CloroxPro has released its 2023 Clean Index report, which reflects the current challenges and perceptions of more than 1,700 cleaning professionals and consumers and reveals key shifts in year-over-year industry trends.
The report uncovers staff burnout, declining confidence, and a gap between interest in green cleaning and adoption. The survey defined cleaning industry professionals as business service contractors; facilities managers in education, office buildings, medical facilities, or gyms; and infection preventionists.
Burnout Is Prevalent
Cleaning professionals continue to face burnout because of high turnover and staffing shortages, resulting in a cycle of longer hours and less time for training. In fact, nearly nine out of 10 (87%) cleaning professionals have personally experienced burnout in the last two years, highlighting the industry’s need to focus on employee wellness and retention to remain diligent in its role to safeguard public health.
A Crisis in Confidence
While consumer confidence in the cleanliness of public spaces has increased 23% since last year, cleaning professionals are feeling less confident year-over-year in their ability to prevent the spread of illness-causing germs, exacerbating staffing challenges.
Cleaning professionals’ confidence fell nearly 5% compared to last year, with the largest confidence drop among building service contractors (-15% vs. 2022). The primary drivers of declining confidence were cited as a lack of training programs (22%, +9% vs. 2022) and more public scrutiny of cleaning practices (20%, + 6% vs. 2022).
Green Cleaning Lag
Findings also reveal that while three in four (75%) cleaning professionals agree that using eco-conscious cleaners/disinfectants in public spaces is important, adoption continues to lag. Top concerns for switching to eco-conscious cleaners are increased cost (78%), uncertainty of cleaning effectiveness (67%), and compromised efficiency of cleaning (58%).
“The challenges uncovered by the 2023 Clean Index survey reinforce how much responsibility is placed on cleaning professionals, and the need to ensure they have the tools and support to confidently create clean and healthy public spaces,” said Kyra de St. Paer, senior director of marketing at CloroxPro.
The full report is available here.
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