Do have a cuppa vs bog off and make it yourself

You seem to have been taken on as a tea making person not for admin. 40 drinks, in a morning of say 4 hours that's 10 an hour, one every 6 mins. Do you have to collect dirty cups then clean them too? No one can get work done with that amount of other work expected. Leave and tell them why!

Making 1 cup of tea or whatever per person is fine, but 4 is a bit excessive.
Where I used to work, if you were making a hot drink for yourself, you asked if anyone else wanted a drink and then made it accordingly.
As you are only there for one morning, I have to wonder what they do on the other days?
Suggest you speak to the manager and say that you are struggling with keeping up with the admin due to the constant tea making ( I mean, 4 cups a morning - do they all then spend the rest of the time in the loo?) and if she isn't happy, leave - you volunteered , you are there of your own free will!

It's a shame, Silverlining48 - I too was a volunteer administrator for a local branch of a very well known dementia charity. At least, the job title was Administrator but.......it really should have been "Doormat and Maid-of-all-Work".

I was fetching and carrying and being sent out for everyone's soup and sandwiches, being told to clean the office kitchen microwave, sort the cutlery drawer, wash the crocks piled up in the sink, etc, etc.

I NEVER once actually touched a computer much less actually do any admin.

One day I saw the light and simply didn't turn up and neither did I phone with an explanation, I was so pissed off with the lot of them (and they also never once uttered the word "thankyou" - truly.)

They never contacted me to find out if I'd been abducted by Martians, that wad how much they valued volunteers!

In the past I was a volunteer for two different charities working for the same cause. One really valued me and the other used me, treated me always as the new girl and gave me the crap jobs. Looking back I should have left earlier. They always made me feel uncomfortable. When we moved I left and they didn’t like it. The group broke up within weeks!!

I also think it is unreasonable to expect someone to make so many cups of tea - who does the washing up? /I hope they didn't expect you to do that as well.. In the office I worked in we all made our own drinks when we wanted one. I think it would be reasonable to say to the manager that it is not normal office practice to make drinks for people - any problems move to a new charity. Sounds a crappy rule to me.

I moved to a new area and thought volunteering would be a good way of getting out and also meeting people.
The charity was a hospice that had a few shops in the area. I firstly trained to go into people's homes to allow the carpet to get out for a few hours, or took the client out for a few hours, if they were well and wanted to go out.
I next worked for a day in the local shop. I stayed volunteering for about 4 years, but sadly woke up to the idea some volunteers are taken for a mug.
I'm not saying it's the same everywhere, or every charity but this is what I've come across.
The paid supervisor looked out for herself and family when the ' good stuff ' came in. She would put it to one side ( you was not allowed to price up anything you personally wanted for yourself) but her best friend worked the next day and she would get her to price !
Likewise when she priced up it depended if she like you what that price would be.
Often families would send into the main office boxes of sweets,chocolates, boxes of biscuits etc . These always remained in the office and there was a table piled high.
Meanwhile we had to take in our own tea/ coffee for a drink.there
Volunteers were expected to clean the shop, including getting down on the floor to wash skirting boards. Empty the bins and take them down to a big smelly area shared by all shops. Bring in the heavy sign at the end of the precinct, all despite the supervisor being younger than the volunteer.

If you enjoy anything about the time you spend there, I would tell them that you will make drinks once but other than that everyone should take turns or make their own. The reaction will tell you a lot about how reasonable they are. That amount of tea making leaves no time about admin so they were not honest when they advertised the position. If you aren't enjoying it at all just leave and say that you are disappointed that it wasn't made clear to you when they took you on that it was a tea lady they wanted.

BradfordLass I don't think the OP did know about the tea making role when she signed up. She said "Nobody mentioned the tea making responsibilities as such. First saw them when given the office procedures to read". I'm assuming that was once she'd taken the job and turned up on her first day. Also, I don't see anywhere that she has complained it's "beneath her".

She volunteered to do admin but, it seems, is spending a lot of her short time there making drinks. Not what she signed up for.

If I took a voluntary post to make drinks, clean the windows, sweep the floor etc, and then found I was expected to do paperwork, answer phones, and man the till, I'd be pretty miffed. It's all about mismatched expectations, nothing to do with "standing on dignity".

I think you are being taken advantage of. If their is a manager, or someone in charge, I think I would ask what is expected of me and if I am everybody else’s servant.

I would hate that. I have always preferred to make my own drink while working You might not want a drink when everyone else does and making drinks for everyone 4 times in the morning must be very annoying. I think I too would be tempted to looks elsewhere for some voluntary work where I feel my time is better used.

