This is not poaching, job theft or job stealing. I have been searching a lot for this, but can't find the word for it – and I'm wondering if there is even a phrase that might exist. In business, this can happen where people try to do someone else's job to show themselves off, their motivation usually being either to up their payslip or to show the boss that the person currently doing that job isn’t doing it well, and they could step into their shoes.

It could just be stepping on their toes

I do this, and I bet a lot of others do it too. It’s not intentional on my part. Example: I have a lovely lady who stops by to take the drudgery out of housework for me – but I can’t stop myself from clearing up before she comes, at the very least putting stuff in easy-to-move-piles. My theory is that I don’t want her talking about me, saying what a state my home was in before she arrived – yeah, I know it is unlikely, and that she would probably prefer to find my home knee-deep in dust and dog hairs so when she has finished she can fling her arm out like a property sales person trying to sell the place. I am more than appreciative that it is all fresh, clean and sparkly, and that I wasn’t responsible.

If you are fortunate enough to need a gardener, I bet some of you do the same – fussing around mowing the lawn or whatever before he arrives. Or fishing out the leaves from the pool before the pool man comes. Or looking over the shoulder of a carpenter as he is measuring something up and suggesting he does it another way – ‘oh I wouldn’t do it like that’, would be something that will irritate them all.

Here’s a scenario for you

I passed myself off as a 'chef extraordinaire once,’ and took the credit for someone else’s work. This actually happened. The Husband reminded me that some important clients were due to come for dinner that evening, and I totally forgot. What’s more, one was a vegan, or allergic to eggs or something. I covered my tracks by crossly saying: ‘yes I know’, while my brain went into overdrive on how to solve the problem.

As it happened, it was easy. A little trip to the food department of a well-known high street store that has the quote: ‘this is not just food’ - so you can probably guess the store.

Having browsed their aisles carefully, I managed to find three courses that everyone would eat, and the dinner was a success and I gracefully, but lightly accepted compliments on whatever it was that appeared on the table as I topped up their wineglasses - and denied anyone’s help with the dishes as I knew the ‘black sack’ hadn’t yet left the kitchen with its tell-tale ready-meal wrappers poking out. And I admit I shamefully passed it all off as my own.

Now about the cleaning – to me, housekeeping is probably like painting the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (which incidentally takes 4 years) no sooner have you finished, it is time to start again. I know housework can't kill you, but why take the chance?

The moral of this story is probably don’t interfere, let people do the job they were engaged for, leave them alone to get on with it, and don’t take the credit for it.

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan