4 ms·

If my boss wants to pay me a SWE salary and then insists I clean out the break room fridge on Friday that is his perogrative not mine. I mean... I can buy this

If my boss wants to pay me a SWE salary and then insists I clean out the break room fridge on Friday that is his perogrative not mine. I mean... I can buy this to a point. But for me personally, there are lines. And there are things I'm just not going to do. Period. I know it's un-trendy to talk about anything being "beneath you", and I'm not sure that's the wording I would use, but there are simply things that I don't consider being in my wheelhouse and that if you ask me to do, I'm going to say "no". Then you can decide if you want to fire me or not. Case in point: I used to be a parts counter clerk at Advance Auto Parts. We got a new manager and one day he comes in and asks me to go outside and sweep the parking lot. I said "no" and he tells me to do it or I'm fired. So I rip off my Advance Auto Parts shirt, throw it in his face, say "fuck you" and walk out. 30+ years later I feel absolutely no regret about that. I didn't apologize then and I won't now. There's more to my life than a job and I can find another way to pay the bills. I don't have to take their bullshit.

malfist 4y ago
You sure showed them! I bet that advance auto manager thought real hard about asking anybody else to....sweep. I'm glad you realized your hands were too important to be callused by a broom
- peteradio 4y ago
  Quite snarky, heres my story. Worked at a big box home improvement store as a 15 year old kid on checkout. Someone literally shit diarrhea all over the floor, the store manager asked literally everyone in the store to clean it up including me, everyone refused, he ended up cleaning it himself. Some things are not part of the job!!!
  - malfist 4y ago
    There's a difference between being asked to clean up potential biohazards and being asked to push a broom for a few minutes and up and ripping your shirt off and quitting over it.
  - II2II 4y ago
    The thing is, the mess had to be cleaned up and the manager did it after everyone else refused. There are limits, sure. You need proper equipment to clean up such a mess because it is a health and safety issue. I can also understand why no one would want to step up. When everyone else is a refuses the job, stepping up is a good way to end up being the one called upon to do it in the future. But the reality is that people were probably refusing because they didn't want carry their weight. But kudos on the manager. He realized that it had to be done, then went ahead and did it without ordering anyone else to do so.
- P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
  seriously, while I understand and agree with the sentiment in general, you're a clerk at a small store, sweeping the parking lot doesn't seem outside of your duties.
  - mindcrime 4y ago
    But it doesn't matter what you think my duties are. And it didn't matter what my manager thought my duties were. It mattered what I thought they were. And on that day, considering the circumstances (some shit job I'm working for barely more than minimum wage as I work my way through college) I chose to decide that sweeping the parking lot was not an acceptable duty. Maybe I would have chosen differently if I'd desperately needed that job to feed a family, but that just goes to show that our lines are somewhat situation dependent.
    - P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
      I'm sure you're a hoot to work with, but personally I'd rather be around people who have the humbleness to avoid thinking sweeping a parking lot was beneath them. If you can't take pride in a job well done as a store clerk, why the hell does anyone think you'll take pride in a job well done as a developer? That motivation is internal.
      - adave 4y ago
        Seriously you must be so fun to work with.It's a person's choice and there is no pride in being a low paid worker, get over yourself.
      - abiloe 4y ago
        > If you can't take pride in a job well done as a store clerk, why the hell does anyone think you'll take pride in a job well done as a developer? That motivation is internal. This is an absurd argument. They have nothing to do with each other. If you'd rather be a store clerk then why should expect you to have much motivation or competence to be a developer?
    - 4y ago
- mindcrime 4y ago
  I bet that advance auto manager thought real hard about asking anybody else to....sweep. The thing is, I didn't then, nor do I now, care about what he thought hard about or not. That wasn't the point. I just wasn't going to be the one doing it. What happened beyond that is neither here nor there as far as I'm concerned.
- mindcrime 4y ago
  I'm glad you realized your hands were too important to be callused by a broom You misunderstand. I have no problem sweeping. If he'd asked me to sweep in the store, that would have been fine. I did that pretty much every day anyway. It was more that the *fucking parking lot* doesn't need to be swept in the first place. It's a parking lot! This guy was just being a jackoff, which is why my response was as seemingly hyperbolic as it was. Sorry, that's my fault for eliding some details in the story, because I was in a hurry earlier.
fluoridation 4y ago
I think each person has their limits of what they are or are not willing to do, but I have to say, I find it strange where you decided to draw the line. Personally, I wouldn't do anything that grossed me out or that I found demeaning or humiliating. For example, I probably would have refused to sweep that parking lot if I thought the person telling me to do it was doing it just to show that they could; but if it was something that needed doing and there was no one else, I see no issue.
- tharkun__ 4y ago
  I totally get it. Think office kitchen. They are always gross. There are always people that just throw their stuff in the sink instead of putting it in the dish washer etc. I've been at places where they wanted to make everyone do kitchen duty meaning cleaning out the sink and stuff on the counter and all that in a round robin fashion because "everyone uses it and we can't figure out who is the culprit". I don't put stuff into the sink or use the dish washer and I don't use the fridge for my food. I have my cup, which I keep at my desk and wash up from time to time and take back to my desk. In between it doesn't need cleaning and just stays on my desk. Hire a cleaner if you can't get these gross people to clean up after themselves but do not make me clean up after other people in a "communal space" I don't even use. Needless to say I refused. A lot of people caved. "not worth the fight" was something I heard a lot. Sorry but I am very principled that way. Yes worth the fight every day. You want to fire one of your best developers over a kitchen sink because you can't do your job properly? Be my guest. That said I was civil about it but very firm. Needless to say nobody was fired and they solved the problem a different way.
  - fluoridation 4y ago
    If it's about cleaning what you use and you don't use those facilities, then I would have to agree that you shouldn't be made to do it. Myself, I do on occasion use the dishes at the office, and in such a situation I would have found a way to eat without using them, rather than cleaning after some slob who can't be civil without being forced to do so. That said, if I was your employer and everyone had taken your stance, even the ones who do use the kitchen, I would have simply taken the dishes and utensils away. At that point it's just people being unreasonable.
heisenbit 4y ago
You have a valuable SWE skillset which is the result of major investments on your side. If you can maintain this skillset and credibly convince your next boss that you did so by cleaning fridges - go ahead.

