WWYD - Work Issue

[JoiseyMom]

Okay, I will jump in here....

OP: I am completely and totally on YOUR side!!!!

You asked WWYD...
You did not ask to be judged and called all kinds of nasty names!!!
There is NO justification for some of these posts here.

IMHO, in no way does not having the ability or desire to clean a public restroom imply any kind of negative label or name calling.
You accepted the position under specific terms, 'no cleaning'... It is not like you are trying to pull something.
I can tell you that I would not be happy to be cleaning toilets either.

I am actually wondering if you may have some personal issues that mean that you just can't and won't. This is probably a lot more common than one might think.

Nope, its something I do at home and I don't like it there either (I have 3 sons and 1 DH oy...men are pigs). But it is my home and I do it. It is not something I am willing to do for money.

What would I do....
If I thought that I could have a private conversation with the owner, and that this would not be spread around the workplace, I might possibly attempt to have a reasonable discussion.... (only you know these people and how they are likely to react.)

I plan on talking to him in private, he wasn't in today until right before I left and there was no time.

If I had any concerns at all that this would get around the workplace and cause a lot of ill-will with coworkers... and YES, it is likely to do that... Then I would simply turn in my two week notice. And, I would indeed be looking for another position, asking at interviews for detailed job description requirements...... If the owners press for a more specific reason, then you can tell them, again, that with the change in job duties expected, that you feel that you can no longer fulfill the requirements of the job...

THIS IS, ACTUALLY, YOUR ISSUE, AND NOT THEIRS.... IT REALLY IS NOT THEIR PROBLEM IF YOU FEEL UNABLE TO DO THE ADDITIONAL JANITORIAL DUTIES. SO, YOU SHOULD JUST SIMPLY 'OWN' THAT. YOU NEED TO TAKE OWNERSHIP HERE. POINTING FINGERS ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING.

YOUR CURRENT STRATEGY OF MAKING THEM FIRE YOU IS COMING FROM THE WRONG DIRECTION. TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR OWN PERSONAL DESIRES/ISSUES.

TALK TO THEM IF YOU MUST, BUT THEN I WOULD ADVISE THAT 'YOU' MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION ON WHETHER TO STAY OR GO. ONCE THIS BECOMES ANY KIND OF A SORE POINT, YOU WILL NOT BE LEAVING UNDER GOOD TERMS... NO MATTER WHAT.

PS: I would seek a position where there there are janitorial positions on staff or on contract... this would be most likely to solve your issues.

To respond to your PS, I feel I covered that in the interview. Am I required to clean bathrooms?? No, you are not. If a company has a cleaning staff, they can let them go at any point..so what is the difference?? Unless of course I go back to full time professional employment in my field.. vs small office part time local employment.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

Work for me is an escape..and a way to have intelligent converation and its something for me. It gets me outta my HOME. I took a job I liked and wanted to do. Do I need the money...yes..will I lose my house if I don't have it...no?

Everyone has things they won't do... I don't do work bathrooms... I guess I should be shot!! Maybe the death penalty??

I think you have the wrong idea of what a job is. It is not just a fun escape. Many times there are not so pleasant, but necessary aspects to a job, such as sharing cleaning duties with the rest of your team. It is not a social outing where you are so important that they pay you to grace their phones, while you pick and choose what duties you want to do.

You can't just go into a job and believe you are going to only do the "fun" stuff because it is an escape for you and you want intelligent conversation.

A job is not about you, it is about the needs of the company and having the work ethic to do anything legally asked of you. (sleeping with the boss, babysitting his kids, all not legal) You work FOR the company, the company does not work for you.

The corporate world just doesn't work that way.

Be shot? The Death Penalty? A bit of a drama queen, don't you think?

The only shot will the firing shot of a pink slip with the above attitude.

 

[JoiseyMom]

OP did you talk to your boss today, I was just wondering how it went.

He came in late, towards the end of my shift, there was no good time to talk. I hope he opens tomorrow, I am the first one there, everyone else shows up 10 to 15 minutes after we open. I am like the only one there before we open.

If it was my company I would be open and ready to go at 10:00...but well, my priorities are different .

 

[JoiseyMom]

I have lived by a policy my entire life - never insult the people that are paying my bills. Loyalty still matters.

Its not an insult it's the truth and he would agree. I always clock in after 10, since they almost never open in time. ANd at the strike of 2, he wants me to clock out!!

I like the guy, I like his wife, I just don't like cleaning toilets .

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Its not an insult it's the truth and he would agree. I always clock in after 10, since they almost never open in time. ANd at the strike of 2, he wants me to clock out!!

