Question for all

[lexin]

I've also asked around the managers of my office about this, but this came up in my union work recently and I thought I'd find out what everyone thinks.

Poll #7675 Reasonable ad-hoc tasks

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 57

You employ a person whose normal job is to do post opening, stamping, preparation of papers, scanning - adminstrative tasks, in other words. Would you regard it as reasonable for them to be asked to do "sweeping out the filthy basement" as an ad-hoc task?

Yes
3 (5.3%)

No
9 (15.8%)

In the context of an office move or "tidy friday" when everyone's mucking in, but not otherwise
44 (77.2%)

Something else I will tell you about in comments
1 (1.8%)

Comments

[lyorn]

I very much dislike spiders, I'm allergic to dust (makes my eyes swell shut for days, makes me unable to work or, actually, leave the house), and I wear my good clothes to work, so my first, second and third reactions are "the hell, no."

I've seen half the faculty of an elementary school ending up in hospital after someone had a bright idea of that kind (Having a bunch of mostly sedentary sexagenarians put in eight-hour days cleaning the school and re-doing the yard and the gardens in the summer heat -- what can possibly go wrong?)

[lexin]

I've seen staff get asthma attacks as a result of "tidy Fridays", let alone cleaning out basements.