How Do You Handle Office Tasks When the Office Boy Is Overwhelmed or Absent?

We have only one office boy in our company, so he has to do all the office work, both internal and external. In the morning, he serves tea/coffee to all the office staff, and then he leaves for his other work, which includes going out for tasks related to banks, collections of papers, or documents, etc. Sometimes, he stays outside the office for the entire day.

Problem with Office Boy's Absence

The problem arises when someone visits our office for a meeting with our CEO, and the office boy is not present. In such situations, junior employees like us are asked to serve water, tea, coffee, etc., to the visitors, which is not ideal.

Today, I was asked to clean my coffee mug, and another employee was told to serve coffee to visitors by one of our seniors. I did not feel good about what happened. Moreover, the management is reluctant to hire another office boy due to our company's low staff strength. Other employees have not raised any concerns about this issue.

Please help me and provide your suggestions on what can be done.

We have only one office boy in our company, so he has to do all the office work, both internal and external. In the morning, he serves tea/coffee to all the office staff, and then he leaves for his other work, which includes going out for tasks related to banks, collections of papers, or documents, etc. Sometimes, he stays outside the office for the entire day.

Issue with Visitor Management

The problem arises when visitors come to our office for meetings with our CEO, and our office boy is not present. In such situations, junior employees like us are asked to serve water, tea, or coffee to the visitors, which is not ideal.

Today, I was asked to clean my coffee mug, and another employee was told to serve coffee to the visitors by one of our seniors. I did not feel good about this situation. Moreover, the management is reluctant to hire another office boy as we have limited staff in our company. Other employees have not raised any concerns about this issue. Please help me and provide your suggestions on what can be done.

Regards,
Supriya (HR)

Attribution: https://www.citehr.com/465748-new-is...#ixzz2YuLyyO3J

This is really a ticklish issue. Not many times do top bosses understand the difference between "cost-cutting" and 'stinginess'. The former is important for the sustenance of the business, but the latter demotivates the staff. Leadership lies in understanding this difference. Leadership lies in being empathetic. That is why you have bosses everywhere, but very few leaders.

Cleaning your coffee mug is not bad per se. In many big companies, I have found staff clean their plates, spoons, glasses, etc., after taking meals in the staff cafe. However, serving beverages to visitors is an individual's choice.

Options to Consider

As of now, you have the following options:

• Doing nothing. Accept it (with or without grumbling) as part of your job.

• Talk to your bosses. Try to put forth the side effects like lowering morale because of this stinginess. Someone may quit the job also.

• Tell the boss to keep a tea/coffee maker and also a small refrigerator in his room. Let him help himself to serve his visitors. After all, in many four and five-star hotels, there are tea/coffee makers, and top bosses make tea or coffee for their visitors!

• Tell the boss to keep a tea/coffee maker for everybody. No service from an office boy to anyone.

• If the boss does not listen, then quit the company!

Choose the option that you feel is appropriate!

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

Thank you so much for replying to me. I do agree with you that there are companies where you have to clean spoons, glasses, and plates after meals. Even in my past organization, there was self-service for beverages. We had to make our tea/coffee from the coffee machine. Everyone also used to clean their lunch boxes after meals. However, no one was asked by any seniors to do this. The situation here is a bit different, as any senior orders you to do these tasks. One day, my boss also instructed a junior supervisor regarding this. As I was new, I felt bad for that guy. Therefore, I raised this issue in this forum to seek clarification on whether this is correct and what action should be taken by me. We were planning to hire a new office boy, but the management did not agree. Additionally, when we asked our current office boy, he also declined, stating that there is no need for another person as he can handle all the assigned work himself.

Regards,
Supriya

I have a small suggestion for you. I think your management team is considering cost-cutting and other measures. Therefore, I recommend discussing these issues with your boss and requesting the hiring of another person. Additionally, you may want to ask your boss to share his meeting schedules and visitor details in advance, preferably a day before. This will make it easier for you to manage the office tasks, both internal and external, with the help of the office boy. Ensure clear communication with your boss to find a suitable solution.

