ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

As Katja Scholz in Germany reports, the topic of daytime cleaning is being widely discussed.

Daytime cleaning is a topic which crops up increasingly in questionnaires, discussions and studies relating to the contract cleaning sector – and rightly so, as there are numerous advantages as well as reservations to consider and it is certainly an approach more suitable for some companies and their employees than for others.

The Institute of Labour Economics has recently published a study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) in which just under 270 contract cleaning companies took part. The aim of the study was to collect current data on the allocation of working time and the extent of daytime cleaning in the contract cleaning sector. The investigation took place in 2023.

The results showed cleaning is currently carried out both during the day and outside office hours (early morning and evening) as well as at night. Outside office hours and nighttime cleaning predominates (still). Daytime cleaning is particularly in demand for offices and industrial buildings but less often for shops, stations, airports or administration buildings.

So why is that? Around three quarters of cleaning companies have a positive attitude towards daytime cleaning. They are aware it reflects very largely the working time preferences of their employees and also contributes to a higher level of customer satisfaction. More than two thirds of the firms questioned even admit they welcome tender requests for daytime cleaning and would prefer such procurement policies.

There is also an economic argument for this: on the one hand, daytime cleaning may involve more time and therefore higher costs, but on the other hand it avoids surcharges for nighttime working – there are, however, as yet no reliable figures to back this up.

There is also the health aspect to be considered: according to occupational health studies, nighttime working combined with the increasing workload can lead to a growing negative impact on the health of workers. This includes a higher than average number of mental health problems, cardiovascular diseases and accidents at work. The sector is also experiencing, by comparison with other sectors, the highest number of working days lost due to sickness or injury.On the flip side, some employees prefer working at night or outside office hours as this fits in better with their family responsibilities.

However, daytime cleaning is not yet all that widespread, even in the private sector. This points to another conclusion of the study: companies whose employees work mainly at night or during out of office hours have a higher staff turnover. More daytime cleaning could therefore help to increase the attractiveness of this field of work and improve staff retention. For the results highlight a further problem in the sector: almost 50  per cent of employees are over 50 years old, which presents long-term challenges in relation to staff recruitment. In nine out of 10 companies, the proportion of employees under 30 is even less than 20  per cent.

Further disadvantages presented by daytime cleaning are that it may interrupt the flow of work or create too much noise, possibly even necessitating special agreements between cleaning staff, clients and their employees, which could again lead to increasing costs.So what can be done to encourage more daytime cleaning?

First and foremost, steps need to be taken to increase its economic advantages and to make appropriate adjustments to the procurement practices of public sector clients; since the study clearly shows a good 80  per cent of firms already recognise the importance of making daytime cleaning available for their employees.