A new report has highlighted the top 50 unexpected tasks British workers say they do in their job role in an effort to strike a dialogue about animal labour. The report found that 13 per cent of employees have been so disgruntled about the work they were being asked to do, as the tasks were too far removed from their job description, they’ve left the job.
Jeremy Hulme Chief Executive of working animal charity SPANA explains “The good news is that the majority of people do have a choice, and if a job becomes too inappropriate, difficult or stressful, they can often leave or do something about it. That’s the difference between working people in Britain and working animals abroad, which have no choice.”
Animal labour is a big issue overseas with many being mistreated in an effort to create profit. Jeremy Hulme continued: “We need to support these working horses, donkeys, camels and other animals to improve their conditions and ensure they have the vet care they need when they are sick or injured.”
So should British workers spend more time feeling lucky they are not animals working overseas or do we just need to buckle down and be grateful we have jobs? The report found that cleaning toilets, teaching English to foreign colleagues and wearing revealing or indecent clothes to model in are just some of the unexpected tasks Brits have been asked to do.
The research also found that when it comes to baby making, colleagues are expected to pick up the slack. One respondent told how they were asked to work overtime to allow another colleague to nip home and make love – as his partner was at the fertile point in her month. Another was asked to babysit a colleague’s children while continuing with their normal workload, while one ‘kind’ boss asked two staff members to dress up as the Easter bunny and deliver Easter eggs to all the other worker.
The truth is both workers and employees have to pick up the slack in the current working environment at a time when jobs are being cut and Brexit casts uncertainty on the year ahead. However one thing that must not be sacrificed is the respect for both employee and employer. Like it or not there are many workers who feel that they have gotten to a point in their career that means certain tasks are beneath them, this isn’t inherently a bad thing it simply means that they have pride in their job and respect for the work they have put in which employers should also recognise.
The flip side is that nowadays employees have more right than sense as many of the recent strikes should tell us. However, if you think it’s just grumbling employees take a look at the findings below and ask yourself how many of the tasks are you willing to do?
TOP 50 UNEXPECTED TASKS
1. Sweep the floors
2. Cleaning toilets
3. Clearing up rubbish
4. Feeding animals
5. Unknotting Christmas lights
6. Cuddle someone
7. Type phone contacts into a spreadsheet
8. Removing hair from hairbrushes
9. Stack books
10. Play computer games
11. Pack and stack boxes
12. Erecting fences
13. Wash people’s hair
14. Plan a wedding
15. Soak and peel the labels off bottles
16. Cut pre-made sandwiches into triangles
17. Peel the pith from satsuma segments
18. Shredding paper manually due to a broken-down shredder
19. Polish cutlery with vinegar
20. Hand grating massive bowls of cheese
21. Attaching security tags / labels to products
22. Teach English to foreign colleagues
23. Remove stitches
24. Taste testing
25. Separating security pins from tags
26. Dressing up as a cartoon character
27. Stacking coat hangers
28. Dust books with a paintbrush
29. Dress in a sandwich board in public
30. Wear fake tan and wax chest
31. Wear revealing or indecent clothes to model in
32. Packing fish
33. Do all the boss’s Christmas shopping
34. Cleaning the top of changing room mirrors
35. Stuff crackers
36. Colour separate skittles / sweets
37. Being a Sports mascot
38. Remove poo from swimming pools
39. Cleaning up road kill
40. Post false good comments about the company online
41. Fire someone, even though it wasn’t your place to do so
42. Fill donuts with jam
43. Chopping the heads off kippers
44. Write Christmas card jokes
45. Eat dog food
46. Delete all emails and files from the boss’s computer
47. Pose as a member of the opposite sex for the day
48. Spy on senior management
49. Buy underwear for the boss’s wife
50. Stand in a line pretending to queue for the sales
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