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I think it is a little off putting to ask someone to put together their own furniture on the first day of work. Although I would have put it together because I would just be happy to have a job, I would have been thrown. Could none of the other employees put it together and have it already set up?
If you need the job and it strikes you as odd but you can do it, go ahead and put it together but keep looking for a better job cause this just sounds strange. Maybe it's a red flag maybe not but they sound cheap. I don't give them a pass on this even if a start up. They should have hired a handyman to do this.
I think it is a little off putting to ask someone to put together their own furniture on the first day of work. Although I would have put it together because I would just be happy to have a job, I would have been thrown. Could none of the other employees put it together and have it already set up?
Agreed. That seems sort of rude, and it would make me wonder about the company as a whole. What else would they ask me to do during my tenure there?
I would have enjoyed it -- I love putting furniture together, and I'm a woman! Good grief, what a bunch of whiners! Give it a shot, and if you can't manage it, throw up your hands and say, "Gee, I'm too stupid to follow directions designed for 3rd graders and screw two pieces of wood together . . ."
the funny thing is if someone goes along with it and just assembles it, there's a high chance they'll ask the same person to put together furniture again, for someone else. This pattern will continue.Or they'll ask you to take a look at the boiler or some other thing. IF someone is desperate for a job or has no experience, maybe I can justify doing it. But others with plenty of serious white collar experience or medical issues aren't going to bother even debating this: the answer is going to be an excuse or a polite no. I've never seen attorneys, doctors or other such folks assemble anything. I've never seen their assistants either. Even in small places.
There are polite and nice ways of saying "no" and using excuses because you don't want to come off confrontational. There's no need to be rude or emotional about it. There are ways of letting people know from the beginning that there are areas you don't feel comfortable venturing into. The issue is not whether you know how to assemble things or not. Issue is whether doing this task benefits your career at that place or not?
But I suspect the OP is not an attorney, doctor or "other such folk", now, are they? And BTW, I've seen plenty of white collar people assembling furniture, including attorneys and doctors. Why hire someone to do something you can do yourself as a change of pace? This isn't rocket-science, and refusing to do so makes the OP sound like some sort of "I'm too good to do this" prima dona on their first day.
I would have enjoyed it -- I love putting furniture together, and I'm a woman! Good grief, what a bunch of whiners! Give it a shot, and if you can't manage it, throw up your hands and say, "Gee, I'm too stupid to follow directions designed for 3rd graders and screw two pieces of wood together . . ."
lol, I put everything together yesterday.
I was just a bit thrown being that it was my first day..... I showed up in my best work clothes...u know, first day type stuff ....shirt, tie, pressed slacks, shoes shined...and an hour later I find myself on the floor holding up one piece of a chair with my knee while I support the other side of the chair with my elbow as I screw them both together... It's not that I couldn't follow the directions (admittedly it was kind of complicated lol) it's just like "ummm, wtf?" on my first day.
I've only worked at 2 other offices before and never had to lift a finger in regards to facilities type stuff like furniture or trash or building maintenance... I'm quite proud to say im sitting on my swivel chair that I put together as I type this.
Well, OP (funny how that OP works out whether it's for original poster or Optimus Prime), you have shown yourself to be a flexible person with a sense of humor and those two characteristics alone will take you far. Nobody likes a diva.
Don't spend a lot of time spinning in that chair, though. You may have left off a screw or something.
I wouldn't even give them an excuse. I would have said I don't know how to put furniture together and I don't want to learn. The End.
The convo after that would have went along these lines:
"Now, what did you do with the Old furniture? Oh, you got rid of it. That's okay. I'll take my laptop out to the reception area and do my work on there. What printer can I use?"
I refuse to be taken advantage of in ANY way just because some employers believe they can.
I agree that the furniture thing is a bit unusual, but that's not a great attitude to display at work.
Personally, I'd have chuckled and said "sure, no problem" and gone ahead and did what needed to be done. If I didn't think I had the skills and ability, or had a concern about not being able to physically perform the work, I'd explain that.
" that's not my job" is almost always a career-limiting attitude.
I would have enjoyed it -- I love putting furniture together, and I'm a woman! Good grief, what a bunch of whiners! Give it a shot, and if you can't manage it, throw up your hands and say, "Gee, I'm too stupid to follow directions designed for 3rd graders and screw two pieces of wood together . . ."
Whiner, eh? Your post doesn't sound much better - I'd rather sound like a whiner than a jerk.
And I have seen instructions that are definately NOT designed for 3rd graders.
I wouldn't even give them an excuse. I would have said I don't know how to put furniture together and I don't want to learn. The End.
The convo after that would have went along these lines:
"Now, what did you do with the Old furniture? Oh, you got rid of it. That's okay. I'll take my laptop out to the reception area and do my work on there. What printer can I use?"
I refuse to be taken advantage of in ANY way just because some employers believe they can.
As an employer, I would fire you. Because I assure you, I can.
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