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Thursday
16Apr2009

The Day I Cleaned the Refrigerator at Work

The stench was horrendous.

As everyone walked through the office door, they couldn't help but comment.

"Ewwwwww, what is that?"

After searching for dead animals and rummaging through garbage cans, we finally found the culprit: the refrigerator. Specifically, someone's two-week-old Chinese leftovers.

In typical corporate fashion, a call was placed to the janitorial department to take care of the problem. One day and several sprays of Windex later, the cleaners deemed the problem solved.

Guess what happened the following week...

The smell returned.

Now I'm a fairly patient person but I do reach a point where I don't look back and take matters into my own hands.

The next day I arrived at work 30 minutes early with a bucket and heavy-duty cleaning supplies in tow. I rolled up my shirt sleeves and made the fridge look - and smell - as good as new.

As my officemates began to trickle in they all took notice of the fridge.

Word began to spread that I had taken care of the problem. Most people were happy. My boss was not.

"We have people to clean," he remarked. "Are you going to stay late and make up the time you wasted?"

What he doesn't realize is that by cleaning the fridge I directly, and indirectly, accomplished several important things.

- I proved I am a problem solver who is willing to take initiative.

- I showed my staff that there is no task beneath me.

- The act was genuinely appreciated by my coworkers and elevated my "nice guy" status.

- I improved working conditions for both myself and my colleagues.

Rather than sit back and be frustrated over the inept cleaning staff, and be distracted by a smelly office, I decided to take action.

There's a "fridge" that needs to be cleaned at your office. What are you waiting for?

AuthorAndrew G.R. | Comment9 Comments | DateThursday, April 16, 2009 at 08:47AM
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Reader Comments (9)

actions speak louder than words. by getting off your butt and finding a solution, rather than exasperating the situation, you not only did a service to you co-workers, but to yourself as well. thank you for the reminder, i now know what i need to do.
April 16, 2009 | Unregistered Commentermary kent
There is a chain of command at work, and by stepping down a rung into another's shoes, you have thrown a wrench into the system. Your boss might have had your best interest in mind by wanting to protect the status of your position. If every CEO and leader was busy cleaning out the fridge, who would do the heavy lifting? Likewise, what would happen if the janitor stepped in to problem solve for you? You would probably not like that very much.

I am not disagreeing with your approach, but trying to view it from both the employee-employer perspective.
April 16, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterDonald Faulkner
@Donald - Fair point. But I really think that keeping people to their exact job descriptions - and inside their little safety bubbles - is very 20th century. It likely boils down to personal preference. I'd rather work for someone willing to get their hands dirty any day of the week. More importantly, I like problem solvers on my team.
April 16, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterAndrew G.R.
Andrew, my favorite professor in college told a story that I still remember and cherish. He worked in HR management for a hospital. One day, several janitors didn't show up for work, and he went downstairs, rolled up his sleeves, and helped clean up with the other staff. They loved him for helping, and they took him more seriously as a supervisor afterward.

@Mary-I'm still trying to decide what my "refrigerator" is, but I feel the same drive to get something done!
@Donald-It's not an all day, every day thing. It was a one-time display of leadership. Big difference.
April 16, 2009 | Registered CommenterBen Eubanks
What you did was very commendable. It's a shame your boss couldn't appreciate your actions.
April 17, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterAnthony
You're very brave. Apologies, but ew! lol. Then again, I'd probably clean the fridge here at work if ever (in the very, VERY off chance that) it gets filthy. Except probably when I won't be able to breathe. Haha. People should have more than enough decency and decorum to not make a mess in the company fridge though!
April 22, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterImee
Totally agree with your views. Ugh, I'd be so annoyed if someone said that to me.
April 25, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterEva
People in the office ought to be responsible for their own food. I worked with a lot of wealthy New Yorkers and some of them are just spoiled and would rather wait for the cleaning services to clean the fridge and even wash their own dishes in the sink.
April 29, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterMr. Chow
Some people are just glass half empty people and cannot appreciate ingenuity.
I like the article.
May 13, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterRachel

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