CHICAGO — The laundry and linen industry has been a steady source of employment for most managers who took last month’s American Laundry News Your Views survey. In fact, more than 77% of respondents say they have been in their current position for more than a decade. For a little more than 12%, it has been 5-10 years.
Other respondents (8.8%) report being in their current posts for 1-4 years, while a small percentage (1.8%) say they’ve held their current position less than a year.
“I’m at a great facility and love what I do,” one respondent comments.
As for job security, about 63% of respondents report feeling “highly secure” in their positions, and another 22.9% report feeling “somewhat secure.” Things aren’t as clear-cut for small shares of the remaining respondents: nearly 9% say they are “neither secure nor insecure,” and just 5.3% say they are “somewhat insecure.” No one reports feeling “highly insecure” in their position.
“I have enjoyed working with people and the challenges of keeping up with technology and the healthcare marketplace,” one respondent shares. “I am planning to continue to work at a high level until I retire.”
Part of respondents’ feelings of security may come from their confidence in what they bring to the table. More than 82% say they believe their experience and abilities are a good match for their role, and 14% say they are somewhat confident in their relevant skills. A small percentage (3.5%) is neither confident nor unconfident; no one who took the survey reported feeling “somewhat” or “highly” unconfident.
In terms of job responsibilities, a number of tasks stand out as being the most common (respondents could choose from any or all of a list of seven main tasks). Hiring, training and supervising staff are main responsibilities for 72% of respondents, and 68.4% also point to communicating with vendors as a major task with which they are charged.
Overseeing production (64.9%) and conducting meetings (61.4%) are also high on managers’ to-do lists, as well as overseeing linen distribution (57.9%), coordinating routine maintenance (56.1%) and preparing an annual budget (50.9%). Other important responsibilities listed are communicating with nursing on linen stats; linen and parts ordering; and customer relations.
Every job comes with challenges. In this survey, managers point to employee issues as the most challenging to confront: More than 26% find it hard to deal with worker discipline, hiring/firing and training.
Equal shares of 21% are challenged by pleasing customers/end-users and ensuring their facilities are profitable and/or efficient. Juggling a long to-do list weighs on the minds of a little more than 12%, and 10.5% say pleasing upper management is taxing. Other challenges listed are dealing with old, worn-out equipment; managing family in the business; and maintaining a production staff.
“I love my job, but it is stressful,” a respondent comments.
“It’s a continuous battle on saving money, which I do understand, but upper management always wants to cut, cut, cut,” says another.
“Rapid consolidation of the industry keeps me up at night,” says a third respondent.
When reflecting on their career paths, respondents list a few things they would change, such as obtaining a college degree or getting more education/training relevant to the industry, working fewer hours, and even choosing another industry altogether. Still, some report that they are happy with their careers and their chosen paths.
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” says a respondent. “All past challenges have been a learning experience.”
“I wish my father was still alive to see the growth of the business, because I would be much happier at work,” says another.
While the Your Views survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific; due to rounding, percentages may not add up to 100%. Subscribers to American Laundry News e-mails are invited to take the industry survey anonymously online each month.
All managers and administrators of institutional/OPL, cooperative, commercial and industrial laundries are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and identify industry trends.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].