ABSTRACT
This chapter provides glimpses into the lives of campus custodians while on the job. Clocking in too early yields a verbal warning; being late results in a written reprimand. Admittedly, cleaning classrooms and bathrooms is hard work and at times gross, but collecting and consolidating trash bags and then hauling them to loading docks is literally risky business. Custodians envision their business as ensuring that the business of students, faculty, and staff succeeds. Conversely, neither the departments nor the institutions envision their business as forging relationships with and systematically supporting custodians. Custodians value relationships with their constituents more so than relationships with supervisors. Custodians, like waitresses, prefer independence and are fiercely protective of their autonomy. Few custodians expected to be career cleaners, and once on the job they seldom exhibited a “lust for dust.” Day-in-the-life custodian stories reveal that custodians value hard work and exceeding expectations.
