Office kitchen roster
An office kitchen roster that ends the passive-aggressive notes
Somebody has to empty the dishwasher before the 10 o’clock coffee rush. FairTurns gives the kitchen jobs out by turns, puts the week on one link, and keeps count so it isn’t always the same people.
Free, with no limit on people or dates. No card.
The dishwasher is clean. Nobody has emptied it. The sink is full again.
Twenty-two people share the kitchen on level 4 at Fernhill. By Wednesday the sink has a tower of mugs balanced on a clean, unemptied dishwasher, and on Friday someone finds last month’s curry at the back of the fridge. There was a roster once, a laminated A4 sheet with a magnet, but it stopped matching reality the week two people went on leave and nobody changed it.
Office kitchen rosters fail in two ways. Either they are never updated, so people ignore them, or one well-meaning person ends up doing the jobs because it’s quicker than chasing. What works is short, specific jobs, handed out to everyone in turn, written down where people actually look.
How FairTurns keeps the office kitchen moving
Small jobs, clearly named
Unload at 9:00 and load and run at 4:30 are two dates on each weekday; the Friday fridge is its own team. A 15-minute job with a name gets done.
Everyone in the office
Paste the staff list once. Nobody needs to sign up to appear on the roster.
Handed out by turns
Fill gives each job to whoever has had the fewest turns at it, so the partners take a turn at the dishwasher too.
Leave, conferences, part-time days
People mark the days they’re away, including regular ones like every Friday, and Fill leaves them off.
A link on the kitchen screen
Switch on the public roster and put the link on the kitchen TV or in the office chat, or print the month and stick it on the fridge.
Staff come and go
When someone starts or leaves, Redistribute shares the jobs out again and shows who gains or loses a turn first.
Set it up
- 01
Create two teams
Make an organisation for the office with teams called Dishwasher and Fridge clean-out.
- 02
Say how many
Give Dishwasher one position with a headcount of 1, and Fridge clean-out a headcount of 2.
- 03
Add the office
Paste the staff list, or invite people by email so they can mark their own leave.
- 04
Set the week
Click Monday, add 9:00 till 9:15 and 4:30 till 4:45, choose “Every week on Monday”, and do the same for each weekday.
- 05
Fill and post it
Press Fill for the next 3 months, then share the link or print the month.
When you want it to run itself
Pro emails each person a reminder before their kitchen turn and sends the office the week’s roster on Monday. People who will be out reply “I can’t make it” and the next person in line is put on. Emails go to people who have accepted an invitation.
A$1 a month per organisation, paid 1 to 5 years at a time. See Pro and pricing
Good to know
- Keep each turn short and specific. Twenty minutes a fortnight is a job people will do; a whole week of kitchen duty isn’t.
- Count heads before you set headcounts: with 20 people and two jobs a day, each person is on about once a fortnight.
- Staff don’t pick their kitchen days. The roster puts them on, and they mark when they’re away.
- A date is a name and a time. Put the job in the team or position name (“Wipe benches and run dishwasher”) rather than a checklist.
Questions
How often will each person be on kitchen duty?
It depends on the number of jobs and people. Twelve places a week shared across 22 people works out at about one turn a fortnight, and the Turns booked chart shows the real numbers.
Can people who work from home on Fridays be left off Fridays?
Yes. They mark Away regularly for Fridays, and Fill won’t put them on the Friday fridge clean-out.
Can the kitchen roster go on the screen in the kitchen?
Yes. Switch on the public roster and open the link on that screen. It shows names and dates, with no sign-in.
Several floors share one kitchen. Does that work?
Yes. Make one team for the kitchen and put everyone from every floor on it, or a team per floor if each floor has its own kitchen.
What does it cost the office?
Nothing for the roster itself, however many staff. Pro adds the morning reminder emails for A$1 a month.
Free templates and guides
Kitchen duty roster template
Office kitchen duties by day: dishwasher, benches, milk and the Friday fridge clear-out.
Free rota maker
A rota maker for the UK: names in, a fair rota out, ready to print or open in Excel.
How to split chores fairly
List every job, including the invisible ones, agree the standard, then rotate or own. A method for any household.
Similar rosters
Cleaning duty at work
Lunchroom, toilets, floor and bins: the workplace cleaning jobs rotated through the crew and shown on one page.
Departments and teams
One calendar for every team in the organisation, each in its own colour, with team leads running their own.
Small business roster
A free, simple staff roster for a small business: who’s on, when, shared with the team on one link.