{"id":17913,"date":"2025-08-26T05:47:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T04:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocs.com\/nz\/?p=17913"},"modified":"2025-10-23T23:19:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T22:19:59","slug":"trust-earned-over-time-sharon-smiths-44-years-of-service-at-ocs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocs.com\/nz\/news\/trust-earned-over-time-sharon-smiths-44-years-of-service-at-ocs\/","title":{"rendered":"Trust Earned Over Time: Sharon Smith\u2019s 44 Years of Service at OCS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When Sharon Smith started cleaning the Christchurch Courts back in the early 1980s, she was a young mum juggling part-time evening shifts with raising a family. By the time her children were home from school, she\u2019d be heading out to work. It was a system that worked for everyone \u2013 especially when money was tight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t have to pay for babysitters,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019d work 6 to 9pm, and my husband would be home with the kids. Back then, the hours were shorter \u2013 two-and-a-half hours, sometimes even just an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those hours stretched out over time. At ACC, Sharon took on more floors, more responsibility, and longer shifts \u2013 often working through till midnight. Eventually, she was managing the whole sixth floor by herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve just always worked on my own,\u201d she says. \u201cIf there were no complaints, I was left to get on with it. And that suited me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharon\u2019s tenure has outlasted contracts, customers, and even buildings. She was with ACC before and after the Christchurch earthquakes, spent time with Environment Canterbury and LINZ, and now works evenings at Corrections \u2013 supported by her colleague Louise. Of course, the site is cared for by ensuring the same high standards she\u2019s always held.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou keep your cleaning cupboard how you\u2019d want to find it. That\u2019s how I was trained \u2013 and that\u2019s how I still work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even now, that cupboard is still spotless. And her site? Still shining.<\/p>\n

Quiet trust, earned over time<\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s kept her at OCS all these years?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I didn\u2019t know anything else,\u201d she says with a laugh. \u201cBut really, I\u2019ve always had good supervisors and support when I needed it. They trusted me and left me to look after the building. I got to know the staff. You become part of the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of mutual respect has stayed constant. While the industry has shifted \u2013 fewer rubbish bins to empty and desks to clean, less contact time, and tighter budgets \u2013 Sharon\u2019s always felt acknowledged by the people around her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey always say hello. Even when they change buildings, people come back and remember me. It makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s earned trust \u2013 quietly, without fuss, simply by showing up and doing the work to her own high standards. In many ways, she embodies one of the TRUE Values that keep OCS steady: Trust.<\/p>\n

Still showing up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now 69, Sharon continues to work five evenings a week \u2013 two hours per night \u2013 at Corrections. The hours suit her lifestyle and give her more time to spend with her growing wh\u0101nau.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a great-grandmother now,\u201d she says proudly. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve got another on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Sharon admits she\u2019s seen plenty of change \u2013 from safety protocols to evolving work practices \u2013 her own expectations haven\u2019t wavered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were brought up that unless you were in bed and couldn\u2019t get out, you went to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

That consistency, that quiet commitment, is what makes her story worth sharing.<\/p>\n

As OCS marks 125 years of facilities evolution, Sharon\u2019s 44 years of impressive service to OCS and our customers shows that not all progress is about doing something new. Sometimes it\u2019s about doing the same thing \u2013 properly, respectfully, and with care \u2013 year after year.<\/p>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Sharon Smith started cleaning the Christchurch Courts back in the early 1980s, she was a young mum juggling part-time evening shifts with raising a family. By the time her children were home from school, she\u2019d be heading out to work. 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