Texas Workers Asked to Add Janitor Duties to Job Responsiblities

Jane Genova
Updated

Janitor duties could be added to your job description.

Filling in for janitors has become part of the responsibilities of 20,000 state workers in Texas and city ones in Phoenix, as well as workers in colleges and even corporations. That can save a nice chuck of money, reports The Wall Street Journal.

For Texas, the cost reduction totals $825,00 a year. Those kinds of savings can make other employers' eyes pop, as dollar signs dance in their heads. But you may have a stay of execution from taking on trash duty. Setting up such a program requires logistics and equipment. For example, Texas has been investing $195,000 for, among others:

  • Small individual bins

  • Larger centralized bins

  • Signs

  • Brochures.

Your employer may have to submit an undertaking of this scope to a committee. That takes time. Approving the budget for the bins and more is a delicate process. In addition, some organizations might have to factor in negotiations with collective bargaining units representing the official janitors.

Recommendation from the Job Coach: Accept this new responsibility with cheerfulness. But demand throwaway gloves.

Originally published