Thank you.

Please be upfront and discuss this issue firmly with your boss, but carry the solution as suggested by members. All that is needed is to resolve the issue in favor of all. I suggest keeping disposable cups, etc., along with coffee/tea machines and encouraging a self-help policy. Additionally, leave ego aside; sometimes, you have to serve and feel happy about it. Your service will never go to waste.

Thanks,
Bijay

Dear Supriya,

These kinds of things happen in small organizations, and people are expected to do these little chores. There is nothing wrong with expecting people to do their own chores. If the owner is expecting you to clean your own dishes and coffee mugs because of a lack of manpower, then it is justified to some extent. You should do this for yourself and for your guests. For example, if you invite a candidate for an interview or a vendor for a discussion, then you should offer them tea or coffee. This rule also applies to your boss; he must serve his guests himself.

If he is asking you to serve his guests, then he is disrespecting you as an individual and as a colleague. The organization is low on morality. Being in HR, you are in a strong position to set these work ethics in the organization.

You must strongly protest this in the most professional and humble way. This is important for you and your colleagues because this might be the beginning of other things that may follow. If there is no protest, then tomorrow your team could be asked to do his other personal chores. It's all about drawing the line.

As my personal opinion, I would strongly recommend you to move out of the organization that treats its employees this way. Most of the time, trying to change their attitude towards work and employees is wasting our own time.

Regards,
Abhishek Patil

Your problem is a very genuine one, like most of us face! Your boss must solve it. Self-service is okay when you are helping yourself. However, the problem arises when the visitors are from outside. Therefore, it's better not to offer tea or snacks. Don't even express to visitors that you are lacking assistance; instead, direct their attention straight towards the business they have come for and attend to their business needs with a positive attitude. They will be happier with your attitude than with the extra offerings you provide!

Best wishes,
Krishna Murthy

Thank you so much for your valuable suggestions.

@ Mr. Dinesh V Divekar. I respect your suggestion about doing nothing and accepting it (with or without grumbling) as part of my job. I have already tried my level best to convince them to hire one more office boy, but as I mentioned, they have denied it, citing that we have fewer staff. If they are not ready to hire one more office admin boy, then I am not sure they will be ready to keep a tea/coffee maker for everybody. However, I will definitely put this suggestion in front of them. I hope this will help us. Thank you so much.

@bijay_majumdar and @Sheerine. I have already discussed this matter with management, suggesting that we should hire one more person for all these tasks, but I don't know why they have denied it. I have started using disposable cups for myself too and have informed other staff as well.

@ Abhishek Patil. The same thought also came to my mind initially, to leave the organization, but this is a very small reason to quit. I do agree with your statement that the way they treat their employees is somehow not correct. But they don't seem to have any problems.

@Krishna Murthy. I agree with you that self-service is okay when we are serving ourselves. But the problem arises when the visitors are from outside. I will discuss this matter with all employees because they have never told me anything about this issue. I have only felt this when it comes to me.

Regards,
Supriya (HR)

In organizations where they have a "self-service system," everyone does it on their own. They go to the Coffee Vending Machine, etc., along with the guests to have coffee. It's ironic to find that on one hand, one claims to be "modern" by implementing self-service, and on the other hand, general employees are asked to serve refreshments to guests. If at all, the boss should get up and proceed with such tasks himself—even if it is only to set an example. Self-service is a good thing, but then it should be limited to "SELF"-service and not forcing others to serve.

Warm regards.

An Experience from My Early Career

I would like to share an experience from when I started my career as a trainee with a tea consulting outfit in Kolkata, roughly 20 years ago. The company's founder was a highly regarded and deeply respected tea professional globally.