malfist 4y ago

You sure showed them! I bet that advance auto manager thought real hard about asking anybody else to....sweep. I'm glad you realized your hands were too important to be callused by a broom

peteradio 4y ago
Quite snarky, heres my story. Worked at a big box home improvement store as a 15 year old kid on checkout. Someone literally shit diarrhea all over the floor, the store manager asked literally everyone in the store to clean it up including me, everyone refused, he ended up cleaning it himself. Some things are not part of the job!!!
- malfist 4y ago
  There's a difference between being asked to clean up potential biohazards and being asked to push a broom for a few minutes and up and ripping your shirt off and quitting over it.
- II2II 4y ago
  The thing is, the mess had to be cleaned up and the manager did it after everyone else refused. There are limits, sure. You need proper equipment to clean up such a mess because it is a health and safety issue. I can also understand why no one would want to step up. When everyone else is a refuses the job, stepping up is a good way to end up being the one called upon to do it in the future. But the reality is that people were probably refusing because they didn't want carry their weight. But kudos on the manager. He realized that it had to be done, then went ahead and did it without ordering anyone else to do so.
P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
seriously, while I understand and agree with the sentiment in general, you're a clerk at a small store, sweeping the parking lot doesn't seem outside of your duties.
- mindcrime 4y ago
  But it doesn't matter what you think my duties are. And it didn't matter what my manager thought my duties were. It mattered what I thought they were. And on that day, considering the circumstances (some shit job I'm working for barely more than minimum wage as I work my way through college) I chose to decide that sweeping the parking lot was not an acceptable duty. Maybe I would have chosen differently if I'd desperately needed that job to feed a family, but that just goes to show that our lines are somewhat situation dependent.
  - P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
    I'm sure you're a hoot to work with, but personally I'd rather be around people who have the humbleness to avoid thinking sweeping a parking lot was beneath them. If you can't take pride in a job well done as a store clerk, why the hell does anyone think you'll take pride in a job well done as a developer? That motivation is internal.
    - adave 4y ago
      Seriously you must be so fun to work with.It's a person's choice and there is no pride in being a low paid worker, get over yourself.
    - abiloe 4y ago
      > If you can't take pride in a job well done as a store clerk, why the hell does anyone think you'll take pride in a job well done as a developer? That motivation is internal. This is an absurd argument. They have nothing to do with each other. If you'd rather be a store clerk then why should expect you to have much motivation or competence to be a developer?
  - 4y ago
mindcrime 4y ago
I bet that advance auto manager thought real hard about asking anybody else to....sweep. The thing is, I didn't then, nor do I now, care about what he thought hard about or not. That wasn't the point. I just wasn't going to be the one doing it. What happened beyond that is neither here nor there as far as I'm concerned.
mindcrime 4y ago
I'm glad you realized your hands were too important to be callused by a broom You misunderstand. I have no problem sweeping. If he'd asked me to sweep in the store, that would have been fine. I did that pretty much every day anyway. It was more that the *fucking parking lot* doesn't need to be swept in the first place. It's a parking lot! This guy was just being a jackoff, which is why my response was as seemingly hyperbolic as it was. Sorry, that's my fault for eliding some details in the story, because I was in a hurry earlier.

fluoridation 4y ago

I think each person has their limits of what they are or are not willing to do, but I have to say, I find it strange where you decided to draw the line. Personally, I wouldn't do anything that grossed me out or that I found demeaning or humiliating. For example, I probably would have refused to sweep that parking lot if I thought the person telling me to do it was doing it just to show that they could; but if it was something that needed doing and there was no one else, I see no issue.

tharkun__ 4y ago
I totally get it. Think office kitchen. They are always gross. There are always people that just throw their stuff in the sink instead of putting it in the dish washer etc. I've been at places where they wanted to make everyone do kitchen duty meaning cleaning out the sink and stuff on the counter and all that in a round robin fashion because "everyone uses it and we can't figure out who is the culprit". I don't put stuff into the sink or use the dish washer and I don't use the fridge for my food. I have my cup, which I keep at my desk and wash up from time to time and take back to my desk. In between it doesn't need cleaning and just stays on my desk. Hire a cleaner if you can't get these gross people to clean up after themselves but do not make me clean up after other people in a "communal space" I don't even use. Needless to say I refused. A lot of people caved. "not worth the fight" was something I heard a lot. Sorry but I am very principled that way. Yes worth the fight every day. You want to fire one of your best developers over a kitchen sink because you can't do your job properly? Be my guest. That said I was civil about it but very firm. Needless to say nobody was fired and they solved the problem a different way.
- fluoridation 4y ago
  If it's about cleaning what you use and you don't use those facilities, then I would have to agree that you shouldn't be made to do it. Myself, I do on occasion use the dishes at the office, and in such a situation I would have found a way to eat without using them, rather than cleaning after some slob who can't be civil without being forced to do so. That said, if I was your employer and everyone had taken your stance, even the ones who do use the kitchen, I would have simply taken the dishes and utensils away. At that point it's just people being unreasonable.

heisenbit 4y ago

You have a valuable SWE skillset which is the result of major investments on your side. If you can maintain this skillset and credibly convince your next boss that you did so by cleaning fridges - go ahead.