Housekeeping Job Task Analysis

Housekeepers maintain and clean private homes, hotels and hospitals as well as public facilities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 2008 there were more than 917,000 employed housekeepers in the United States. The pay ranges from about $7 to $14 per hour. A housekeeper is responsible for completing a wide variety of tasks in the course of his daily work.

Making Beds/Changing Linens

A housekeeper must meticulously make the beds in the hotel room or home. Depending on the employer's requirements, this could mean that the linens must be taken off and changed completely every day or just that the bed linens need to be re-tightened around the edges of the bed, comforter adjusted and pillows fluffed.

Floors

The floors at the residence or facility need to be vacuumed, swept, washed, scrubbed, polished and waxed by the housekeeper. The housekeeper needs to have a thorough familiarity with various floor cleaning machines, including buffers, rug shampooers and floor scrubbing machines.

Laundry

The housekeeper at a home or hospital will most likely be responsible for doing the laundry for the client. This includes collecting, sorting, washing, drying, folding, ironing and returning the clothing to the rightful owner.

Kitchen Duties

In some domestic situations, housekeepers are also responsible for cooking food for the family. This includes grocery shopping, food preparation, cooking and serving the food to the employer. The employee must also clean the kitchen and wash dishes (or load the dishwasher).

Trash Removal

Many housekeepers are also responsible for trash removal and taking the filled garbage cans out to the street for collection. Housekeepers are also asked to observe recycling laws and initiatives by assuring that recyclables are sorted correctly.

Pet Care

When a home has pets, the housekeeper is responsible for taking care of them. That includes feeding them regularly, cleaning cat and dog hair off of furniture, taking dogs for walks and cleaning out cat litter boxes. If the animal is caged or in an aquarium, the housekeeper must maintain the pet's area there as well.

References

• "Job Description and Jobs for: Maid and Housekeeping Cleaner" Career Planner
• "Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners" Bureau of Labor Statistics