Office cleaner keeps rolling with the changes

Pittsburgh in focus Office cleaners: Work with dignity

Third of six parts. Today: Paul Griffin

Paul Griffin has made his place in his line of work.

“I’ve been in the same building now for 33 years,” Mr. Griffin, 64, of McKeesport, said. “And when I first came there, there was a floor that had been undergoing renovation. They had spent multiple millions of dollars renovating it. And all the high executives were on that floor.

“So my new supervisor — I was a fairly new employee — she decided to take a chance and put me up there and see how I perform. After a little while, they came down with rave reviews. They liked what I was doing, they liked how I was doing it. And I just felt so good after that. I figured, ‘Well, OK, I have a place here. I have a place in this industry.’”

Mr. Griffin, who cleans a building in Downtown, said different work shifts can mean different things.

“It seems on the 4-12 p.m. shift ... you have to always be on your guard for people that are around you,” he said. “But when you go to nights, there’s a bit of serenity. You know, you’re paying attention to what you’re doing but, at the same time, your mind can go to something else. You can think about something else. You can think pleasant thoughts.

“Me, I like to listen to music. Sometimes, I’ll even break into song. I’ve heard some things about that. Supervisors come up and they say, ‘Oh, I thought something was wrong with the plumbing here, or something.’ But it’s good whenever you can be at peace like that.”

Mr. Griffin said cleaning buildings today has its challenges because of energy efficiency.

“They’re making the building’s more energy efficient now,” he said. “So you’re talking a lot of glass. You’re talking dark carpet, light walls. A lot of those renovations are a challenge when you’re trying to clean.

“Everything shows up on a dark carpet, everything shows up on a light work surface. There’s always smudges on glass. So it’s a challenge for us. And especially seasonal, come wintertime, with the salt that’s dragged into the building. The amount of work that we need to get out within eight hours is really a challenge. It’s almost like we’re miracle workers.

“What I try to say to the management — because sometimes management in the buildings can get harsh on certain people — I say, ‘Well, sometimes you have to be a little easy, because we’ve all gone through personal pain. And you don’t know what pain someone is carrying into the job.’”

Nate Guidry/Post-Gazette Paul Griffin, 64, of McKeesport, cleans an office building in Downtown. “I’ve gotten compliments [on my work] over the years, and it seems they've come at a time when you've needed them. It helps to lift your spirits up somewhat,” he says.