Learn / Where robots are going · 2 min read
What this means for you
The next five to ten years for a working cleaner
For the next five to ten years, most cleaning will still be done by hand. The change you are most likely to see is a robot on the open floor with someone on your team running it, while detail work and quality checks stay valuable. We can't promise anything about pay or jobs.
How the job may change
If your site gets a robot scrubber, someone has to empty it and fix its route when a pallet blocks an aisle, and at some sites that becomes part of a cleaner's shift.
The time saved on floors often goes to detail work, like high dusting, vents and glass, or restrooms done more often. Some buildings may cut hours instead, depending on the client and the contract.
Skills that stay valuable
- Restrooms and other tight, hands-on spaces.
- Spotting problems: a leak under a sink, a broken lock, a stain that needs a different chemical.
- Running and caring for machines, from auto scrubbers to battery chargers.
- Quality checks and training new people, the work supervisors and leads do.
What recording gives you
Recording pays for each accepted hour of work you were going to do anyway, and it lets you see, week by week, what robot teams need to learn.
When we give feedback, such as keeping your full palm in view or working at a normal pace, you learn what matters to the people building these machines. Few cleaners get that close a look.
What we can't tell you
We can't tell you if your building will buy a robot, or when, and we can't tell you what your pay will be in five years. Anyone who promises either is guessing.
What we can do is keep this section current, so when the research moves, we will update the numbers here and in how-far-away-are-robots.
The skills robots find hardest are the ones in your video. Getting paid for each accepted hour of recording them is one way to earn from what is coming instead of just watching it.
What other owners ask
Should I learn to run floor machines?
If your company offers it, it is a useful skill, because robot scrubbers and ride-on machines need people who know how to set them up, clean them and fix small problems.
Will recording help me keep my job?
We can't promise that. It pays you for accepted hours and gives you an early look at where cleaning robots are headed.
Where to read more
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Janitors and Building Cleaners, Occupational Outlook Handbook
- International Federation of Robotics: World Robotics 2025 service robots (October 2025)
These are public examples from other companies. They are not Colby partners or customers.