World FM Day is not one of those paid holidays when those who observe take the day off to watch football or host a backyard barbeque.
On second thought, maybe the barbeque is a pretty good way to celebrate with your officemates and co-workers?
May 8 is recognized as World FM Day when individuals honor the work that all facility management professionals do for institutional and commercial buildings.
This year’s FM Day theme is “Inspire, Integrate, Innovate: Ignite your career in FM.” The recognition day was started by the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management. The day of recognition was first celebrated in 2008. Of course, the impact of facility managers stretches much longer than 16 years ago.
Facility management has typically been a career that plays out behind-the-scenes. If a building’s temperature is comfortable, the roof doesn’t leak and the restrooms are clean, FMs and maintenance employees were typically considered out-of-sight, out-of-mind.
Much of that changed during the COVID-19 pandemic when managers were invited to the head table with building owners and C-suite executives, who relied on managers' expertise and know-how for valuable information on how to keep buildings safe for occupants. Suddenly FMs were known as the rockstars in their buildings.
We thank all the facility professionals in our audience who bring their best to their buildings every day, looking for the latest in technology to keep their building occupants safe, and the buildings they occupy running efficiently.
Dave Lubach is executive editor for the facilities market.
