90% of Cleaning Staff Report Physical Health Issues | What Are We Doing About It?

A new survey has found that an overwhelming 90% of cleaning staff face physical health challenges as a result of their work, while 80% report mental health difficulties. Nearly half say they feel regularly stressed due to their working conditions. These figures represent a workforce that is essential to public health and business continuity, yet routinely overlooked when it comes to occupational wellbeing.

For those of us who work in health and safety, these findings should land with a thud. Not because they’re surprising, necessarily, but because they confirm what many in the sector have long suspected: the gap between duty of care on paper and duty of care in practice is concerningly wide for cleaning workers.

Why Are Cleaning Staff at Such High Risk of Physical and Mental Health Problems?

Cleaning is physically demanding work, full stop. It involves repetitive movements, prolonged standing, awkward postures, and regular handling of chemical products. Epidemiological research has consistently identified cleaning workers as a high-risk group for musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory conditions, and dermatological complaints. These aren’t abstract risks. They translate into real pain, lost working days, and for many, a shortened career.

The survey data backs this up. Workers cite a lack of proper personal protective equipment, exposure to harsh chemicals, and the persistent feeling that their work is undervalued. That last point matters more than many employers realise. When staff feel invisible, the psychological toll compounds the physical one. Seven in ten respondents said they feel unsupported by their employers when it comes to mental or physical wellbeing.

Set this against the wider UK picture and it becomes even more urgent. The Health and Safety Executive’s latest annual statistics for 2024/25 recorded 964,000 workers across Great Britain suffering from work-related stress, depression, or anxiety. That figure represents a 24% increase on the previous year and accounts for over half of all reported work-related ill health. The HSE has signalled that mental health enforcement will be a growing priority in its 2025/26 business plan, including an increase in inspections. Organisations that haven’t yet started taking psychological wellbeing seriously in their risk assessments should treat this as a clear warning.

What Does This Mean for Staff Retention and Business Performance?

The business case here is stark. According to the survey, 38% of cleaning staff have quit a role due to lack of recognition and burnout. Not pay. Recognition and burnout. Meanwhile, nearly one in four say physical health challenges reduce the quality of their work. Recruitment and training costs in the cleaning sector are already significant, and the wider industry is battling persistent labour shortages and tightening budgets. Losing experienced staff because they feel unseen is an avoidable cost that no facilities manager should be willing to absorb.

In my experience working across occupational safety and health for nearly four decades, the organisations that retain their best people share a common trait. They listen. Not once a year through a staff survey, but routinely, through the daily rhythms of the workplace. The survey findings reinforce this: when asked what matters most, cleaning staff highlighted supportive leadership (29%), equal treatment and respect (39%), properly accessible cleaning supplies (33%), and a welcoming workplace culture (33%). None of these are expensive to deliver. All of them require intentionality.

What Practical Steps Can Facilities Managers Take to Improve Cleaning Staff Wellbeing?

The research points to a set of practical, achievable interventions. I’d frame them around four priorities.

Make Recognition Visible and Routine

This doesn’t mean grand gestures. It means signage, team briefings, employee of the month schemes, and a culture where the work of cleaning staff is acknowledged openly. If your cleaning team operates out of sight and out of hours, make an effort to ensure they aren’t out of mind, too.

Ask Cleaning Staff What They Actually Need

It sounds basic, but the survey data suggests many employers aren’t doing it. Provide accessible, easy-to-use equipment and ensure supplies are properly placed. Ergonomic improvements and well-positioned product refills might seem minor to a facilities manager looking at a spreadsheet, but they can transform the daily experience of someone mopping corridors for eight hours.

Invest in Proper COSHH Training and PPE

If staff are reporting a lack of proper protective equipment and unsafe chemical exposure, the risk assessment process has a gap in it. This is fundamental, legally required, and yet the survey suggests it is still falling short in too many workplaces. Don’t wait for an incident or an HSE inspection to act on this.

Build Wellbeing Support Into Your Management Structure

Wellness programmes, mental health first aiders, and regular check-ins with line managers aren’t optional extras. With the HSE now actively pursuing enforcement action against organisations that fail to manage workplace stress, these interventions are increasingly part of the compliance landscape as well as the moral one.

Where Does the Industry Go From Here?

The cleaning sector is at a turning point. Industry surveys consistently highlight labour shortages, budget pressures, and growing expectations around hygiene standards as defining challenges. Technology, sustainability, and professional certification are reshaping what the sector looks like. But none of that progress means much if the people doing the work are physically worn down and mentally unsupported.

This survey should be a catalyst. Not for another round of well-meaning policy documents that gather dust in a shared drive, but for tangible, day-to-day changes in how cleaning staff are managed, supported, and valued. The evidence is clear on what works. The question is whether the will is there to act on it.

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