"That's not in my job description!" - Dear Prudence

[Yvaine]

I have done occasional work via a temp company.  Part of what the temp company informs all new hires is 'you are not permitted to exceed your job description'.  They even specifically state the 'go fetch lunch' thing is something temps are supposed to refuse to do.  It violates the 'exceeding job description' thing as well as the 'use of your personal vehicle' thing.

I think some of this s very regional though.

I was a temp for years an getting lunch was absolutely part of the job and something an admin temp could not refuse to do.

But - "getting lunch" in every job I've ever had involved calling in an order, meeting the delivery person at the door and paying the bill with funds provided, then appropriately filing/passing off the receipt, and then making sure the lunch area was stocked with supplies (plates, napkins, cutlery, etc).  There is no leaving the premises to even go outside, let alone use one's own vehicle (in my area most employees probably don't even own personal vehicles and if they do they certainly don't drive them to work!)

This is my workplace too. As the office assistant, I get put in charge of lunch sometimes for a meeting or event, but it doesn't involve leaving the building--it's compiling everybody's orders, getting the funding together (whether that means getting the dept. card or petty cash, or getting money individually from people, depending on circumstances), calling the restaurant, and then meeting the delivery person. The last is usually the most troublesome as our building is confusing and getting delivery people to us is like coaching them to land a flight in heavy fog. 

ETA: I live in a city of about 100,000.

[WillyNilly]

I have done occasional work via a temp company.  Part of what the temp company informs all new hires is 'you are not permitted to exceed your job description'.  They even specifically state the 'go fetch lunch' thing is something temps are supposed to refuse to do.  It violates the 'exceeding job description' thing as well as the 'use of your personal vehicle' thing.

I think some of this s very regional though.

I was a temp for years an getting lunch was absolutely part of the job and something an admin temp could not refuse to do.

But - "getting lunch" in every job I've ever had involved calling in an order, meeting the delivery person at the door and paying the bill with funds provided, then appropriately filing/passing off the receipt, and then making sure the lunch area was stocked with supplies (plates, napkins, cutlery, etc).  There is no leaving the premises to even go outside, let alone use one's own vehicle (in my area most employees probably don't even own personal vehicles and if they do they certainly don't drive them to work!)

This is my workplace too. As the office assistant, I get put in charge of lunch sometimes for a meeting or event, but it doesn't involve leaving the building--it's compiling everybody's orders, getting the funding together (whether that means getting the dept. card or petty cash, or getting money individually from people, depending on circumstances), calling the restaurant, and then meeting the delivery person. The last is usually the most troublesome as our building is confusing and getting delivery people to us is like coaching them to land a flight in heavy fog. 

ETA: I live in a city of about 100,000.

Exactly.  IME "ordering lunch" is no less an administrative a task then "ordering more pens" or "ordering paper for the copier".

[Garden Goblin]

Exactly.  IME "ordering lunch" is no less an administrative a task then "ordering more pens" or "ordering paper for the copier".

I'm from a town of about 40000 people and currently am in a town with about 4000 people.  Currently, while most restaurants around here have no problem packing an order for takeout, the only one that delivers is actually in the next town, only serves about a third of this town, and is Dominoes.    In the larger town, we had a choice between Dominoes, Pizza Hut, and a very expensive special occasions catering service that required a week's advance notice.  I think there might have been a Papa John's for a while. 

[SoCalVal]

I have done occasional work via a temp company.  Part of what the temp company informs all new hires is 'you are not permitted to exceed your job description'.  They even specifically state the 'go fetch lunch' thing is something temps are supposed to refuse to do.  It violates the 'exceeding job description' thing as well as the 'use of your personal vehicle' thing.

Also, there is the gray area of discrimination and bullying.  If you are constantly altering the job description of one person to make that person do menial tasks, then you may well be discriminating against or bullying that person.

Yes, as an employee, there are times that I will stand up for myself and say something like 'that is not in my job description'.  Your choice then, as an employer, is to treat me like a human being or to fire me and be prepared to pay unemployment/deal with a lawsuit.

In the past, simply because I am a woman, I have had to inform bosses and co-workers (and occasionally underlings) that I am not A) a babysitter, B) a cook, C) responsible for planning their personal lives, D) their social (off-work) secretary, E) their seamstress, F) their 'how to get laid' advice dispenser, G) mother, H) hairdresser, I) janitor, J) weekend and evening chauffeur, K) makeover artist, L) homework proof-checker, M) date, N) doctor, O) manicure/pedicurist, or P) child's birthday party coordinator and entertainment provider.  I am a designer and programmer.

I may, if asked nicely and it is a rare thing / emergency, undertake some of the above tasks.  If there is back and forth in terms of the favors you can generally ask more of me (I had no problem hemming Danny's pants for him but that was because he put the alternator on my car for me.  A former supervisor acted as a tax preparer for me and I handled all arrangements for his daughter's 5th birthday.)  But I reserve the right to set boundaries.  If that bothers you, you are welcome to find someone else who will take time away from doing the tasks for which they were hired (and for which there are often deadlines).   I was hired at X dollars an hour for the tasks in my job description.  If you want me to do any of the above tasks, we need to renegotiate that rate.

