Is there a code of ethics in housekeeping?

There is no code of ethics currently governing the field of housekeeping. However, many companies have issued their own codes of ethics or common rules to establish a professional framework. This article is intended to be a starting point for reflection only, and therefore should not be considered official.

First of all, who can claim to be part of the housekeeping industry?

In our opinion, several professions relate to this category:

• A person ensuring the cleanliness of a buildingresidential, commercial, industrial, eating, hotelier, municipal, school
• Maintenance Team Manager, team leader, supervisor, foreman, etc.
• Specialized cleaning such as cleaning of high-rise structures, of disaster after fire, flood and other types of disaster;
• Members of the Special or Major Team. The elite, multi-skilled team, capable of performing several specialized cleaning tasks;
• Manufacturers and distributors of cleaning products, accessories and equipment.
• And surely many other jobs that I haven't thought of!

What laws apply?

In terms of working conditions and salaries, there are two main ways of remunerating employees.

THE Labor Standards. The rules will be dictated by the government, which

THE Joint Committee public building maintenance  Montreal – Quebec (several sectors exist and have notable differences between them). But generally speaking, these standards exceed those of the Labor Standards. See also this article about the subcontracting in housekeeping.

Why a code of ethics?

You will notice that L'housekeeping requires a sense of security and trust. Besides, even before entering a building, your eye will already have formed an idea of the quality based on the exterior cleanliness.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was reassuring to see housekeeping staff disinfecting high-touch surfaces and the general public understood the importance of housekeeping staff.

What clauses could be part of a code of ethics?

Discretion

These types of employees may see and hear many professional secrets in offices, factories, construction sites, etc. They must keep secret what should not be disclosed. On the other hand, you may also suspect that they witness unacceptable scenes in the workplace. They are sometimes threatened with losing their job if they speak out. Therefore, you will have to judge the appropriate choice of words when writing this clause.

Honesty

The first person to be accused of theft will always be the maintenance worker! Any employee who has worked in this field will tell you that! As a former business manager, I vividly remember a customer who even filed a complaint against one of my employees for stealing a ring that had been left on her desk. It was very shocking to learn that she had forgotten that she had left it in her drawer at home! Naturally, she never apologized to our employee, who was insulted to be accused in this way.

Another customer had sharply challenged me because one of our employees had thrown a box containing a computer accessory into the dumpster. This box was with all the trash! My employee had to go there and search the waste container, but it had already been emptied! We later introduced that it would be mandatory to register "TO THROW AWAY" for us to throw away a box or any other object.

So don't take any chances, When you see a valuable item on the floor, put it back on the desk and write a note to the manager where you found the object and put it back in such a place.

Take responsibility

When we are responsible for the health of a building, we must be alert to try to prevent the proliferation of bacteria. When the frequency or method of working does not seem adequate to us, we have every right to speak out.

The manager is responsible for ensuring that he has the best methods and that the frequency is adequate. This can be done by assessing the building's traffic as well as quality results, for example. Check whether the frequency is adequate, particularly in common areas.

Just because a housekeeping quote or work route was good 5 years ago doesn't mean it is still good. Allow yourself to question yourself.

The environment

Just a few years ago, employees didn't bother to do more. Weren't they given carts to do as much recycling and garbage collection? So everything was put in the same garbage bag. I'm not saying this has been corrected everywhere. But I can hear voices rising to the effect that this doesn't make sense.

Just a few years ago, I was a consultant at a high-level college. The employees had pointed out to me that the (adult) students were putting everything and anything in the recycling bin and that they didn't have time to sort it. I told myself that the administration was surely not aware of this and that things needed to change. After all, the students were all adults at the CEGEP level. As adults, it seemed to me that it was normal to know how to properly separate garbage from recycling or compost. So, I went to see the administration and submitted the possible solutions to them. Well, I received a rejection, it was not possible to try to resolve this problem with students who had still paid for their studies!!! I was shocked!

The environment is everyone's responsibility, including managers, maintenance staff and building users.

After reading this article, please let us know your opinion for the benefit of all!