Is there anyone else who is very slow at cleaning jobs?

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I thought about getting into a cleaning job, because it's quite easy for me, and it doesn't involve talking to the public or needing to have intellectual skills like adding up, et cetera. I know it's not much but it's a start. But I've had a couple of cleaning trials and I have been told that I am rather slow at getting all the tasks done.

I tend to worry that I haven't done something or have missed bits when vacuuming like not noticing bits on the floor, then being accused of not doing it properly. So I tend to take twice as long with the vacuum, due to the fear of looking like I haven't done it properly.

Is there any tips of doing work like cleaning any faster but effectively at the same time? Or is that yet another thing I am not capable of?

You usually get faster after doing the job multiple times. You should really let them know why you aren't as fast and that you care about doing the job well. Too many people cleaning for the first time do a crappy job, but at the same time, don't overestimate how much attention something needs, and not just with the vacuum, something else may be slowing you down.

Btw, I am also very slow at cleaning jobs.

I am slow at most things in general. No matter what kind of job I had, I always got yelled at for being too slow. I am slow at cleaning as well.

The sad fact is that employers always want the impossible: efficiency AND speed. If I rush, I don't get things done properly. If I do them properly, I can't go fast. So I have to choose: efficiency, or speed?

I always choose efficiency, because I want to do things well. I hate not doing things properly, so I always want to go at whatever slow pace I need to get things done. I hate being rushed. It makes me very anxious.

Seemingly, there are lots of NTs out there who are capable of going fast AND being efficient. I am genuinely extremely puzzled about that, and have no idea how they manage it, but they do.

If you are not fast enough you might not last long in your cleaning job because they will replace you with an NT who is both fast AND efficient. Sad, but true.

I work as a cleaner, so I will try and help.

I agree with Iloveshoujoai about it taking practice. What I find difficult is the time management aspect (how much time to spend on each job) and I have found that this has come with practice. Could you practice at home? Set yourself a certain amount of time, think about how much time you want to give to each job and then give it a try and see how you do. You will soon get into a rhythm and a routine.

Different tasks take different amounts of time, and it's about working out how to divide your time efficiently. Here is an example from my job:

Between 9am and 9.30am I have to complete the following tasks:
Hoover the shop
Wipe the glass counters
Sweep outside the shop
Mop outside the shop

I divide it as follows:
Hoover the shop - 10 minutes
Glass counters - 5 minutes
Sweeping - 5 minutes
Mopping - 10 minutes

All the spare time is used up running up and down the stairs (to get cloths, or fill the mop bucket).

If you want to ask me anything you can ask here or PM me.

I take a very long time, but not for the same reason. I can only clean one small area in one room at a time and then I have to move on to some another activity. I don't think I've ever cleaned the whole house in one day, ever.

I'm slow at cleaning jobs but I get paid 33 bucks an hour. As long as I'm not standing around my boss can either be happy or get a robot to do the job.

I'm so glad you mentioned this. I'm slow at cleaning and most other things too. For example, it takes me on average 3 hours to clean the bathroom (and I've been doing it for the past 5 years). I still haven't figured out how I can speed up.

Wow, that's lots.

I earn £6.19 an hour, which is about $9 dollars

When you work construction you get paid a lot of money and there is a lot of cleanup involved.

In my experience, most employers want the lowest possible "acceptable" level of quality as fast as humanly possible. The difference between acceptable/good/excellent can't be easily measured. How many "things" you do in an hour can - so they'll whip until that number goes up and they feel like an effective boss.

Unfortunately, I work slower in order to do excellent work. Some people notice that - most don't.

*sigh*

As far as I am concerned if employers want me to work faster they can get robots to do the job.

Is that the current minimum wage?

It's practically exploitation. I think cleaners should be paid a lot more than they are in the UK. I disagree with the logic that says "if a job requires a university degree, the salary should be higher. If anyone can do it, the salary should be lower." I don't agree with that. I say that the more tiring or disgusting the job is, the higher the salary ought to be.

After all, soldiers are paid some sort of "danger" bonus whenever they are posted to war zones. I think cleaners should be given a "health hazard / yuckiness factor" bonus every time they are required to clean somebody else's toilet, or wash somebody else's clothes. I'm not being funny. I mean it. If I were ever rich, I would hire my own personal housekeeper, and pay them a smashing wage, because I think that cleaning is such a tiring job that it deserves a bigger wage than a job where you just sit at a desk all day, and cleaners should be given just as much recognition and high pay as high-flying executives are.

Sorry. Random high-jack rambling there...

I am horrible at cleaning the windows of my car at gas statoins.

Those truck drivers that clean portable toilets get paid good money.

Like anything, it takes practice. Seeing that you've never done any cleaning jobs before, you're not as confident as someone who has been doing professional cleaning for, say, 5 years. There is always a tradeoff between efficiency and quality, and quality should outweigh efficiency but not by much.

A lot of cleaning work is outsourced to contractors. They get the job by putting in the lowest bid. There is not much that they can cut except staff hours. The contractors therefore want staff that can do the job as quickly as possible, but still meet the minimum standards that avoid penalty charges.

Although cleaning may not be a (physically) easy job, it does not require years of training (or the ability to speak the local language). As such it is often done by recent immigrants who are prepared to work for lower wages.

To get a university degree somebody needs to invest their time and money (with the hope of reclaiming their investment through higher wages) a job that does not require qualifications can be started after leaving school.