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 think I have worked out that one. Cleaning services or admin assistance are items that costs money right on the accountants' balance sheets. While the drop in productivity that happens when staff getting paid well to do something else spend time on cleaning or admin work (one unfortunate day I spent six hours attempting to book a train ticket and a hotel for our intern...) just shows as a drop in productivity, which can conveniently be blamed on the staff, who will, one suspects management assumes, just have to work harder. I am quite grumpy about that.