In February I took over as manager of a children and families charity. I knew it would be a challenge as the organisation had been in huge upheaval with staff turnover and some financial problems. However, I now find myself facing a relentless and dispiriting problem.
Out of a staff team of 8, 6 are almost pathological hoarders. The spaces that I didn’t see before my interview have now become accessible to me. Some of them are like an tv documentary on how people gather rubbish and broken things.
alongside this, some staff have been with the organisation for close to 20 years. They feel ownership and often people bring stuff from home and surreptitiously put it in with the work stuff - presumably because they want less tat in their house. Just when one area gets tidy, mess appears elsewhere. People don’t own up to it. There are 2 broken cars in our car park belonging to staff who don’t want them on their street.
I have been crystal clear about my expectations, that families need and deserve a safe, tidy space at chaotic times in their lives and that we have public money and therefore should not treat workspace as an extension of our homes.
my messy colleagues are nice people but I’m close to throwing in the towel.
has anyone transformed a messy workplace? (and I’m not talking about colour coded box files). How have you approached this? Can you give me tips for getting this done. I’m wading through treacle 😞