Janitors are one of the least happy careers in the United States.
At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, janitors rate their career happiness 2.2 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 1% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy janitors are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:
Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers
| Career | Satisfaction | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Retail salesperson | 2.3 | $29k |
| Housekeeper | 2.3 | $29k |
| Dyeing machine operator | 2.2 | $30k |
| Stock clerk | 2.2 | $24k |
| Janitor | 2.2 | $30k |
| Cashier | 2.2 | $27k |
| Ship loader | 1.9 | $49k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are janitors happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do janitors find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as janitors?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are janitor’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are janitors making the best use of their abilities?
Are janitors happy with their salary?
Janitors rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.6/5. Janitors tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.
We asked janitors how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.6 out of 5 stars
1477 janitors
8% of janitors rated their compensation 5 stars
19% of janitors rated their compensation 4 stars
25% of janitors rated their compensation 3 stars
19% of janitors rated their compensation 2 stars
29% of janitors rated their compensation 1 stars
Do janitors find their jobs meaningful?
On average, janitors rate the meaningfulness of their work a 1.7/5. The majority of janitors struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked janitors how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
1.7 out of 5 stars
1475 janitors
3% of janitors rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
5% of janitors rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
12% of janitors rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
24% of janitors rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
56% of janitors rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as janitors?
Janitors rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.1/5. The majority of janitors don’t see personality fit as a hinderence in their career.
We asked janitors how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
1563 janitors
16% of janitors rated their career fit 5 stars
26% of janitors rated their career fit 4 stars
25% of janitors rated their career fit 3 stars
16% of janitors rated their career fit 2 stars
17% of janitors rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a janitor’s work environment?
As a whole, janitors rated their enjoyment of their work environment 2.8/5. Some janitors are happy with their work environment, but it does not seem to be a meaningful contributer to career satisfaction for most.
We asked janitors how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
1564 janitors
11% of janitors rated their work environment 5 stars
23% of janitors rated their work environment 4 stars
25% of janitors rated their work environment 3 stars
18% of janitors rated their work environment 2 stars
23% of janitors rated their work environment 1 stars
Are janitors making the best use of their abilities?
Former janitors on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 1.8/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a janitor.
We asked janitors how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
1.8 out of 5 stars
1566 janitors
5% of janitors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
6% of janitors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
10% of janitors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
23% of janitors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
56% of janitors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars