{"id":63464,"date":"2019-09-05T16:46:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T20:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?p=63464"},"modified":"2020-09-03T05:53:10","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T09:53:10","slug":"why-dont-my-coworkers-clean-up-after-themselves-in-the-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/management-leadership\/why-dont-my-coworkers-clean-up-after-themselves-in-the-office","title":{"rendered":"Why don\u2019t my coworkers clean up after themselves in the office?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the space between work and not-work becomes ever more blurred, questions about how to do this thing we plug away at for 30 or 40 or 70 hours a week become all the more expansive. In <\/em>Work Flow<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, we delve into the novel dilemmas created by the new ways we work, as well as timeless questions about ethics, gender assumptions, and toxic work situations (and how to escape them). How we work is an important component of how we live\u2014and we\u2019re here to help you do better at both.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something messing with your flow? Unload your work problems here, and you\u2019ll not only feel heard but you\u2019ll also get unbiased, real-world advice. (That\u2019s something your work sibling\/spouse just can\u2019t offer.) Tell us everything: <\/em>ideasbywe@wework.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I work for a company that has recently moved offices, and despite the fancy new kitchen, the fridge situation has taken a turn for the worse. There’s so much stuff packed in that there’s nowhere to put your lunch, and food remains in the fridge way past the point of mold. We’ve asked our facilities team to step in, but no such luck. Is there any way for employees to self-police office fridge usage so we can actually use <\/em>our fridge? What’s the best way to go about it? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most offices where I\u2019ve worked, this is a problem. And in most offices where I\u2019ve worked, there\u2019s an every-so-often officewide email letting everyone know that the fridge WILL BE CLEANED OUT at 5 p.m. on Friday, and if you have anything in it you want to keep, you must mark it as such by then or face its imminent demise. Usually, this is sent by an office manager. Maybe it comes from an assistant or even an intern or the big boss herself\u2014the point is, it\u2019s sent by someone whose job it is to do this. And it works, at least enough to mean there\u2019s room for your lunch by Monday morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can certainly try to self-police, but I suspect that even if 100 percent of your office is gung-ho about joining the force right now, this is going to break down over time because you have other work to do\u2014work that doesn\u2019t involve cleaning out the office fridge every Friday. From that breakdown, tensions can arise. As Alison Green points out with regard to a related issue in \u201cAsk a Manager,\u201d<\/a> \u201cyou might think that the most obvious solution is to have everyone clean up after themselves, but so often it doesn\u2019t work<\/a>.\u201d A volunteer force only works so far as everyone is involved, cares, and has time\u2014and so far as they actually manage to command involvement from others, who have nothing to lose, really, by continuing to leave their moldy lunches in the fridge. You can tell people what to do all you want, but how do you make them not only listen but also obey? You need influence. You know who has inherent influence? The person who is paid to do this job, who has been hired by a manager who wants them to do exactly this job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, there\u2019s a level of personal <\/em>with regard to fridge leftovers that could start to create problems among you and your coworkers. Throw away someone\u2019s lunch, no matter how gross, and you\u2019re probably going to get side-eye, or worse, because you decided to \u201cwaste\u201d a six-month-old Fage that was probably still \u201ctotally fine\u201d and your coworker was going to get around to eating next week. Do any of us want to exist in a society of fridge narcs? Does it ever go well to hear from a random coworker that your moldy lunch is disgusting and deserves to be tossed, a truth, perhaps, that can too easily be construed as an insult? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, back to your facilities team. If they can\u2019t or won\u2019t take on the job, it\u2019s time to make the case to HR or the powers that be that you need an office manager. The office fridge is an unhealthy situation\u2014mold can lead to serious problems! This could become a health-code violation!\u2014and someone needs to be regularly taking care of it. If that person does not exist at your company, make the case for them to be hired.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t be alone in your desire for a neat fridge, but I don\u2019t think a collective volunteer force of self-policers is going to get the results you desire in the long term. Ultimately, someone needs to take charge of the fridge, and, ideally, this is someone who is getting paid to do it, and who also is in the office and can send emails and put a face to various lunches. If the facilities team or office manager doesn\u2019t consider it their role, go up the ladder and find out whose job it is. \u201cHealth-code violation\u201d is generally not a phrase your human-resources department takes lightly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

My coworkers seem to have the idea that it\u2019s cool to leave dirty dishes in the sink for someone else to wash. Housekeeping will do it, but I feel really bad\u2026 they shouldn\u2019t have to! Plus, it means there\u2019s no room in the sink to wash my own dish, which I would happily do. Shouldn\u2019t everyone in the office just clean up after themselves?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short answer is yes. Even if the office has hired cleaning staff, not washing your own dang dish and leaving it for someone else to take care of\u2014which involves assuming that there\u2019s someone around to take care of your mess\u2014is kind of the height of entitlement. Yes, we should all absolutely clean up after ourselves. But will we? (See fridge question above.) Unfortunately, the answer is probably no, or at least no from enough people that it\u2019s a problem for all the yes-ers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, so what to do, then? Well, you can certainly wash your own dish, if that makes you feel better. If there\u2019s no room, I don\u2019t recommend washing everyone else\u2019s dish\u2014unless you\u2019re REALLY procrastinating (wait and do this at home, where it\u2019s far more satisfying). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might ease your guilt and the situation, though, by figuring out whose duty this really is. Start by having a conversation with HR or, again, facilities, or the office manager, who should have some information about this. Is washing dishes actually part of the cleaning crew\u2019s job description? If not\u2014and maybe even if so\u2014could your office manager\/whoever applies issue an email reminder as to that: \u201cHey, everyone, please wash your own dishes, they\u2019re cluttering up the place and making it more unpleasant for all of us!