Housekeepers are one of the least happy careers in the United States.
At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, housekeepers rate their career happiness 2.3 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 2% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy housekeepers are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:
Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers
| Career | Satisfaction | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Food server | 2.4 | $5k |
| Postal service worker | 2.4 | $27k |
| Garbage collector | 2.4 | $15k |
| Vehicle cleaner | 2.4 | $9k |
| Postal service clerk | 2.3 | $29k |
| Housekeeper | 2.3 | $4k |
| Dyeing machine operator | 2.2 | $13k |
| Stock clerk | 2.2 | $23k |
| Janitor | 2.2 | $4k |
| Cashier | 2.2 | $2k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are housekeepers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do housekeepers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as housekeepers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are housekeeper’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are housekeepers making the best use of their abilities?
Are housekeepers happy with their salary?
Housekeepers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.7/5. Housekeepers tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.
We asked housekeepers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.7 out of 5 stars
1687 housekeepers
10% of housekeepers rated their compensation 5 stars
20% of housekeepers rated their compensation 4 stars
22% of housekeepers rated their compensation 3 stars
20% of housekeepers rated their compensation 2 stars
27% of housekeepers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do housekeepers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, housekeepers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 1.9/5. The majority of housekeepers struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked housekeepers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
1.9 out of 5 stars
1694 housekeepers
4% of housekeepers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
7% of housekeepers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
14% of housekeepers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
25% of housekeepers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
51% of housekeepers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as housekeepers?
Housekeepers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.2/5. The majority of housekeepers don’t see personality fit as a hinderence in their career.
We asked housekeepers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.2 out of 5 stars
1791 housekeepers
19% of housekeepers rated their career fit 5 stars
26% of housekeepers rated their career fit 4 stars
24% of housekeepers rated their career fit 3 stars
13% of housekeepers rated their career fit 2 stars
17% of housekeepers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a housekeeper’s work environment?
As a whole, housekeepers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 2.9/5. Some housekeepers are happy with their work environment, but it does not seem to be a meaningful contributer to career satisfaction for most.
We asked housekeepers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
1787 housekeepers
13% of housekeepers rated their work environment 5 stars
23% of housekeepers rated their work environment 4 stars
25% of housekeepers rated their work environment 3 stars
18% of housekeepers rated their work environment 2 stars
22% of housekeepers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are housekeepers making the best use of their abilities?
Former housekeepers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.0/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a housekeeper.
We asked housekeepers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.0 out of 5 stars
1792 housekeepers
7% of housekeepers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
7% of housekeepers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
15% of housekeepers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
24% of housekeepers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
46% of housekeepers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars