Have you ever seen that meme online of a guy sitting in a chair eating popcorn watching an image of the earth burn, and the caption of the photo is something like [paraphrased], “Me watching everything burn down after I warned management about the dumpster fire which they chose to ignore”? I often wonder why managers ignore these warning voices, and I’ve heard more than one story from those warning voices about just how many times they warned management of a problem. That’s where suckers…I mean people…like me come in.
In previous jobs, I’ve had the role of “the cleaner” when management has ignored an issue repeatedly, and then they realize it has gotten out of control and MUST be dealt with immediately. That’s when they start looking for quiet, hard-working, dedicated, and organized individuals who won’t talk back. (At least, I used to be quiet and not talk back.) As “the cleaner,” I have spent a lot of time cleaning up messes left behind by other people, and sometimes the mess is so bad that I can’t get it all cleaned up before I move on even when I’ve been in a job for years.
I won’t lie. I like to clean up messes. I like to throw out what needs to be thrown out. I like to sort items for duplicates. I like to organize items for use. I like to give away things that can be repurposed. I like to create and leave behind an organized space. If I could find a job decluttering and then organizing a space, I would probably take it, but I’ve learned a few things from my previous employment experiences.
Last year, I had a job interview, and one of the duties would have been catching up on a job that was very behind schedule. I asked the supervisor what the ultimate goal was and how long it would take. Her comment was, “Wow, that’s a good question.” I didn’t get the job which turned out to be a major blessing in disguise, but her comment made me think. One of my skills is cleaning up after other people make a mess, and I can’t deny it. However, I now understand that there are limits to how much management can demand when they have allowed the “dumpster fire” to burn out of control for so long that it becomes an institutional problem. I don’t mind cleaning up after someone, but management doesn’t get to dictate how and in what time a mess gets cleaned up. A good manager would have caught the problem before it became a dumpster fire, or if they are a new manager, a good new manager would have started putting out the dumpster fire when they arrived. When they don’t, “cleaners” like me are awarded the task of cleaning up the mess.
As I create a better work-from-home office, I have thought about the fact that I have a lot of work experience doing this very similar thing, but I’ve learned boundaries over the demands employers can place on my skills. I’ll work hard to make a space or job role better, but I no longer have the patience to deal with poor management that allowed the mess to occur. This may make it a bit difficult for me to find a job in which I’m cleaning up after management let an employee get out of control, but I can leverage my “cleaner” skills into a different line of work such as working with a company that gets clutter under control, a professional organizer, or even a moving company that helps people downsize before a move.
If you have grabbed a copy of What Color Is Your Parachute?, you may have realized by now that it’s okay to think outside the box when it comes to career ideas. Bolles discusses looking for unique jobs and skimming that material earlier this week helped my see my “cleaner” status in a new light. I haven’t quite figured out how I might leverage this skill, but I’m now open to the possibilities it reveals. Whatever unique skill you have that makes you stand out a bit, don’t be afraid to take that skill out and examine it in detail. You just might dust it off and find a good place to use it.
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Inspirational Verse for the Day:
She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle. (Proverbs 31:27, CSB)
All Things Subject to Change 