Annoyed with the office cleaner

[VerySweatyBetty1]

Here’s a thing:

I've suspected for some time that our office cleanerr sits and dozes / charges his phone / eats his breakfast in my chair. I’ve never quite caught him but I’ve often ‘surprised’ him ‘suddenly cleaning’ when I've walked in earlier than normal (I'm a late person). My office is an easy choice – comfy, fan, phone charger ready plugged in on my desk. He will have noticed I’m rarely in before 9.30 and he can listen out for people coming in and out. In fact, as I’m above the front door, you can hear people arriving as the door slams shut.

He's been caught out in the past by leaving his breakfast on my desk, and coming back for it. Apologetically.

My colleague once nearly caught him in another office, so it's a known thing amongst us that this happens.

Yesterday there were some ear buds in a case on my desk. Barely anyone else here this week and nobody would want to sit here anyway, as they all have their own comfy offices. So I was pretty sure they were the cleaners. Wondering what to do / and wondering what he would do, I put them in my desk drawer while I thought about it. That was yesterday. This morning they’ve gone. This means he’s come in looking for his earbuds and has opened my personal drawers in my desk. These contain my personal effects – medication, spare underwear, receipts, personal letters and cards. I can't lock the door of my office or of my drawers. We're a pretty low-security establishment and trust one another.

In addition: we have a very narrow entrance to our building (which is part of a group of buildings, which are all serviced by an external company). He has taken up residence at the foot of the stairs. Eats his lunch there. sits on the stairs having loud conversations on his phone. We have to literally climb over him to get in and out, including when we have visitors.

I've always found this highly annoying and inappropriate but my colleagues don't seem to mind and tolerate it and I don't want to be the office bitch. The bloke is bussed in with a load of others from goodness knows where, at the crack of dawn, probably on the minimum wage and probably not well treated. There must be a common room where his colleagues hang out, but he seems to prefer our stairwell. Maybe they bully him, and he just wants some peace and quiet. So, I don't want to ruin things for him but he's crossed a line.

He speaks barely a single word of English, so I can't even have a gentle chat with him (or I'd have done it by now). The only way to communicate is via his boss. I suppose I could use Google Translate and leave him a note:

"Please do not take rest breaks at my desk, and do not open my drawers"

I don't want to scare him, though, or I'll end up being the one in trouble.

WWYD?

Many posters have pointed out to you @VerySweatyBetty1 that the man may be working for someone who is an unscrupulous employer as there are a few red flags mentioned in your posts but you never responded to the posters' concerns.
As you are someone who is working in the charity sector I'm a bit surprised

OP would say “They’d been left on my desk and I had no idea who they belonged to, so I put them out of the way until I could find out”. The End.

Totally unprofessional.

Set some ground rules!!!

Did you not see the post where she said that the ‘charity’ designation was only about VAT? Doesn’t seem like the sort of place that has a charitable ethos running it through it to me.

Sitting on the stairs is hindering a means of escape, health and safety breach, going into your office drawers is an invasion of privacy, both need to stop. Report him for sitting on the stairs, fire risk, and if your office is small enough say that you'll clean it yourself so there's no need for him to go there, he's not cleaning it anyway so no difference

Personally I’d leave him alone
I don’t pay him
it’s not my house/ home its work

but most importantly a lifetime ago I’ve cleaned and know what its like to be looked down on and treated like shit by people who think they are superior because your cleaning up after them

I can see why you’d be annoyed. And there is a security risk here if you were to leave anything valuable. But also there’s a risk to him if someone loses something and he’s accused but innocent. He should have a designated place for breaks and meals, not plonking himself just anywhere.

If you don’t feel it’s right to speak to his boss, why not have a quiet word with yours. You don’t have to be moaning or complaining, just raising concerns that the cleaner may not be being properly treated and the security concerns you have. There is something that doesn’t feel quite right here.

You work for a Charity but certainly aren't charitable in your views towards him and disparaging comments!
He won't have a canteen or any facilities to take a break and you're bemoaning the possibility he might be sitting on a chair, that is not yours.
And Jesus wept!

I'm not sure what the problem is ....

I'm an office cleaner,we are sub contractors.
His behaviour would not be acceptable in my workplace. But then, though things are not perfect, we do enjoy reasonable pay and conditions.

No I didn't see that @Cornettoninja

Exactly this. He’s there to do a job - minimum wage or not.

I totally agree with you Op, I’d be furious if I kept finding basically a stranger sitting at my desk ‘making himself at home’, and obviously rummaging through my drawers. I hate it when colleagues use my desk when I’m not there if they leave crumbs, drink stains, etc on my desk. If you have to share a desk it’s different but you can still agree with your colleagues to keep the desk clean and tidy. Also is he not actually doing any of his ‘proper’ work? If not I’d have a quiet word with your boss.

Why do you have spare knickers in your work desk drawers?! That seems mega peculiar to me - am I the only one?

Signs of modern slavery and human trafficking
Get a grip
And don't hide his ear buds in future

I was always careful to treat the works cleaner as the most important person in the company and I was always friendly and spoke to whoever happened to be employed in that role which was normally an "retired gentleman". I had many interesting conversations with the cleaner over the years such as things they did in their younger days. I can't say that I ever had a problem with a cleaner in nearly 40 years, possibly because I regarded them as an equal.

This.
He's clearly not doing his job properly - op should raise the cleaning concerns with her boss; also the sitting on the stairs needs to stop.
As to the concerns about his terms of employment, those are not op's responsibility, but she should raise them with whoever is responsible for the contract. Even small companies have a legal responsibility to look through suppliers' contracts to ensure their sub contractors are employed legally.

Of course YANBU and you're a nicer person than I am because I would have reported this CF long ago and his earbuds would have gone in the nearest public bin! This thread is mad. I've never worked anywhere where this behaviour would be tolerated.

Have you never leaked when you've been on your period??

About 15 years ago we had a similar issue with contracted out night security. They’d come into our kitchen/breakout area and use our coffee, tea, milk and biscuits (these were paid for by us, not the (public sector) employer), and watch our TV. Dirty cups were left. Small objects went missing from desks too - I had a stress ball taken, was a secret Santa gift and I was quite attached to it. It stopped when employer stopped contracting out night security and brought it in house, and a key safe was bought into which we all had to put our keys before going home for the night.

This is about boundaries and professionalism, irrespective of how much he's paid, NO he should not be lounging at your desk. NO he should not be opening your drawers. He just needs clear direction..

Use a translation app and leave him a printed message on your desk and tape across your seat like they do when toilets have been sanitised.... (with thanks for his cooperation)
You have a cleaner, you shouldn't have to clean up your desk after him

His working conditions aren't the responsibility of the OP.

We shouldn't be expected to lower our standards making adjustments for "others"
He's paid to do a job and should bloody well do it professionally, charity or not.

We should strive at all times to raise standards not lower them

You work for a charity - yet you allow your offices to be serviced by a dubious organisation that appears to be using trafficked labour and do nothing about it?

Why did you put someone else's ear buds in your personal drawer?