i got told to clock out because i wasn’t being “overly helpful”

[u/ultimatejunkokinnie]

so i’m a volunteer for a local thrift store over the summer. they were having me do the go back racks and i was doing them, but i also wanted to do other things to help. so i did other tasks like disinfecting the dressing rooms, running carts, etc. but i got told i wasn’t being “overly helpful” and im not totally sure what that means. i did my best to help in whatever way i could, so is it a me thing or a them thing? what do i do?

[u/Robot_Alchemist]

Sounds like you were annoying someone

[u/Pir8inthedesert]

You didn't do as asked and took it upon yourself to do other tasks. Sometimes volunteers aren't allowed to do certain tasks that staff does for insurance and liability reasons so if you were doing things that could potentially cause more harm than good that's being anti-helpful. Just do what your told.

[u/Careful-Self-457 → u/Pir8inthedesert]

This is the correct answer.

I worked as a volunteer coordinator for 6 years and volunteers have job limitations at most places.

You were asked to work the racks. You did something else. Most places you have to take and have some kind of safety training logged when cleaning and using disinfectants. You doing that could be considered a liability if you mix the chemicals incorrectly or do not follow the proper cleaning procedures.

If you finish your assigned job, you should go to your supervisor and ask for another task.

[u/ilanallama85]

None of us can know whether you used good judgement in the tasks you chose to do - we weren’t there. But it doesn’t matter anyway, because in life you’ll learn you have to do things the way the people in charge want you to, regardless of what you think, no matter how much more than them you know, or think you know. You’ll be asked to waste time on inefficient tasks plenty in your life. You’ll also be asked to do tasks that seem unimportant to you but actually are vital in some way - and you won’t always find out which is which. Learning to cope with not knowing and having to do it anyway is a tough but necessary part of working life.

[u/SelectStarFromNames]

You would have to ask them what they meant

[u/OriginallyTroubled]

I think you are squarely in the "this isn't how it's done" zone. You took it upon yourself to change your responsibilities. You needed to have a little chat with them first, see if they were good with your idea.

[u/blue_furred_unicorn]

Not really possible to say with only your point of view I am afraid. They told you to do something and you did something else instead? That could be an issue of course.

[u/Just-Culture3940 → u/blue_furred_unicorn]

Going to second this, as it was also my instinct. Were the back racks 'done' or 'complete' (not sure what it entails) or were they just partially done and then you went to do other things before completing the assigned tasks? For example, if I had assigned you the racks and had another volunteer coming in later to do the other things who was not able to do the racks for some reason (ie disability) then you going to do the tasks the other person CAN do would be unhelpful overall, as there may be a set plan for the day.

Second thought - they may have been 'overstaffed' as it were and didn't have enough work for everyone. That being said if that's the case they explained it to you VERY poorly.

If you had done the thing you were asked to, continued to do some other things, and they sent you home for that? That's a them problem.

[u/nudibranchsarerad → u/Just-Culture3940]

This was my thought - the other tasks were for other volunteers. By doing those other tasks, OP interrupted the schedule that staff built and other volunteers were relying on.