Learn the name of whoever cleans your office
They are in the building every day and structurally invisible, often working before anyone arrives or after everyone leaves.
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The BeingKind editorsPublished How this is written
Why it lands
Cleaning, security and catering staff occupy the same odd position as delivery drivers: physically present constantly and socially absent entirely. Shift patterns are deliberately arranged so they overlap as little as possible with the people whose mess they clear. Being greeted by name by someone who does not have to is, by a wide margin, the most commonly cited thing that makes that work feel less dehumanising.
How
Ask once, then use it every time. If they are in before you, get in early enough to overlap occasionally. Do not perform it in front of colleagues — an audience turns a greeting into a demonstration of your own decency and they can tell.
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