When I am on a meal break at work, I always find the side of the kitchen sink littered with dirty glasses and cutlery used by other staff members, just left sitting around for someone else to clean.
At the start of my meal break I always fill the sink with hot, soapy water to wash my dishes. At the end of my meal break, after the dishes are done, I always let the water out of the sink.
One day anther staff member asked me to leave the water in the sink so he could use it. At the end of his meal break he washed his own dishes and the dirty dishes strewn around the edge of the sink, which I don’t do.
I walked into the meal room at the end of my shift to rinse my coffee mug to find a sink full of gungy, grotty cold dishwater. The water was too disgusting for anyone to want to put their hand in to pull the plug out. This is always my fear.
One person may wash their dishes in their own water and leave the sink empty for the next person. One person may leave water in the sink for the next person, but never return to pull out the plug. One person will never wash their own dishes, leaving them for someone else to clean. One person is left with the task of sinking their hands into someone else’s dirty water.
Which person are you?
Michael Cunliffe
The Thoughts Of Odvito 