Rant Incoming
I don't think anyone would look at a listing for a receptionist position, see “keeping a tidy workspace” as one of the responsibilities, and think that means “cleaning the entire studio once a week.”
On my first day, my boss's exact wording was “we do a deep clean every two weeks”. I thought this meant we had a cleaning service that came in. No, “we” meant just me. I was fine with the idea of keeping the studio presentable and functional during the two weeks between the supposed “deep cleans”. There's a spill? Quickly vacuum or soak it up so we don't get ants. Someone leaves urine on the toilet seat? Wipe it off so the next person can use it. I am not fine with vacuuming each room, wiping off the windows and mirrors, scrubbing the sinks, toilets, and bathroom floors, and dusting every surface. I have arachnophobia, and we have spiders in every corner because I'm too scared to clean there. I would not have taken this job if I knew I would be responsible for them, or any of my other cleaning duties.
I spoke to my boss about how I felt misled by the job listing and by his wording when describing my duties. He brought up that we can't afford a janitor, and proceeded to call me out on everything I do wrong. The studio is disgusting. I'm on my phone or reading at my desk (even though a large part of administrative work is waiting around and just generally being available. Me doing these things during my downtime has never interfered with my ability to help people.)
He decided to “strike a deal” with me. The two things I hated most were the spiders and scrubbing the bathroom floors, so he said he would take them on instead. Neither of these things have been done ONCE since we had this conversation. There are more spiders than ever and the bathroom floors are sticky and discolored. Every day the building becomes more filthy because I'm sick of doing this. This isn't what I signed up for, and it's not what I'm paid for either ($12 an hour).
I want to quit, but I worry that no other job would allow me flexibility with my schedule that this job does. I am also a professional opera singer (it does not pay enough to live off of), and my job is okay with me taking off several hours early for rehearsals and performances. I don't want to give up on opera, it's my passion, but if I got a new job, they might force me to.
I don't know what to do at this point.