No matter how high you climb in your career, it always pays to listen to custodial employees.

Cleaners, janitors, groundskeepers, and security are the eyes and ears of every professional building, and they pick up on more details than many of the other people who work there realize. It is the great benefit and frustration of being someone in such a background role that it tends to put you in the know in some unexpected ways.

As a result, these types of employees are to be paid attention to when certain problems need solving, or something goes wrong. They could be a key part of the solution, and quite understandably, they may not be so happy to help if they are not treated with respect. They may do a different job than the average office employee, but they are just as much of a vital part of the operation, if not more important in some ways.