Office Worker Refuses to Clean Coffee Machine, Sparking Workplace Debate

An office worker turned to Reddit after a disagreement over a shared coffee machine left them wondering whether fairness had given way to obligation.

In their post, the employee explained that they share a break room with roughly 20 colleagues. The space includes what they described as “a fancy coffee machine, a lot of mugs, and a dishwasher for said mugs.” The machine, they added, needs to be cleaned daily “so that the milk inside does not curdle overnight.”

That responsibility rotates weekly among non-managerial staff, meaning each person takes a turn every few months. During those weeks, the assigned employee is also expected to deal with mugs left behind, since “everyone leaves their dirty mugs in the kitchen sink” and assumes the dishwasher will be run several times a day.

The workload increases on days when managers host visitors. On those occasions, the poster said, it “can add up to a lot of mugs to cater to the visitors’ coffee needs.” While they understood the general idea of shared duties, they felt their situation was different for one specific reason.

“I do not drink coffee,” the employee wrote, stressing that this was “a well-known fact among my coworkers that I dislike coffee.” They explained that they don’t use the machine at all—not for coffee, hot chocolate, hot water, or even mugs—preferring drinks they bring from home in their own container.

Because of that, the worker asked to be removed from the cleaning rotation entirely. “I find it a bit ridiculous to only touch the coffee machine to clean it,” they said, adding that it felt unfair to clean up after something they would “most likely never” use.

The request split opinion in the office. Some coworkers agreed with the employee’s reasoning, while others pushed back, arguing that pitching in was simply part of “living in society” and something the worker should do “to keep the peace.”

The poster wasn’t convinced those objections were impartial. They suggested that coworkers had “a vested interest in me participating so that they can clean less often,” and said the dispute had become more about principle 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 said the expectation to maintain equipment they never use continued to bother them.

On Reddit, many commenters sided with the employee. One response put it bluntly: “You shouldn’t be cleaning the coffee setup.” The commenter suggested that everyone should clean their own mug and tidy the area after each use, while admitting that such an approach might be difficult to enforce in a busy office.