Getting Down and Dirty

A cleaner clearing away the trash from a canteen here in Malaysia. Cleaners do more than just clean and deserve more respect than they are given.

In recent years, there seems to be a boom of diverse professional cleaning service providers in Malaysia. Different from the past, they are no longer depending solely on the traditional way of booking through calls. With the rise of e-commerce industry and digitalisation in Malaysia, cleaning services are now available at your doorstep within a single click. Hired staff are put through professional training to ensure that they are up to the designated standard. Besides that, they also come prepared with suitable and proper tools used for various types of cleaning on distinct surfaces. Today, many people seek out to cleaning service providers who are reachable through convenient means as the cleaners come and leave your place squeaky clean.

A male cleaner sweeping the floor of a warehouse. There are different types of cleaning service available such as household, commercial and factory.

Despite how the Malaysian cleaning industry has come a long way since the beginning, there is still a social stigma plastered on cleaners. A lion's share of the public still think that cleaning is not a noble job and cleaners are occupations of low status. Some unreasonable people even throw derogatory remarks or comments to cleaners and give them an unfair treatment just because they are cleaners. True, it is a dirty job but we have to give due respect to a cleaner otherwise we would have to live in discomfort and in an unclean environment without them. Personally, I think that every career is just as meaningful and we should not take any one of them for granted.

The cleaner is working hard during lunch hour break when all the employees are out of office. Thanks to them, our environment and space are clean and comfortable.

As more Malaysians are getting tied up with work, family and life obligations, professional cleaning service providers are on a higher demand. Cleaning service is no longer a luxury but rather, a necessity for most working adults who lead hectic lifestyles. Besides that, cleaning service providers open up endless flexible job opportunities and due to its low barrier of entry, it is available to a broader group of people. With technology adoption into the daily operations of cleaning service providers, it is more efficient and effective, allowing better communication between service providers and consumers especially in terms of feedback and employees turnover process. Not only that, utilising software in the cleaning industry can tremendously improve the business operations and this explains why there is an increasing number of cleaning service providers incorporating the use of software into their day to day business.

In order to break the stigma surrounding the cleaners, we need to start with parents' upbringing of their children. Perhaps, it is time to change our perception on cleaners and not affect the mindset of the younger ones based on the prejudices formed by previous generations. With good nurturing since the beginning, we will be able to prevent and lessen the formation of stigmas and stereotypes in the society. For instance, countries like Germany treat cleaners with absolute respect as it is not an easy job and they are the ones keeping the environment clean. Likewise, cleaners should not be shunned and looked down on because, after all, it is still an honest living, regardless of the occupation's perceived status.