In one of my temp assignments, taking care of lunch/dinner for meetings was part of my job.  It did not require me to go pick up the food.  We had a list of vendors who either catered and/or delivered.  However, on my very last day of my assignment, a panicked supervisor ran up to my desk wondering where lunch was for the meeting that was taking place right then (I worked for a huge private practice, and they got very nervous about upsetting the physician-owners -- some of who were at this meeting).  I had to scramble to order lunch and learned, because it was lunch time, that it would be a lo-o-o-ong time before someone could deliver to us.  I couldn't go so the supervisor in question had to find someone to run out and pick up lunch.  Why was lunch not ordered?  My coworker who should've handled it the day before forgot, and she was unreachable because she was busy attending the welcome lunch for the person who got hired into the position in which I was temping (I'd applied to but lost out in the final decision).

At the brokerage where I had once worked, we the office staff were required to not only order lunch/dinner for meetings (or just because if the office wanted to treat), run the dishwasher for things we used for the office in general, pick up kitchen supplies that we couldn't have delivered and make coffee every morning.  HOWEVER, what we didn't do was wash anyone's dishes, and our receptionist made it very clear that everyone was responsible for his/her own mugs, dishes, utensils, etc. (darn lazy folk would do things like leave their dirty items in the sink or on the counter expecting we were a maid service but our normally very accommodating and generous receptionist said absolutely not to that entitled behavior).  I didn't mind running out to get supplies (typically a Costco run).  My days there weren't very busy so getting paid to shop didn't bother me any.

[Fleur-de-Lis]

Ironically, my boss just handed me his credit card and an order sheet - along with an apology that he would not normally ask this of me and an offer that I could add something for myself if I liked.  No big deal. 

[shadowfox79]

Fortunately, the only times I've had to order lunch have been at my current workplace, and we have our own hospitality team. It's just a matter of filling in an online form.

However, I do remember a time at the Council when my team were ordered to provide lunch at half an hour's notice. I was in a meeting at the time, but came out to find the receptionist and filing clerk had had to run out, get ingredients and make a trayload of sandwiches. They weren't paid back, either.

If I'd been involved, I'd have done it too, but I'd have been slightly hacked off.

[BabyMama]

Are there actually companies out there that reward and promote "team players?" I've never come across any. Usually, the people who are willing to do these little chores are the first folks laid off.

In my current job I've actually been told several times, by two different bosses, that I'm too helpful and should pull it back

[Garden Goblin]

Ironically, my boss just handed me his credit card and an order sheet - along with an apology that he would not normally ask this of me and an offer that I could add something for myself if I liked.  No big deal.

IMHO, different situation.  That is give and take.  The whole 'hey if you make the lunch run I'll treat' thing is on an entirely different level.

At the brokerage where I had once worked, we the office staff were required to not only order lunch/dinner for meetings (or just because if the office wanted to treat), run the dishwasher for things we used for the office in general, pick up kitchen supplies that we couldn't have delivered and make coffee every morning. 

So, in that case, it actually was part of your job description.  Acceptable situation, it was your job, you weren't being pulled away from your job to do it, and you were compensated appropriately.

[blarg314]

In my institute we have a pretty standard routine for ordering lunches. For internal or regularly scheduled meetings, there's actually a website, where you sign up and tick off which lunch you want, usually with a deadline of 10am the day of the meeting. Then the meeting organizer takes the list to the appropriate admin person, who phones in the order, and deals with payment.  For other meetings, it's similar, but without the web form.

Ordering lunch boxes is a very common thing here - it's also the default for things like school lunches - and there are companies that do nothing but that. But you need to get the order in on time if you want a lot of them.

The admin staff also handles things like stocking the coffee and tea in the tea room and making coffee and ordering snacks for meetings (and sometimes cutting up fresh fruit for the same).

[snowdragon]

Fetching lunch,,,not a big deal once in awhile. If it becomes daily and it impacts my gas to a serious extent, not ok.

 BUT I do think that the Phrase "It's not my job" definitely has its place in certain circumstances. For instance I used to be a home health care aid and one of the girls who worked a with me at a nursing home ( we were both private pay aids for daily visitors to the place) had a client who wanted her to change adult diapers for the person her client was visiting, toilet and clean her, bathe her and so forth. Yes, it is her job to do that for HIM, not for a third party. It was a great deal of liability for her and she told the client "Not my job" several times. 
  I think there is a bit of sucking it up to be done on any job...but sometimes you have to draw boundaries at work,too

[blueyzca01]

I read an article today that discussed the fact that, due to the recession, many jobs formerly held by teenagers/young adults are actually being filled by older workers. 

And, in some cases, teenagers/young adults prefer to volunteer or take on internships to get ahead in life, since everything is so competitive now. 

If you’ve never had a paying job in “the real world” before, some things might not be so obvious, like the need to suck it up and do what you’re asked/told so that you get along in business.