Why is it office culture to make the admin take care of your dishes?

[Anonymous]

At my office, everyone washes their own dishes, but then leaves it in the drying rack for the admin/receptionist to put away once dried. Why? You’re a grown adult, put your dishes away. And yes I am said receptionist/admin

[Anonymous]

I think it’s because inevitably there are jerks that don’t put their dishes away and thus it has to fall to someone to do it.

Also if the dishes are uniform, you can’t necessarily discern which one was yours and which was not.

So the lowest person on the totem pole does it.

I mean....you’re a receptionist, an assistant. That means you do some low level work.

[Anonymous]

When I have worked in an office with dishes, I did not have to wash them (fancy law firm). Is this like an office provided lunch on these dishes?

[Anonymous]

People use an office plate to eat their lunch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I have worked in an office with dishes, I did not have to wash them (fancy law firm). Is this like an office provided lunch on these dishes?

We have a small kitchen with ceramic plates and mugs and silverware for everyone to use for their lunches if needed.

Should I just stop putting dishes away? Let it build up, until someone notices? Or should I say something along the lines of, you used it you put it away?

[Anonymous]

Whose job do you think it should be? At my office people leave their sh*t in the sink so maybe count your blessings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I have worked in an office with dishes, I did not have to wash them (fancy law firm). Is this like an office provided lunch on these dishes?

We have a small kitchen with ceramic plates and mugs and silverware for everyone to use for their lunches if needed.

Should I just stop putting dishes away? Let it build up, until someone notices? Or should I say something along the lines of, you used it you put it away?

No I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stop doing part of your job

[Anonymous]

If admins stopped doing everything that grown adults could do for themselves we would fire them all. I don’t actually need you to do any part of your job, but we hired you to take on some of the stuff to make my life better and easier.

[Anonymous]

Offices have actual plates?

OP, you work at an office that has actual plates. That's better than most of us.

[Anonymous]

Look, if you want a job where you are not asked to do low level tasks, you need to work towards getting a job that is higher on the totem pole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If admins stopped doing everything that grown adults could do for themselves we would fire them all. I don’t actually need you to do any part of your job, but we hired you to take on some of the stuff to make my life better and easier.

This.

[Anonymous]

I don't really think it's part of my job description though. All I was taught when I was trained is that I wash our manager's mug out, that's it.

Maybe it's an admin's job but wow what a dumb task! You're all a bunch of slobs if you leave your plates and cups around for the admin to clean up. Does your mommy do it for you at home still do? Lazy POS's!

[Anonymous]

Just stop putting them away. No one will notice or care. If there's no room on the drying rack people will stack the dishes on top.

[Anonymous]

I'll be the voice of dissent.

I would be *mortified* if our admin was putting away my dishes. She's not my mom.
OP, we actually have a sign in our kitchen that says "Clean up. Your mother doesn't live here."
Cheesy, yes, but it gets the point across.

Did your boss tell you that putting away the dishes is part of your job? Do you have other facilities/food related responsibilities that this could reasonably be seen as an extension of? If so, suck it up and do it.
If not, just stop putting away the dishes. People will figure it out eventually. Or not. Not your problem.

[Anonymous]

At ours they don't handle dishes but they clean the microwave and fridge which seems worse.

I agree it sucks but I don't know a better way to do it. Nobody is going to come back and put away only their personal items from the drying rack, that's weird.