A few months into my stint, our office was graced by a visit from Shri Madan Dulloo, the Agriculture Minister of Mauritius. As luck would have it, both our office boys were absent. Although the office was adequately staffed, we lacked someone to offer one of our 'fancy' (given that we were a tea company) blends of tea to our guest. Against the advice of my colleagues, I ventured out, purchased some snacks downstairs, and upon my return, prepared tea as only a tea company could and served it.

Undoubtedly surprised were my chairman, and more so the visitor, when I was introduced. He too was of Indian descent! After the Minister's departure, my chairman escorted me to the hall where the rest of us 'little people' (said in jest) worked and commended me in front of my colleagues and seniors. The point he emphasized that day has resonated with me all these years: "How would you behave and conduct yourself in the presence of a guest if this were not an office but your own home?"

It is immensely beneficial when your boss/superiors are gracious, though admittedly, this is not always the case. Fortunately, I have been mostly fortunate in that aspect.

I have adhered to this standard as a personal yardstick, and in my experience, it has proven beneficial both socially and professionally (and yes, I still brew a remarkable cup of tea).

Cheers!

Raahul K Mukherjee

Well, the self-help policy is good at a certain level, but if you are ordered to do tasks for which you were not hired, as you mentioned above, it is really bad. In terms of cost-cutting, that is always a topic for discussion amongst management, and after their approval, certain measures are implemented.

I suggest that you initially discuss with other employees or colleagues and then directly approach your boss to resolve the matter.

I can understand what you must have gone through. Anyways, do one thing: all the employees should become a team with one person as a volunteer. Discuss the problems with that volunteer, and then all of you go to the boss together and let the volunteer act on behalf of all of you. Talk to the boss; let him realize the office condition. Request him to appoint an Aaya (female attendant) so that the office boy will look after the outside work and the Aaya the internal office work. Also, appointing her would relieve the strenuous work of the boy.

Good luck.

Regards,
Jhansi

In Japan, everyone serves water or coffee in the office by themselves. There are no higher and junior job classifications; all work on the same level. However, this is just an example. We can't follow it in our country. Try to ask your boss about hiring a new office boy who will be available for the whole day in the office. You can hire with a low salary. Hiring an office boy won't significantly increase the company's expenses. It's definitely a small but tough issue when it comes to employees' dignity. It will affect their performance too. Give this example to the boss and hire a part-time (half-day) office boy.

Regards

While appreciating the post of Mr. Rahul Mukherjee, I must say that it is praiseworthy to find an employee saving the day for the organization by volunteering and taking the initiative to bring in snacks, make tea, and serve distinguished guests.

However, it would be quite another thing if every day, whenever any guests drop in, he is asked by his boss to get snacks from the market, make tea, and serve it to the guests!

I am certain that when one is "forced" into such situations on a regular basis in the name of cost-cutting, he would start having the same feeling as Ms. Supriya Pandey and her colleagues and shall start looking at his job description once again with a magnifying glass! Or he might have doubts about these new methods of job enlargement and job enrichment!

Humor aside, in these days of employee engagement, when organizations are looking for fresh initiatives to motivate employees, such actions reveal the respect that such companies have for their employees.

In the name of self-service, it is simply unacceptable to force employees to serve refreshments to others on a regular basis just because they cannot say "NO."

Warm regards.

Self-Service in the Workplace

Hi Aarin,

Not in Japan, but in many developed countries and even some MNCs in India, self-service has been followed, and it's really good. If you talk about the work culture, in top MNCs or in companies that follow US or UK culture, there's nothing like senior or junior employees; all are treated with the same respect.

But here, the case is totally different as self-serving or serving in courtesy is totally different from obeying your senior for such things. Isn't it?

Regards,
Couvery

Dear,

It is an ill-treatment, and the ethics were simply abused. But we, the poor employees, can't protest it, and ultimately, we have to move out. But before we leave, the reason must be spelled out. That is self-respect. The decision will be up to your chances to have another job immediately.

hrkpati