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Why not clean during the day?

28th of August 2024 Article by Christian Bouzols

Christian Bouzols from France on recent discussions at government level about daytime cleaning.

The idea of daytime and/or continuous working is brought up every now and then in the news. Recently, it was none other than the French prime minister, Gabriel Attal, who raised the matter of work organisation in the cleaning sector.

During his general policy statement he said: “I want the state to lead by example and so from now on, cleaning workers who so desire should be able to work during the same hours as everybody else, that is, during normal office hours.” The French cleaning federation (FEP), which has been campaigning in favour such working practices for the past 15 years with little success, went to the prime minister’s office after he had made his declaration for some progress in this regard.

The studies carried out and the feedback obtained to this day all show there’s a great interest in daytime and/or continuous working for cleaners among both the suppliers and clients of cleaning services. That’s because this type of work brings several advantages. There is better recognition of the workers; it’s easier for them to adjust their working and home life; they spend less time working in isolation; their results become more visible.

But despite all this, off-business hours working remains an obligation for most cleaners, who must work either early in the morning or late in the evening. This reality is also marked by many fixed ideas. For example, there is a fear among cleaning suppliers of causing a nuisance, of vacuum cleaners disturbing office workers with their noise. There is a fear office workers won’t welcome cleaners operating during the daytime or that they will even reject them. These feelings explain why the matter isn’t taken up seriously in many practical situations.

It should also be noted that the French (70 per cent) are largely in favour of allowing cleaners to work during daytime, according to a survey carried out in 2023 for the Monde de la Propreté network. However, both public and private buyers remain only mildly committed to an issue that is most important in terms of corporate social responsibility.

Last year, only five per cent of public procurement tenders in the cleaning sector had any reference to daytime or continuous working. Aware of this situation, the prime minister would like the state to set an example and make a first step towards daytime working for cleaners by trying it in some ministries before the summer, and to expand it in September.

At a recent press conference, FEP reminded journalists it was not possible to enforce organisational changes. Experience has shown such an approach is counterproductive. In any case, changes aren’t possible in all cases. For this reason, it’s essential to carry out feasibility studies before deploying daytime or continuous working systems. This should also be undertaken with the agreement of all the parties. FEP and the Monde de la Propreté network have devised a standard agreement for new cleaning contracts.

In its new Blue Book, FEP is considering going even further, suggesting public procurement contracts for cleaning services should make it standard practice to carry out feasibility studies regarding the deployment of daytime or continuous working practices. The stakes are high because the possibility to work during normal hours would make the cleaning sector more attractive to many people.