I like the guy, I like his wife, I just don't like cleaning toilets .

That's cool, then.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I think you have the wrong idea of what a job is. It is not just a fun escape. Many times there are not so pleasant, but necessary aspects to a job, such as sharing cleaning duties with the rest of your team.

You can't just go into a job and believe you are going to only do the "fun" stuff because it is an escape for you and you want intelligent conversation.

A job is not about you, it is about the needs of the company and having the work ethic to do anything legally asked of you. (sleeping with the boss, babysitting his kids, all not legal) You work FOR the company, the company does not work for you.

The corporate world just doesn't work that way.

You are right, and the corporate world doesnt expect their employees to clean toilets.

Be shot? The Death Penalty? A bit of a drama queen, don't you think?

Nope, I am not the drama queen, I am being attacked in this thread and called a princess cause I won't clean a public toilet...and I should be thankful I have any job, cause OMG..there are ppl out there unemployed and would love to clean toilets..umm..OK.

The only shot will the firing shot of a pink slip with the above attitude.

What attitude..what is wrong with not wanting to clean bathrooms? I was upfront about this from the beginning?? I told my boss about my past and why I asked.

I know exactly what a job is, I have worked lots of them in all diferent ranges. At this point in my life, my job is my escape, I do it because I like it. If I don't like it, then what's the point other then money? I have kept jobs in the past becuase of money....I hated them, but did what I had to do. WHen I was looking for jobs, last year, I applied only to ones that fit what I wanted. This job fit my needs, and I fit theirs. I love going to work. My job is fun, I like the comnputer work , the people, the sales calls, the good customers, the horrible ones..

WHat I dont like is cleaning, which is why I took an office job. They changed the rules. Now I will talk to the about it, because it is a deal breaker for me. To others it's not, that is great.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Yes, but you are not the warehouse worker.

You do customer service, with very appealing hours.

I know of many, many people who would jump at the chance to make a little change for those great hours. SAHMs that want a bit more adult interaction in their lives while the kids are in school, college kids that take late afternoon classes, a person who wants to make a little Disney money, etc.

I think you are far overestimating your worth to the company.

I would start looking for a new position, as you won't have this one for long with your workplace attitude.

Resigning is always better for future job opportunities than being fired. Especially being fired from your second job in a row in under one year of employment with them. It is a HUGE red flag to future employers when employees are not eligible for rehire after less than a year of employment. That screams difficult employee to any new hiring company.

You might want to rethink that strategy if you plan a future in the working world.

I have a future and a past in the working world..in both professional and retail(past for retail...really don't want to go there again). Where was I fired from 2 jobs in a row?? My last job I resigned from in 2008, and I was there for almost 2 years?? When I worked for BB&B, was about 8 years ago..and technically they didnt fire me..they gave me the choice of quitting or being fired...or cleaning...

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I know exactly what a job is, I have worked lots of them in all diferent ranges. At this point in my life, my job is my escape, I do it because I like it. If I don't like it, then what's the point other then money? I have kept jobs in the past becuase of money....I hated them, but did what I had to do. WHen I was looking for jobs, last year, I applied only to ones that fit what I wanted. This job fit my needs, and I fit theirs. I love going to work. My job is fun, I like the comnputer work , the people, the sales calls, the good customers, the horrible ones..

WHat I dont like is cleaning, which is why I took an office job. They changed the rules. Now I will talk to the about it, because it is a deal breaker for me. To others it's not, that is great.

I think that most of the heat that you are taking is coming from your suggestion that your boss isn't allowed to change the job responsibilities, combined with the fact that everyone else is expected to do the same new things. If you were just willing to accept that this is your issue, not his, no one would object. Everyone has accepted that it is your right to walk away from a job that doesn't meet your needs (though some might choose another route).

 

[Ciao Mickey]

Hmmm, trying to see where I said DH was cleaning toilets.

It is all relative.

In a large company, you may assume the duties of 5 other employees. For instance, as part of cost savings, all secretaries and administrative assistants may be eliminated. I can just picture the look on the CEO's face when the VP comes to him and says "Answering my own phone is beneath me, I won't do it. It wasn't in my original job description" That VP would be out the door in a heartbeat. In a company with only 8 people, an added duty may be to share cleaning duties if the cleaning service has been cut.

The OP is not having her hours changed, is not losing pay, and is not being singled out.

Everybody is being assigned chore duty.

She can either do it, refuse and be fired, or quit.

In a case like this, you may not like your new duties, but they are still your new duties. If they are a deal breaker, you are free to find a new job.

