg

Cleaning is hard, physical work, and anyone who earns a living doing it has my respect. But it’s not a skilled job.

Exactly that, it's hard work but it's not skilled.

Im a cleaner and i would say i have the knack of doing the cleaning properly rather than a skill yes anyone whos been shown how to clean that particular location will be able to clean it properly but it dosent mean they are skilled as is recognised as a definition, we have 2 kitchen cleaners at the restaurant where i clean front of house, one of them pulls everything out cleans it thoroughly and it sparkles when hes finished, the other guy despite been trained by the first cleaner skips little bits and the kitchen looks clean but dosent sparkle on his days

It's an unskilled job, because anyone who could be arsed to do it could become a cleaner. No qualifications needed, I could buy a few cleaning products and start being a cleaner tomorrow if I wanted.

Unskilled does not mean you don't need certain skills - patience, deference, that kind of thing - it means it anyone could do it if they could be bothered. That can't be said of skilled jobs, I would be hopeless as a doctor for example no matter how hard I tried.

Deference!!!!!
Ffs. I just had to check what century we're in.

It's not a skilled job because anyone can do it. But some people put more effort into it and therefore do a better job.

YABU

The problem is that you're considering 'unskilled' to be an insult rather than what it really is - a description of a job that doesn't require skills uncommon to the average person.

Exactly this. There are all kinds of tasks in life which take a bit of practice, and at which some people are better than others. That doesn't mean they are all 'skilled jobs' - i.e. jobs that require training in order to learn the necessary skills to do them.

Most people could clean well if they had the time, inclination or physical ability. However, many don’t and so either do not do such a good job or pay someone else to do it.

It is, therefore, a very useful job that is necessary for many and should be valued (certainly valued by me) but it is not skilled and that is completely fine.

A skilled job and a valuable job are not the same thing - trapeze artist is skilled but I’d rather have a cleaner

Yeah, I am shit at cleaning.

However, its clearly not a skill that's in short supply or one that takes years to acquire, so that's why it doesn't command a premium.

Yes it’s a skilled job and a profession. However the qualifications are easily acquired and seldom measured. Job wise there are few barriers to work and therefore quality varies. A professional cleaner needs to be strategic about what they do and when to complete on time and to a standard.

Driving is also a profession and a skill. Lots of people drive to varying degrees of skill. A professional driver does more than then average motorist.

The bottom line is that as a profession or job it’s easy to enter. Therefore it’s value is low in terms of remuneration and recognition by people (I refer to the first reply not my opinion ).