They're surely not making savings. Your time doing your job is more valuable than cleaning things. They make a small (but easily defined saving) by not hiring a

They're surely not making savings. Your time doing your job is more valuable than cleaning things. They make a small (but easily defined saving) by not hiring a cleaner, and a much larger loss by having their staff stop doing their (presumably more expensive, skilled work) to clean things. What's your hourly rate? More than a cleaner? It's not an unreasonable request to you, in that the company buys your time and this is what they want you to do. It's a fantastically unreasonable request if they're actually in business to make money and you should take a good look around at the company; this could be an early warning to jump ship. Be assured that other people are already thinking this, and that in such situations the people leaving first are the smarter, better employees; as each one leaves, the company will struggle a little bit more. Edit: As I read your post, I heard this low blaring horn kind of noise, getting louder and louder, much as during Heath Ledger's scenes in Dark Knight. :p I reckon you could probably have a go at estimating the new cost of cleaning by estimating how much time everyone spends cleaning and what their hourly rate is - this might give you a better idea of how badly things are really going. It might be really scary :)