It seems a bit pointless to get a volunteer to do admin and then have her spend so much of her time making tea. As they're not paying I can't see the problem in getting in someone else for that role, makes more sense! If it was me I would leave and get something more suitable where I was valued for what I do.

I would tell the manager you weren't getting enough time to do admin as you were making drinks all morning. I really think in this day and age, people should make their own drinks. Unless you tell someone how you feel nothing will change.

I volunteered for a Carers Support charity for several years and was always treated with kindness and respect.I had monthly "supervision"the same as paid staff and also training.I felt very much part of the team and left reluctantly when my DH became seriously ill.
I do not think you are being treated as a member of the team and should raise your concerns with the volunteer supervisor.Volunteers are desperately needed in many organisations.

Take your own drink in a flask &
let them sort themselves out Flaming cheek! We always took it in turns to make drinks if there was no machine.

The British Red Cross value their volunteers and have many roles that you could do. I volunteered with them one full day a week for 6 years giving out temporary wheelchairs to people.
I now volunteer for Independent Age as a Volunteer Visitor. The deal is that I visit an elderly lady, turns out she’s younger than me, once a week for an hour. Takes me half an hour to get there and another half hour to get home. 2 hours once a week. We both enjoy it so much. We laugh a lot and I’m sure I get as much out of it as she does.
Independent Age also have a number of roles to Volunteer for including quite a lot of admin roles.
Only go where you are appreciated and only do what you agreed to do. You are a volunteer after all. If you don’t like it, leave. There are plenty of charities out there who would appreciate your help. As well as helping you should be enjoying it.

I volunteer for a charity shop 2 afternoons a week and get given coffee (I usually only have one cup) but am always offered more and always take a bottle of water with me. I serve on the till and help customers. The manager and paid staff always treat me well from the low ones to the higher ones.

I'd just leave as you could volunteer for the wrvs and make tea and coffee all the time if you actually wanted to do that. Is there any time left to do any admin work in the morning.

I worked for Age UK for just over 9 years as a Home Support worker. The job was mainly cleaning doing laundry and shopping. At first I found the job rewarding but as time went on not so much. I went to a new client whose Daughter had arranged the visit. After only my second visit she reported me to the office because I hadn't vacuumed the laminate floor. There was no vacuum or ANYTHING else to use. She had arranged for me to come so why didn't she get one? There was a vacuum ther on the 4th visit. Another client a man of 70 used to drop amongst other things sandwich bags just where he sat. So before I could start vacuuming I had to pick them all up. One day I thought what am I doing I am worth more than this. I am not a scivvy but I felt like one. Also the staff in the office would regularly ring me on my day off and when I was driving to the next client¬very dangerous.The only time I had feedback was about a client complaining. Anyway I know I did a good job so that's all that counts.

They should make their own tea. This is just taking advantage, you are making 40 cups of tea in the morning! Are you also washing up? I have worked in many office environments and never expected anyone to make my drinks. I would leave them to it, they want a tea person, bet they won't have 4 cups in as many hours when they have to do it!

Why do some of you have to be so sarcastic, suggesting that making tea is 'beneath' the OP? She thought she was volunteering to do ADMIN work. If she wanted to be a tea lady she would have said so! There's Nothing wrong with being a tea lady - if that's what you want to do. But she didn't!

Hers not to reason why!

The fact that it's documented as part of the job, means that others before you have complained. In your shoes I'd leave and tell them why. Say it's getting you down. Say you feel like a skivvy, etc. Also, you could point out that it's good for all of us to have a break from sitting down at a desk, walk around, go to the kitchen, etc. so just having one person making the tea is not helpful. Then you can find another organisation where you feel more valued.

Making a cup of tea seems absolutely fine, but I think making four lots, in assorted cups, every hour or so seems ridiculously wasteful of an admin's time and skills.

You say it's 'documented in the office procedures' - does that mean it's part of the job you signed up for? If so, not sure what you can do about it apart from finding another job. Otherwise, maybe tell them you've got other things to do or suggest you take turns?

Callistemon Quote [It's a charity, Grandad, so perhaps they reason that using the services of a volunteer is cost-effective.] End Quote

Callistemon, even if the organisation under discussion is a charity, then the efficient use of personnel is still essential even if they are volunteers.

In the above, more of the money donated to the organization will be passed to those in need of the Charities help if those volunteers are engaged in more productive work.

I also believe that many of the staff in our office would find it somewhat patronising to have a fellow employee asking if they wanted a drink made for them on a regular daily basis.

This is a long outdated practice, demeaning to those who have to carry it out and would be unacceptable to many of the other staff in workplaces today I feel.