Cleaning at work | Imamother

watergirl

Tue, Feb 12 2019, 1:35 pm

tichellady wrote:

All those who think op is in the wrong, can you imagine a boss complaining to her male employee that he doesn’t take out the garbage or clean the bathroom drain? I have worked in pretty informal settings and we never had to clean, except for after our own messes because that’s just basic decency ( like if I spilled water on the floor I would wipe it up).

I cant even imagine why the bathroom drain would need cleaning? Whats going down there?

amother

White

Tue, Feb 12 2019, 1:35 pm

tichellady wrote:

Like I wrote, I've worked at a job where we had a rotation for taking out trash. Now I work in a school, and the teachers sweep their classrooms a couple of times a day. Even the rebbeim. The cleaning crew only goes through each classroom once at the end of the day, and of course they clean common areas all day long plus anything extra messy like a spill or vomit. I don't think op should be expected to upkeep common areas, but her own workspace, including her trash if needed, yes.

SixOfWands

Tue, Feb 12 2019, 1:36 pm

tichellady wrote:

I imagine the boss is saying it to everyone in the office. If your trash is overflowing, empty it, as it doesn't look good for clients to see the mess. If you're in the restroom and see that the trash is overflowing, push it down. If you're in the restroom and the drain is clogged, do something about it instead of waiting for the next person, who may well be a client.

The boss is not asking her to take out other people's trash, only her own. The boss is not asking her to clean the coffee area. The boss is asking her to do the basics in looking after her own areas.

Amarante

Tue, Feb 12 2019, 2:19 pm

I certainly wouldn't unclog a drain in a communal bathroom. I would call it to the boss's attention.

If there is so much debris in the bathroom that the trash needs pushing down, I would have the boss get a larger trash receptacle. I am not adverse to taking out my own messes but unless I was hired for custodial duties, I am not going to push down bathroom trash which might contain hazardous materials.

I would have no problem with policing my own desk area including taking out the trash if it became an issue. However, most offices have someone cleaning every night and I would think a home office with workers and clients would need to be cleaned fairly frequently.

Cheiny

Tue, Feb 12 2019, 5:52 pm

amother wrote:

So I work in a home business out of the owners home. There’s a few of us here. There are definitely perks to my job, but there’s one thing that irks me. I’m curious to hear others input.
We all have garbages by our desk. My boss has a cleaning lady for her house and sends her to the office sometimes to clean the office and bathroom as well.
As a result of my upbringing, I never took out the garbage and still don’t. Bh we have the cleaning help we need. Every so often my boss will give me a little speech about the garbage bag in the garbage under my desk. Something to the effect of “if you see the garbage is full you should take it out”. Or “ the bathroom garbage is spilling over, you should really push it down so it doesn’t spill over.” Or “if you notice the sink isn’t draining well please clear the drain so it does.” And by taking out the garbage she means bringing it out to the can. Her reason for all of this is that we have customers coming in and out.
Now I agree and totally understand that we need our office to look presentable. My house is spic and span. I can’t stand messes. In no way am I ever creating a mess at work, but at the same time, I'm sorry, I’m not pushing down your bathroom garbage. If I would not do it at home without gloves, I should do it at work where many people use the bathroom?! I feel like, if you have a home business, you need to provide adequate cleaning help. I never heard of larger offices or any offices at all requesting this from their employees.
I don’t come to work to clean. I definitely clean up after myself, but to do more cleaning in my office than I do at home ( because of my cleaning help) really irks me.
Am I wrong? Am I just spoiled?

Your boss is way out of line! You’re not a cleaning lady! She should have a cleaning person regularly taking out the garbage and doing other cleaning work, and if she’s too cheap to pay for it, she should do it herself.

Cheiny

Tue, Feb 12 2019, 5:55 pm

[quote="amother"]I’ve had jobs where there was a cleaning lady or janitor who did all the cleaning. But I’ve also had jobs, at a therapy clinic or private practice where I was asked to pitch in with housekeeping such as changing toilet paper rolls and other light tasks. No one is asking you to mop the floor op. And your post does come off as spoiled

Toilet maintenance? Sorry but I think that’s demeaning.

imasoftov

Tue, Feb 12 2019, 7:57 pm

amother wrote:

As a result of my upbringing, I never took out the garbage and still don’t.

I'm curious what sort of upbringing it is in which someone never takes out the garbage.

I mean aside from below, but Alice and Ray didn't have any children, just Facha, the dog.

And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of room downstairs
Where the pews used to be, and havin' all that room (seein' as how they took
Out all the pews), they decided that they didn't have to take out their
Garbage for a long time.

amother

Indigo

Tue, Feb 12 2019, 9:52 pm

imasoftov wrote:

I grew up in a wealthy home. We always had cleaning help. I had no clue how to do the basics.
Seminary was my first experience in sweeping a floor. And now that I’m married with kids I bh have adequate cleaning help.

But honestly, one has nothing to do with the other. Even if I was the one taking out the garbage in my home, there’s no reason as an office employee, I should be responsible for the bathroom cleanliness at work. Especially being that this is a bathroom in their house that their whole family and customers use.
That’s what bothers me. For the record I have never once complained. I always listen politely when my boss tells me these things. I just get so irked and feel that this is not my responsibility and was wondering if it was normal.
It was nice to hear the different responses

krembo

Wed, Feb 13 2019, 10:06 am

Quote:

Every so often my boss will give me a little speech about the garbage bag in the garbage under my desk. Something to the effect of “if you see the garbage is full you should take it out”. Or “ the bathroom garbage is spilling over, you should really push it down so it doesn’t spill over.” Or “if you notice the sink isn’t draining well please clear the drain so it does.” And by taking out the garbage she means bringing it out to the can.

What does your boss mean by "clear the drain"? Is this a kitchen type sink or a bathroom sink? Does she mean turn the garbage disposal on for a second?

I don't think what your boss is asking is unreasonable. I work in a small office and a cleaning person comes in nightly to vacuum and clean the bathrooms. Since we don't have cleaning staff on the premises during the day, if the trash were overflowing I would push it down with my foot (in shoes). If the sink isn't draining well and it just means turning on the disposal for a second, I'd do it. My own wastepaper basket I would of course empty if it were getting really full. I guess I don't understand what the big deal is. It's not like she's asking you to do heavy cleaning. She's just asking that if you notice something minor that needs attending to, that will make the place look messy if not addressed, that you take a second to proactively take care of it before it becomes an actual problem. I've had to deal with much worse at my office, since we have children coming in all day to the waiting room - I've cleaned up kids' vomit and poop plenty of times. Technically the vomit/poop stuff is supposed to be cleaned up by the office manager, but she's usually swamped dealing with all the calls and patients, so I glove up and clean it up. Should my boss pay for a cleaning person to hang out at our office 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? Doesn't really make sense. So if there's no cleaner on the premises during the day, then the employees do need to pitch in a little. In your case she's asking you to do things that I'd consider common sense.