\u201d or \u201cHey, everyone, you are responsible for washing your own dishes. Take a second and make this space nicer for everyone!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because it feels good to do something about a problem you\u2019ve identified, what about creating a cleanliness reminder<\/a> and hanging it in view of the sink? I know, it sounds corny, but sometimes people need to be reminded that others are affected by their behavior and that still others may or may not be watching. Those signs that tell you you\u2019re speeding and to slow down actually work, apparently<\/a>. And who hasn\u2019t questioned whether they\u2019re sprinkling when they\u2019re tinkling, and whether they need to do anything about it, when faced with those signs in the restroom? Ask your office manager to put something up, or go ahead and make a sign or print one out<\/a> and post it after everyone\u2019s gone home for the day, if you want to remain anonymous. Yeah, no one\u2019s getting reported here, but the reminder that there is a right thing to do and a wrong one can help minimize pileups\u2014of dishes and otherwise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you deal with coworkers incorrectly recycling or not recycling at all? I find this irresponsible, and also really annoying!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re standing next to a coworker who is crumbling Diet Coke cans and throwing them, willy nilly, in the general office trash, while they also put meat in the paper container and plastic in the compost bin, SAY SOMETHING. Wrap it up in a strategic little package to make it easier for them to swallow the correction: \u201cOh, hey Friend-Coworker-Person, I don\u2019t know if you noticed, but you\u2019re putting your trash in the wrong spot! I didn\u2019t realize that for a while, either,\u201d or \u201cYou\u2019re putting your recycling in the wrong bin, my man. Just wanted to let you know.\u201d Most likely they\u2019ll offer up an \u201coops\u201d and change their ways; if they don\u2019t, or if they get defensive or even rude, it\u2019s time to turn to an HR person to report the behavior. It\u2019s all of our responsibility to try to make our world still suitable for life in the next 20 to 50 to 100 years; we need to be on the same team. A little policing in the presence of the violator is worth taking on, I think. Call them out (calmly and politely). Make the world a better place! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, this is very much your company\u2019s responsibility, too. State and local governments usually have recycling regulations that require you not only to have the necessary bins, properly labeled, but also to post signs on how to recycle\u2014what goes where\u2014in some public area (probably your breakroom or near your waste cans). And there are repercussions for doing it wrong. In San Francisco, for instance, companies that produce too much landfill trash are fined, and the city sends an official from the recology department to educate employees about properly sorting trash. There\u2019s a bottom line here, which is that companies pay for errant recycling, and it\u2019s up to the company, also, to make that known to employees. But you can help the process along the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google \u201cbusiness recycling\u201d or \u201ccommercial recycling laws\u201d in your area to find out what the rules are, and investigate whether there\u2019s a recology department near you that might come and advise your company on best practices. You can also look into composting in the office, and how to get a program started<\/a>. (The internet really is a great resource, here.) Take all this info to your office manager, who is getting quite the workout this column, or to your human-resources or facilities team, and get them on board. Just because there might<\/em> be a cleaning person who sorts your trash to make sure everything\u2019s going to the right place (my apartment building in New York City pays someone to do this), but that doesn\u2019t mean people shouldn\u2019t put their trash in the right place to start with (which we also do, thanks to posted signs and a general understanding of the importance of the issue). It\u2019s the very least you can do to support Greta Thunberg\u2014and our own futures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have a dog-friendly office, which is great (love dogs!) but every so often one of them makes a total mess, and the owner isn\u2019t around to clean it up. I guess what I\u2019m asking is\u2026 if a dog that\u2019s not mine poops in the office, do I have an obligation to pick it up if the owner is in a meeting? Or do I just\u2026 let it sit there and wait? (Neither of these options is very appealing.) Thank you!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am loath to pick up any dog\u2019s poop that is not my own, but I also struggle with the idea of simply leaving poop on the floor or desk as I wait for a dog owner to return. But also, who is just leaving their dog to wander around and poop in an office!? Does this happen? (Clearly, it does.) For this delicate question, I turned to the very lovely and wise clean person Jolie Kerr,<\/a> who wrote the book My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag… and Other Things You Can’t Ask Martha<\/em>, for more help. First, the cleaning part: \u201cI would say that the office manager should make cleaning supplies for dog accidents available,\u201d Jolie says. \u201cPaper towels to blot\/pick up liquid accidents, an enzymatic stain, and smell eliminator, and probably a portable carpet & upholstery cleaner.\u201d Smart!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the responsibility of cleaning, \u201c If a dog has an accident, I do think whoever witnesses it should do at least the bare minimum of grabbing some paper towels and cleaning up as much of the mess as possible if the dog owner isn\u2019t around,\u201d she says. Don\u2019t just let it sit there, because you\u2019re potentially making it worse in the long run, and you\u2019re definitely making yourself suffer in the short run. \u201cThen, maybe find the dog owner and have them do the deeper cleaning,\u201d she adds. \u201cI would think of it this way: Cleaning up at least the initial mess means you don\u2019t have to sit near it, smelling and seeing it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this keeps happening, turn to your long-suffering office manager and have guidelines drawn up for pets and pet owners in the office. (This may already exist. Ask about it!) \u201cSo that if a dog is repeatedly having accidents, there\u2019s a policy of sorts to address the owner and suggest maybe Fido isn\u2019t fit for office life,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like people, some dogs aren\u2019t meant to work in cubicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jen Doll<\/a><\/em> is a journalist and the author of the memoir <\/em>Save the Date: The Occasional Mortifications of a Serial Wedding Guest. Her writing has appeared in <\/em>The Atlantic, <\/em>Harper’s Bazaar, The<\/em> New York Times, and other publications.\ufeff<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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