Photo: Reddit; G-Stock Studio / Shutterstock
And the offer even came with a "do this, or else" clause to sweeten the deal!
By John Sundholm — Written on May 30, 2023
Most of us have pulled some extra duties and work now and then to cover for someone who's left or gone on vacation. But one UK workplace took "filling in" to a whole new level.
A colleague quitting always causes chaos, and that usually means a bit of work falls to the employees who've stayed on, of course. But there's a difference between, say, monitoring a colleague's emails for a week or two and being asked to clean toilets and empty trash in addition to your regular workload. This particular employer didn't see it that way, however.
A CEO asked employees to take on janitor duties after the regular cleaner abruptly quit.
"I would like to sadly announce that after 3 months of service, our dedicated cleaner Grazyna has informed us of her intention to leave the company at the end of the month," the CEO wrote in their notice. They went on to say that given the absence of a "site manager" after the cleaner's departure, they would like "our valued employees to step up to the challenge and temporarily assume Grazyna's duties."
Photo: Reddit
What followed was an incredibly extensive list of tasks—which just goes to show how undervalued janitors and custodians are. From emptying trash to cleaning toilets and mopping floors, vacuuming and sweeping and even snow removal, the list goes on and on and on. The duties even have a dress code.
It quite honestly sounds like far more work than anyone could do in a day (again, major props to Grazyna, wherever you may be!). But the CEO was asking their employees to do all of this *in addition to* their usual jobs.
The CEO was offering to pay a bonus to whoever accepted the 'exciting opportunity'—on one condition.
Unlike so many CEOs, this one isn't totally unreasonable. In recognition of the staggering amount of work they were asking their already employed employees to take on, they sweetened the deal with a monetary bonus. "We will offer a generous bonus of +15% of your salary during this time."
But, given that the maximum the company was willing to pay was "up to a rate of £30 for the 2-hour shift," the deal isn't that sweet after all.
The CEO then basically asked employees to clean up after themselves, doing their own dishes and cleaning up their desks. But! Anyone who refuses to do this "will be placed on the above duties."
So basically, the CEO asked employees to take on janitor duties as a second job but if at any point one of their colleagues fails to wash his lunch dishes the new janitor will be out of their second job because their messy colleague will be forced to do it for free as punishment.
People online were both shocked and confused by the CEO's bizarre notice.
Many people couldn't get over the billing of this work as an "exciting opportunity," and were shocked at the CEO's audacity to use the janitor's duties as a threat in the same breath.
Others couldn't help but notice how sarcastic the notice sounded when it came to poor Grazyna. "The wording makes it sound way more amicable than it was. She probably cussed them on her way out the door, and they're trying to make it sound like they're losing a good friend," one reader wrote.
Photo: Reddit
"The second someone volunteers for this they will postpone the hiring process of 'site manager' because the company will save a fortune on a full-time cleaner lol," one savvy Redditor wrote. You kind of gotta give it to this boss for having the audacity!
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.