Who Cleans Up The Mess?

A few weeks back it rained dirt in Denver. Really. Seems some dust storm in Arizona was the culprit, and the muddy rain left a pinkish brown coating of dirt on anything exposed to the elements. Yuck. Parked at the airport, the red toaster was covered, and all I could think was, “Ick, now I get to clean all this up when I get home. What a mess.”

The dirt rain seemed metaphorical somehow - after all, how many times do we leave messes for others to clean up? The sky dumps dirt, the clouds move on and we are left with no choice but to clean up after it. It happens with my kids and my dogs, and it happens often in workplaces all across the country. Every office seems to have at least one “dirt dumper” that refuses to be accountable and leaves mess after mess for others to clean up, oblivious and dismissive of the impact he or she has on co-workers.

Whether you are the kind of person that leaves your dirty dishes in the sink in the office, fails to follow through on customer problems, routinely misses deadlines (leaving your supervisor to cover for you...again), or has buyer’s remorse and dumps the candle that looked good 30 minutes ago in the cough and cold aisle at Target (OK, I admit it, I have done this), understand that somebody is going to clean up your mess. If they know you, they will resent you for it. If they love you, your behavior may cause bad feelings and strained relationships. All because you refuse to be accountable and responsible for yourself.

So the question is, who cleans up after you? Should they have to?