The Conversation (0)
Ellie Abraham
Jul 25, 2024
TikTok/@alexschudy
A woman has opened up about setting boundaries in the workplace when it comes to doing domestic duties in the office.
TikTok has become a great tool for empowering women, whether it be fitness influencers encouraging other women to go to the gym or women talking about relationships and how to look out for toxic behaviour.
Now, one TikToker is using the platform to explain why she places firm boundaries on “office housework” in the workplace.
TikToker Alex Schudy shared a video of herself refusing her colleagues’ request to put together an office breakfast for a manager meeting that week.
In the clip, Schudy was on a virtual call and a male person could be heard asking her if she could “organise the breakfast for the manager team”.
Schudy asked when it was – he confirmed it was that week. She politely declined, arguing that she didn’t have the capacity to take it on, especially as the request was pretty last minute.
@alexschudy non-promotable work (like office housework) is something I try VERY hard to avoid!! too bad it’s so hard to say no to😩 how do you think i did? #career #office #work #corporate #boundaries
She responded: “Given that it’s this week, I don’t think I’m the best person to handle it, just because of my current priorities and workload.”
The male asked her what she had going on, but Schudy stood firm, reiterating that she didn’t have the bandwidth to take on that extra task and made alternative suggestions such as food delivery services or hosting it elsewhere.
Schudy explained in the video caption: “Non-promotable work (like office housework) is something I try VERY hard to avoid!! Too bad it’s so hard to say no to. How do you think I did?”
The clip has been viewed 2.1 million times, with other women in the comments agreeing that it is one of the worst factors of being a female in the workplace.
“Good job, babe. We’re not their effing personal assistants,” one person argued.
Another said: “This is my biggest pet peeve about being a female in the workplace!! We are not the mothers!”
Someone else wrote: “Why can’t we just say ‘no’? The corporate BS talk is EXHAUSTING.”
“I used to point out directly that they did seem to only ask women to do these tasks. They stopped asking me lolllll,” wrote another.
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