Leaving my office job to become a Domestic Cleaner - mistake?

[WalkingDead02]

Hello Ladies, you all seem to have a lot of wise words of wisdom and experience so I am hoping you can help.

I have been flirting with the idea of changing jobs for a while now. I've been in my current role in Accounting full time for 4 years, I've worked in an office full time since leaving school. My son is just under 2 and have decided that I would like to reduce my hours to spend more time with him. I have asked about reducing my hours with my current employer which has been approved, but my role will be changing drastically - not what I want to do and a lot more stress.

I have been offered a domestic cleaning role with a local firm - same pay per hour I am on now, the hours that I want, mileage paid, less stress, getting out and about/not sat at a computer all day. I enjoy cleaning and applied for the role purely for the change. I feel excited whenever I think about accepting the offer.

My husband tells me that I will be making a huge mistake 'going from a career to a cleaner'. Please can I have some honest opinions? Any experience on this from anyone?

Well my first though tbh is that you can't be making very much in accountancy if you can get the same pay as a cleaner, but I'll take your word for it...

It's your life, and if you feel you would be materially the better for it, go for it. My questions would be:

1. what about pension - presumably you have a pension in your accountancy role - would you get it in the cleaning? Would you status be employed, SE, what, and if SE what are your plans to cover for any times of ill health, maternity, poor business?
2. your pay as a cleaner is unlikely to go up other than in line with inflation, whereas if you're low paid in accountancy there would be a lot of theoretical potential to increase your income. Are you OK with that?
3. how do you see this playing long-term? Physical work like cleaning can get harder as you get older much more than desk work, and you're more likely to e.g. end up with an enforced period of not working if you hurt your back or something.

I personally wouldnt make the change. I can see where you're husband is coming from. There's no career in cleanings unless you were to set up your own cleaning company.

I have done this. I’m a specialist commercial cleaner though. It has doubled my wage from that as a manager within a care home - which was minimum wage.
I no longer have any stress, I love my job and it gives me great satisfaction. You can progress in cleaning, either by starting your own company or working up the career ladder within a cleaning company. I have turned down a recent promotion, as it would have taken me back into management and I no longer want that.
You have to do what is right for you, given the constraints of your life - hours you can work and money you need v job satisfaction.
Be very prepared for people to look down on you as a lot think it is an easy, non skilled, brain dead job - it really isn’t if you do the job properly.

@Respectabitch - my pay for what I do is very poor and not likely to be increasing significantly any time soon. It is an employed position with a company pension. I've been advised that there are regular pay increases although I am not sure how much the increase is. Long term I am not sure as wanted to see how I get on with cleaning.

@Bargebill19 My current role offers no satisfaction as nothing is ever 'finished' - it's just a constant game of chasing your tail which is so frustrating

Cleaning is fast paced work, but you do get the satisfaction of looking at a room ‘before and after’ you’ve cleaned and tidied. However, you also get the deja vu feeling too , and I’ll be the first to admit sometimes thinking ‘just how hard it is to put it in the bin instead of on the floor next to the bin’.
Ultimately it is your decision. There is a lot to be said for being happy and being able to pay the bills. Not so much to be said for being unhappy and being able to pay the bills. (IMO)

Do it, it’s better to regret the things you did do than the things you didn’t, you can always go back to accounting if it doesn’t work out, I went contracting when I had two small children and a mortgage to think about and it was the best move ever, I was more secure and had more option than I ever did as an employee

I did it for a year I got paid around the same if not more than my data entry position and I could still pick up and drop off at school

I wouldn’t do it. Accountancy is a skilled role, you can take more exams and progress to a higher paid position. Cleaning is very demanding physically and becomes harder to do as you get older. I also think it would be harder to go back to an office job later if you wanted to.

Cleaning is great in terms of family friendly hours and stress free working. What I will say though is that it takes a physical toll. I have been cleaning for just over 8 years now and I’ve been struggling for a couple of those years with shoulder, back and hand pain, I’m planning my exit- whether that be taking on employees and being less hands on myself or leaving cleaning altogether. Either way- I can’t continue long term. I’m only in my 30’s!

I would definitely advise you think about the issue properly long term - pension implications, protection in case of ill health/injury, your long term plan if you go off cleaning/can't physically do it any more. Then make the decision that's best for you. I regret to say I think getting back into accountancy work after you've been cleaning for several years will be a lot more difficult than going the other way.

I changed jobs from office work to cleaning houses and businesses. Honestly, although it was tiring at times it was actually kinda fun. I was a lot happier. I wasn't in front of a computer all day, I wasn't answering to anyone all day or making sure I was back in work from my breaks right on the dot etc.. I'm a clean freak so I enjoyed the work. I never felt like 'just a cleaner'. My clients were lovely and appreciated me and my work so much.

I love cleaning with headphones in its way better than an office in my opinion.

Agree with both the last two posts. I’m far happier when cleaning than I ever was as an employee in an office. Music on, cloth in hand- I’m in my happy place. But I know it has an expiry date physically...

Working for a company will still give you benefits such as pension and sick pay etc. Granted most will only pay ssp, but the same can be said for other careers too.
Given the right training and appropriate equipment you should not be suffering any injuries whilst cleaning.

I stayed in a job "for the pension" for far too long. I'm now self employed (and whilst that's been a bitch this past 12 months) and I've never been happier.

Is there any way you could have the best of both worlds? Maybe maintain an office job, just part-time hours, and take on minimal hours as a cleaner? I work as a Housekeeper in a local hospital - just three hours on Saturday and three hours on Sunday. It might be a way of testing out whether you enjoy cleaning, and you’re not burning all your bridges as regards the skills you have learnt within accountancy 😁

Or do it the other way round, take on the cleaning job and do bookwork prep for small businesses on the side? People are all over our village Facebook page at the moment crying out for help (I'm a wimp, I pass mine hook, line and sinker to my accountant!)