sighhswolf

I would like to ask a simple question.
If in the course of your daily work routine, one of your fellow employees stopped you and said to you, "Hey, the boss says he wants you to scrub the floor in your area before you leave today".

Now, this person is an associate just as yourself, and in fact the person has no more responsibility than you do.

Traditionally a precedent has been established that when instructions are given through management to the associates, it is a one on one directive from supervision.

If a directive is important enough that it requires changes in the job descriptions or a new team goal there would be a shift meeting to expand on the directive with the boss giving each and every one of the team instructions so that they are all reading off the same page so to speak.

Today is different, and for some reason this fellow associate has assumed the responsibility of giving you a directive from management that requires you to perform a duty that you question, or that has been changed from the normal operating procedures.

What do you do?
How do you react?What do you say to this person?
There is a point to this question.
But I am curious about any responses.

Help me out here?
Theists and Non-theists.
Wolf

cheetah

I would question, verify, get proof before making any firm changes. I would also take it with a grain of salt depending upon this person's "track record."

Same as I do with religion or anything else people tell me about. Is that your question? God is the boss and the co-worker is a priest or other religious leader?

hezekiah jones

"How would you like to honk on bobo."

Stephen Maturin

I was going to suggest, "Step up to the mike," but hezekiah's suggestion is better and conveys the same sentiment.

ManM

Does the floor actually need scrubbing?

wordsmyth

I think scrubbing floors is morally wrong. The systematic extermination of dirt and bacteria is highly immoral.

Viti

Is your janitorial staff on strike?

Tusitala

"Well, if management wants me to do it, they can ask me to do it."

Assuming your co-worker is an arsehole sycophant, he'll go running to the boss to dob you in.

If management doesn't ask you to do it personally, you're off the hook since the sycophant didn't relay your request back to management.

If management does respond in person, you get to negotiate.

(if you really wanted a serious response)

[edited for spelling]

[ May 07, 2002: Message edited by: Tusitala ]</p>

Born Free

I'd be extremely pissed off with said associate. It doesn't matter how nicely he said it but the fact that he has.

My response would probably be "Who put the stripes on your shoulder?" and I wouldn't do it until management directly requested me to do it. Then I'd bring it to the attention of the supervisor/manager.

I don't take orders from anyone who isn't paid to be my boss. Give me a job I'll do it no questions asked and I'll always give it 100% but only if you pay my wages.

wordsmyth

The 11th, and least well known Commandment, is "Thou shalt not scrub floors". Didn't you know?