Employees that think certain jobs are beneath their status are tomorrow's unemployed. It is an employer's market out there. An employer can just about have whoever he wants for a job whenever he wants.

You are the one being too funny. I assume you have not been in the corporate world much?

You know what they say about *assuming* things.

Yes, I worked in the corporate world for a number of years and now work in the government world so I am well aware of what goes on in both.

I can assure you that no executive or office worker in any Fortune 500 company or government agency would be required to scrub, dust, vacuum or do anything else along those lines unless they are hired to do that specific job.

And if you do know of any large corporation that now requires their employees to dust and vacuum, please share the company's name. I will make sure that I never apply for a job there.

 

[ccgirl]

I love the posts by Mickey's Minion. I would love to work at a company they run. Sounds like a great and fair business person. That being said, duties do change all the time. If you are not the only one being asked to clean then you have a choice to either quit or be fired IMHO. All employers pay unemployment insurance they are not the ones paying your salary if you lose your job the insurance company is. Being fired for insubordination will make you ineligile for unemployment insurance. I'm not sure why you are even going to have a discussion with your boss. Is it going to go something like...hi I don't want to do the same job everyone else is, is that okay? The owner has earned the right to be late. It is his company after all. Heck there are many days my company owner doesn't even show up. He worked his butt off to create the company and he has every right to take off when he wants. As far as being cheap, maye the owner can give everyone a pay cut so that he can pay a cleaning person instead. I'm willing to bet that not only will you not do extra duties but you wouldn't take the pay cut either....I know...I know...you live in a big house with many bedrooms and bathrooms. Not sure why you had to add that to your posts???? Good luck with your decision and with finding a job whose duties don't change. Especially as an office worker.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I love the posts by Mickey's Minion. I would love to work at a company they run. Sounds like a great and fair business person. That being said, duties do change all the time. If you are not the only one being asked to clean then you have a choice to either quit or be fired IMHO. All employers pay unemployment insurance they are not the ones paying your salary if you lose your job the insurance company is. Being fired for insubordination will make you ineligile for unemployment insurance. I'm not sure why you are even going to have a discussion with your boss. Is it going to go something like...hi I don't want to do the same job everyone else is, is that okay? The owner has earned the right to be late. It is his company after all. Heck there are many days my company owner doesn't even show up. He worked his butt off to create the company and he has every right to take off when he wants. As far as being cheap, maye the owner can give everyone a pay cut so that he can pay a cleaning person instead. I'm willing to bet that not only will you not do extra duties but you wouldn't take the pay cut either....I know...I know...you live in a big house with many bedrooms and bathrooms. Not sure why you had to add that to your posts???? Good luck with your decision and with finding a job whose duties don't change. Especially as an office worker.

Yes, he has a right to be late....the point of that is they are the ones that open the business!! None of us can get into the office and start working until they show up. I am always sitting in my car waiting for them.

I added my house info cause I CLEAN IT..which is why I don't want a job that I have to clean!! I am the MAID at home, I don't want to do it elsewhere. Why is that so hard to comprehend.

Job duties can change...but office duties don't include janitorial duties.

 

[Wishing on a star]

If you were just willing to accept that this is your issue, not his, no one would object. Everyone has accepted that it is your right to walk away from a job that doesn't meet your needs (though some might choose another route).

AMEN!

OP, I have supported you here.
I have questioned those who have chosen to flame you and call you names.
I have said that I, too, would never want to have to choose to seek a job that involved cleaning restrooms. ( figure I've done my time, )

However, the above comments are correct...
Instead of taking ownership of your own issues, you seem to be pointing fingers at your employer and wanting to throw it all back in his lap, and 'dare' him to fire you... While I agree with your stance... Your attituded does seem a little 'off'.

After all the meaningful comments I made in my one post, the only thing you chose to address was to question my comment re: seeking employment at a company who hires/contracts cleaning staff. That was a valid comment that did not need to be dismissed/questioned.

Clearly, this is a small outfit that has never hired cleaning staff. (I am assuming that, indeed, everyone has always been expected to pitch in, but, 'gasp!!!!" have not. Big surprise...) To be honest, in a company that small, yes, hello, it is usually one or more of the other clerical/production employees who ends up doing the cleaning. (how else would it ever be done?????) Let me tell you this.... If my son said, 'I don't want to sweep out the garage, mow the grass, wash the dishes, etc.... because "I" didn't cause all the mess....' Ohhhh, I can tell you about how far that would fly around here!!!!

TURN IN YOUR NOTICE.
APPLY TO COMPANIES WHO YOU KNOW TO HAVE CLEANING DUTIES COVERED BY A JANITORIAL STAFF/CONTRACT SERVICE.

