Maintaining Value: How University Janitors Gain Status on the Job.

This article examines how janitors at a large public university in the northeastern United States create value and meaning within their low-status jobs by adopting additional roles and engaging in workplace resistance. Drawing on interviews and observations, the study finds that janitors enhance their social standing by acting as parental surrogates to students and as university historians, roles that provide them with greater visibility, authority, and connection to the campus community. Additionally, janitors employ various forms of resistance—such as regulating work intensity, minimizing complaints, and speaking up—to assert autonomy and challenge hierarchical structures. These strategies enable janitors to counteract the devaluation of their work and experience greater fulfillment despite persistent social and economic marginalization. The research contributes to service work literature by highlighting janitors’ agency in redefining their occupational identities within higher education institutions.