There seems to be an unwritten rule in many workplaces where the job description is merely a suggestion.
You apply to be a receptionist and two weeks later, you’re also the cleaner. A month later, you’re handling sales and before you realize it, you’re answering customer complaints, making tea for visitors, fixing the printer all because you’re young, and oh, you’re expected to smile through it all. In all of these, your salary remains unchanged yet workload has been multiplied. Apparently, versatility only matters when it’s convenient for the employer. I’m speaking from experience.
When I interviewed for my last job, I applied to be a front desk officer. The interview revolved around exactly that. There was no mention of cleaning duties, facility maintenance, or any additional responsibilities outside the role. But two weeks in, the manager casually informed me that I would now be responsible for cleaning the premises, including the toilets.
Naturally, I questioned it and his response was that if I couldn’t bear it, I could as well quit. That alone told me all I needed to know about the imbalance of power in many workplaces because what was presented to me wasn’t negotiable it was an ultimatum. Therefore, by the end of my second month, I wasn’t just the front desk officer anymore, I was the salesperson, the cleaner and whatever else the company needed that day. And, as the day went by, all these extra responsibilities were now considered part of my “soft job.” I’ve always found that phrase amusing.
People just go about mistaking work that isn’t physically demanding for work that isn’t mentally exhausting. Standing almost all day, attending to customers, resolving complaints, meeting sales targets, maintaining professionalism, switching between multiple roles, and then being expected to clean the workplace isn’t in any freaking way soft. Simply put, it is multiple jobs compressed into one paycheck.
Now, before anyone tells me that every employee should be flexible, I agree and I am aware that a workplace occasionally requires teamwork. Helping out once in a while isn’t exploitation. But, the problem begins when temporary assistance becomes a permanent job description.
Flexibility is one thing, role inflation is another.
What makes the situation worse is that many employees feel they can’t object. So employers leverage on the fact that jobs are scarce and bills obviously don’t wait. So “if you don’t like it, leave” becomes a powerful weapon as there’s someone else desperate enough to accept almost anything.
Consent obtained through economic desperation is hardly meaningful consent.
Trust me, the issue isn’t cleaning. There’s absolutely nothing shameful about honest work, cleaning is dignified work, reception is dignified work, being in sales is dignified work. The problem is basically transparency.
If you need someone who will perform all three roles, advertise the position honestly. Call it a multi-role administrative assistant. There’s no big deal in listing every responsibility then offering a compensation that reflects the workload. When that is done, allow applicants to decide whether the position is worth accepting.
What shouldn’t happen is hiring someone for one position and gradually adding responsibilities until they’re effectively doing the work of three employees for the salary of one. Good employers understand that every additional responsibility has value while poor employers treat responsibility as though it’s free.
And unfortunately, too many workers have been conditioned to believe they should simply be grateful to have a job at all, forgetting that employment shouldn’t be built on gratitude alone but also on fairness. When businesses normalize expanding duties without expanding pay, they’re not rewarding no hard work. They’re simply rewarding silence and pretty sooner or later, silence resigns. Like I did! No regrets whatsoever.
