Domestics in the workplace

Well, I survived my first day back as an office worker. Everyone was very welcoming which makes a big difference when you're the newbie. But, offices are the same the world over - same issues, same problems, same characters.

The state of the office fridge and kitchen were hotly debated issues in the staff meeting with the usual tales of mouldy horrors and salmonella scares. Promises of more discipline and consideration for others. As I sat listening to this it did cross my mind that there is money in coming up with a solution for this age old problem of poor domestic standards in the workplace.

I've seen many solutions to this problem - rotas for cleaning, cleaners employed specifically to keep the germs at bay, dishwashers and nazi style supervision. I'm not sure that they have ever been totally successful because workplace kitchens are a public place, hence a total lack of ownership by the people who use them. It's natures way that people will think that the domestic fairy will come in and wave their magic wand.

It's true that on my first visit to the kitchen (after two laps round the office trying to remember where the door was) that standards were poor - I did manage to find a clean mug and glass so was able to secure plenty of liquid refreshment. I admit I didn't venture for the milk in the fridge preferring to stick to my peppermint tea but there were people complaining about sour milk being left in the fridge.

However, at the end of the day I was astonished, the domestic fairy had been - the dishwasher was whirring away, the sink was sparkling clean and the cupboard full of shiny mugs. Even the fridge had been emptied of its debris. Time will tell if this is a daily occurance of someone cracking under the peer pressure from the staff meeting.

Still, I survived my first day and have planned my first task for Monday morning. I shall take duster in hand and give my desk a jolly good clean - it's like moving house, you don't want to live with other people's dirt. I accept that my domestic-executive standards have risen in recent weeks but more importantly I feel the need to mark my territory. After all I've got to live with it for 40 hours a week for the next 10 weeks.