Tag Archive for: 9 Life Lessons I Learned from Being a Janitor for a Year.

No one is perfect. Managers are human and have faults and doubts just like everyone else. But some bosses are really just not meant to be leaders.

Even at the janitorial level, this truth struck me hard when I noticed some of the “head janitors” gossiping with employees about colleagues in a mean manner. I couldn’t believe they would stoop to that level of unprofessionalism — but I learned a good lesson: You should never put your boss on a pedestal.

I realized that just because someone lands a managerial role doesn’t mean they actually deserve it (or will be good at it).

Considering I was slightly embarrassed to have to wear a bright orange janitor uniform in the first few days of my employment, I was surprised at the competitive race for managerial positions that I sometimes observed at work.

Then, once someone received a promotion, they often went overboard with discipline and micromanagement.

I finally understood the word “power trip,” or the phenomenon of people in higher up positions making their subordinates’ lives difficult just because they can. And I learned that you can’t make a power trip go away — you just have to accept it and choose your battles wisely.

As I said in lesson three, I was slightly embarrassed to wear the neon orange janitor uniform on my first few days on the job. However, I quickly learned not to be ashamed of my “janitor” title.

That gig required a lot of manual labor and hard work, which I think is admirable…not embarrassing.

It’s important to remember that not every job will be your “dream job,” especially if you are just entering the workforce. So keep an open mind and never judge a book (or a job) by its cover (or reputation).

And if someone makes fun of you for a job, they are not worth your time.

Much like telling someone that you’re unemployed or that you’re now single can make them uncomfortable, so can telling them that you work as a janitor.

I get this. Janitors are at the bottom of the work totem pole in most people’s mind. Why do you think Matt Damon’s character in “Good Will Hunting” started off as a janitor before his incredible math skills were discovered? Because being a janitor created the most dramatic contrast. Who would ever expect the janitor to be a genius?

So when you tell someone that you work as a janitor, they don’t necessarily know the proper response. They can’t say “Cool! That’s awesome!” because it will seem sarcastic. They can’t say “That stinks!” in case you like being a janitor and will find that offensive. So they generally say, “Oh okay…and how is that?”

I tried to save people from this uncomfortable decision by saying, “I work as a janitor. It has its ups and downs, but I generally like it and it’s taught me some good lessons.” This type of answer puts people at ease and they can feel free to ask more questions about your job or to move on to a new topic.

I remember being 15 and my grandmother would sometimes give me $5 or $10 “just because” and, while I appreciated the generous gift, I would usually just stick it in my wallet or spend it on an ice cream cone or movie ticket. I didn’t truly value that seemingly small amount of money.

However, once you scrub toilets, mop floors, and pick up trash across an auditorium for a solid hour just to earn $6.25, you learn to really value money — any amount of it.