Office Worker Refuses to Clean Coffee Machine, Sparking Workplace Debate
A woman who doesn’t drink coffee pushed back on being assigned coffee machine cleaning duty
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Stock photo of a woman preparing coffee in an officeNEED TO KNOW
An office worker said they were expected to clean a shared coffee machine they never used
The cleaning duty included washing coworkers’ mugs and handling extra mess during business visits
When they asked to be removed from the rotation, the request divided coworkers and sparked a larger debate
One office employee turned to Reddit after a disagreement over a communal coffee machine left them questioning whether fairness had been replaced by obligation.
In their post, the worker explained that they shared a break room with about 20 coworkers and that the space included “a fancy coffee machine, a lot of mugs, and a dishwasher for said mugs.” They added that the machine required daily cleaning “so that the milk inside does not curdle overnight.”
The responsibility rotated weekly among non-managerial staff, meaning the poster was expected to take a turn every few months. During those weeks, the person on duty also had to manage mugs left behind, noting that “everyone leaves their dirty mugs in the kitchen sink” and expects the dishwasher to be run multiple times a day.
The workload intensified when managers hosted visitors, as the poster said those days “can add up to a lot of mugs to cater to the visitors’ coffee needs.” While they understood the idea of shared responsibility, they felt their situation was different for one key reason.
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Stock photo of a woman making a coffee in an office“I do not drink coffee,” the employee wrote, emphasizing that this was “a well-known fact among my coworkers that I dislike coffee.” They explained that they didn’t use the machine for coffee, hot chocolate, hot water or even mugs, preferring drinks they brought from home in their own container.
Because of that, the worker asked to be removed from the rotation entirely. “I find it a bit ridiculous to only touch the coffee machine to clean it,” they wrote, adding that it felt unfair to clean up after something they would “most likely never” use.
The request divided the office, with some coworkers agreeing and others pushing back. According to the post, some argued that contributing was simply part of “living in society” and something the employee should do “to keep the peace.”
The poster, however, felt those objections weren’t entirely neutral. They argued that coworkers had “a vested interest in me participating so that they can clean less often,” and said the issue had become about principle rather than effort.
“I am aware that this is just a coffee machine, and I’d be cleaning it for just a week every few months,” they acknowledged. Still, they maintained that being expected to clean something they never used continued to bother them.
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Reddit commenters largely sided with the employee, including one who responded firmly, “You shouldn’t be cleaning the coffee setup.” The commenter went on to suggest that everyone should be responsible for their own mug and clean the area after each use, though they admitted that idea might be unrealistic.
Read the original article on People