You will save yourself and all of us a lot of drama.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I think that most of the heat that you are taking is coming from your suggestion that your boss isn't allowed to change the job responsibilities, combined with the fact that everyone else is expected to do the same new things. If you were just willing to accept that this is your issue, not his, no one would object. Everyone has accepted that it is your right to walk away from a job that doesn't meet your needs (though some might choose another route).

He can change responsibilities as he wants. IT doens't mean I have to do them. I am annoyed because my office mates are constantly complaining about the mess, and no one says well I left the coffe there, or I did this. THe boss knows who the main culprit is..why he won't do anything is beyond me. I feel like I am being punished for what others don't do. I am not the one that spills coffee beans all over the office floor, why doenst my boss ask the person doing it to clean up after himself? I make a mess (shredding), guess what I do, I grab the vacuum and I clean up my mess. If I dirtied a cup..I would clean it. If I spilled caramel all over the counter I would clean it. I don't though.

My boss jokes all the time that I made the mess at the coffee station, because he knows I am never there.

If me not cleaning toilets is a deal breaker for him, that is fine, I will look for another job. I don't think it will be, but it will be his choice, same as me not doing it.

Most here are calling me a princess and saying I am nuts to leave a job and should be kissing my boss's butt and doing anything I can to keep said job and be thankful I have a job.

 

[dancingdisneygirl]

I am being asked to clean 2 bathrooms and a fridge and a coffee area (large area..testing of machines is done there also). And for under 10.00 an hour, I am not cleaning bathrooms... I have 3 at home I have to clean. I am just not doing it. I wouldn't do it 8 years ago in retail and I won't do it now. The coffee area wouldn't be such a mess, if all the people that use it would clean as they go. Why should I be punished for them being pigs?? Most of the time I don't wouldn't even have had time to make myself an espresso..it would take too much time out of my day and I would usually have too much work to do. Now we are slowing down..but still.

The job is an office position...administrative/clerical/computer...nothing in there about janitorial. ANd I did ask during the interview if cleaning bathrooms was required...the answer was NO.

If my boss is too cheap to hire a cleaning crew (and yes he is very cheap), then since it is his company, it should be his responsiblity to clean it...not mine and not for under 10.00/hour. If I wanted to be a cleaning person I would be making alot more then that for cleaning!!

I was asking the best way of presenting it to him..since I do not plan on cleaning the bathroom or the gross coffee area. Under the syrups there is hardened carmel and mold, because those adding carmel to their lattes never cleaned up the over flow . I am not being paid to be there maid. If the others want to do it...go for it. It doesn't mean I have to, even if it means I get fired.

It is a part time job, yes I do need the money...will I die without it...no, but I found this job, I would find another one. I also don't think he will fire me over this (he wouldn't want to pay the unemployment insurance)!!

I didn't read the whole thread but all I can say is I'm glad I don't work with you; you are not being a team player.

 

[JoiseyMom]

AMEN!

OP, I have supported you here.
I have questioned those who have chosen to flame you and call you names.
I have said that I, too, would never want to have to choose to seek a job that involved cleaning restrooms. ( figure I've done my time, )

However, the above comments are correct...
Instead of taking ownership of your own issues, you seem to be pointing fingers at your employer and wanting to throw it all back in his lap, and 'dare' him to fire you... While I agree with your stance... Your attituded does seem a little 'off'.

After all the meaningful comments I made in my one post, the only thing you chose to address was to question my comment re: seeking employment at a company who hires/contracts cleaning staff. That was a valid comment that did not need to be dismissed/questioned. It did, since they can let the cleaning crew go at any point and require their employees to do it.

Clearly, this is a small outfit that has never hired cleaning staff. (I am assuming that, indeed, everyone has always been expected to pitch in, but, 'gasp!!!!" have not. Big surprise...) To be honest, in a company that small, yes, hello, it is usually one or more of the other clerical/production employees who ends up doing the cleaning. (how else would it ever be done?????) Let me tell you this.... If my son said, 'I don't want to sweep out the garage, mow the grass, wash the dishes, etc.... because "I" didn't cause all the mess....' Ohhhh, I can tell you about how far that would fly around here!!!!

TURN IN YOUR NOTICE.
APPLY TO COMPANIES WHO YOU KNOW TO HAVE CLEANING DUTIES COVERED BY A JANITORIAL STAFF/CONTRACT SERVICE.

I did apply to a company that didn't require bathroom cleaning..guess what...they changed their minds. What is the difference with a company that has this service and them letting them go and expecting the office staff to do it and me asking if this was a requirement and being told no, and them changing their minds? It is the same situation.

You will save yourself and all of us a lot of drama.

I don't plan on quitting, I plan on having a discussion with him, and yes I will bring up my interview and the bathroom cleaning, and the jokes we have had about it since and have an adult discussion about it. It is his business, if he chooses to let me go that is his choice. But I think it would be unprofessional of me and immature of me to say to him, here is my resignation, I am resigning since I won't clean bathrooms...

 

[JoiseyMom]

your just spoilt. I would march you out the door the second you came with that attitude to me. Despite what you may think there are many many people who would love to have ANY job, cleaning or otherwise. A harsh lesson in life awaits you.

The word is spoiled, and no I am not. Why am I spoiled, because I don't want a job that requires cleaning toilets? Bad me... Am I spoiled because I never want to be a teacher? Why is it an attitude because I don't want to do something??

Considering how many times my boss has filled my position and others in his company and had a hard time doing it and finding the right people for the job.

A harsh life lesson...why because I may lose my job?? That isn't harsh, that is a choice I am making when I discuss this with my boss. It isn't harsh or a life lesson. I wish this would be the harshest (sp??) thing that ever happened to me in my life.

 

[ksjayhawks]

I know you keep saying you took an "office" job, and you did; however, the difference is that you are in a small, family owned business and that means that job responsibilities often change due to financial climate.

So, go to the boss and express your concerns. Tell him that you know that he is the boss and it is his right to change the job duties of the employess, but that you are not happy with the new duties being given to everyone--that of cleaning up the kitchen and the bathrooms. Tell him that when you applied you specifically asked if cleaning duties were involved and you were told "no" and that was a factor in your decision to take the job. Then stop talking and listen to what he says.

I don't see how he can let you off the hook for cleaning and yet require the others to clean. You could make a case for not cleaning the kitchen area--should be cleaned by those who use it for personal and business reasons. As for the bathroom--that may be harder, though you do have an argument for the mess made by the ones that dump their "testing" in there. If they are making the mess, then they should be cleaning that up. Would you help out with the bathroom if that mess was gone/cleaned up?

It is your choice as to what you do. If you don't want to clean, then I would talk to the boss and if he says that is now part of your job, tender your resignation with a two week notice and start looking for another job in a business that has a cleaning crew--either one that they hire or that is part of their rent. And yes, they could also let their cleaning crew go, so you probably need to find work in a larger business, or be willing to tender your resignation from the next job if the same thing happens again. There is nothing wrong in doing that if you are okay with doing that and looking for new jobs.

 

[Skywalker]

As far as being cheap, maye the owner can give everyone a pay cut so that he can pay a cleaning person instead.

I think that's a great point! Would you (and in turn everyone else) take a pay cut so that you don't have to clean a bathroom? Probably NOT. And seriously, you make it sound like you'd be doing it 24/7 when really it is probably like a tiny fraction of your week.

Anyway, I too have an office job, I have also been asked to do other duties. They include filling in for the receptionist (I was not hired to be the receptionist and I hate dealing with the public); taking the garbage out to the dumpster out back (wasn't hired as a garbage man); vacuuming the back room (wasn't hired as a janitor) and running and emptying the dishwasher in the breakroom (wasn't hired as a housekeeper).

I do those duties as well as all the ones I was originally hired for. You sound very whiny to me.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I don't plan on quitting, I plan on having a discussion with him, and yes I will bring up my interview and the bathroom cleaning, and the jokes we have had about it since and have an adult discussion about it. It is his business, if he chooses to let me go that is his choice. But I think it would be unprofessional of me and immature of me to say to him, here is my resignation, I am resigning since I won't clean bathrooms...

Agreed, or he could take the tack that most managers would take - simply reiterate that these are now the job responsibilities. If you refuse, you have (by legal standards) quit. He doesn't have to fire you. If he is cheap, he will do this to avoid paying unemployment to you - even if he likes you.

Look, you are an adult. Do what you feel you must. I don't know you or him, but I hope it works out for both of you.

 

[Disney Doll]

I would say "I have an issue with cleaning, since that is not what I was hired for".

That's pretty much your position, right? So state it and then see what he says. You'll probably have a back and forth. Will he fire you? Maybe...maybe not. As you sai, he probably won't want to pay unemployment.

But I can guess that he and your other co-workers will then give you big enough doses of attitude when all is said and done that you will be miserable and leave.

At least, that's what I would do if I worked in a small office with a prima donna who didn't think she needed to do what the rest of us did.

So start your job search.