Company rewards employee after they spend a weekend cleaning out the office supply closet and reorganizing it: ‘You improved productivity more than the two software systems we paid for’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jun 27, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

Who doesn't love coming up with creative ways to avoid doing any real work? You walk around the office and try to come up with meaningless tasks that would keep you busy and allow you to forget about your real responsibility. You help a coworker fix to copy machine, ask HR if they need help setting up the office Happy Hour, and reorganize your desk drawer for the 100th time. Everything to look busy but not do any real work.

For every 5 employees who pull stunts like this, there might be one who would actually go out of their way to help with those little tasks. They don't do it because they don't want to work; they do it because they really do want to help, and to make the office a better place to work in. 

To prove that their goal is not to waste working hours, they might even do it while they are off the clock, just like the employee in the story below.

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  • This real estate office admin decided to come to the office on the weekend to tackle the task of organizing the supply closet, which was becoming a real problem for all of the employees.

    Everyone was so happy to arrive on Monday morning to see the clean closet and the labeled drawers, that they could not stop patting their admin on the back. 

    The story only gets better from there, so keep scrolling to read the rest.

  • 01
    "All I did was label the drawers"
    via Wirestock

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02

    All I did was label the drawers

    I've been the admin at a real estate office for 12 years. One of those "keeps everyone sane but no one notices" roles.
    via BothYesterday3065
  • 03
    Our supply room was a disaster. People spent 10 minutes just trying to find a stapler. So one weekend, I came
    via BothYesterday3065
  • 04
    in, cleaned it top to bottom, labeled every drawer, shelf, and bin. Took maybe 3 hours and a label maker. Didn't tell anyone.
    via BothYesterday3065
  • 05
    The next week? People started thanking me. Meetings started on time. Fewer frustrated sighs. Our broker joked we were running "like a real company."
    via BothYesterday3065
  • 06
    Two weeks later, one of the execs told me: "I know this sounds silly, but you just improved productivity more than the last two software systems we paid for."
    via BothYesterday3065
  • 07
    They gave me a raise. All because I labeled the dang drawers.
    via BothYesterday3065
  • 08
    George_Salt You've implemented 5S in the supply room, and demonstrated how simple changes can have big benefits. Don't underestimate it by considering it as "just labelling the drawers".
    via George_Salt
  • 09
    Both Yesterday3065 OP Great point, it really was 5S in action. Funny how something so small can make such a big difference!
    via BothYesterday3065
  • 10
    ShineFallstar Yeah so our company decided to implement 5S, they ended up with a workplace with everything labeled even the toilet seat and the bathroom mirror, tap, door, door handle...
    via ShineFallstar
  • 11
    Both Yesterday3065 OP I guess when they said "a place for everything," they really meant everything, including your reflection!
    via BothYesterday3065
  • 12
    Cheezburger Image 10522573056
    via @sciencephotolibrary

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 13
    butwhatsmyname Honestly, the older I get the more horrified I am at the levels of general disorganisation and inefficiency which the majority of people seem happy to just accept and work within.
    via butwhatsmyname
  • 14
    If that was the state of the supply cupboard, it would make me wonder what the state of your shared drives and spreadsheets look like...
    via butwhatsmyname
  • 15
    Both Yesterday3065 OP Right?! At this point in life, opening a chaotic shared drive feels like staring into the abyss. The supply cupboard was just the tip of the disorganized iceberg, I'm scared to even search in our shared spreadsheets without backup.
    via BothYesterday3065
  • 16
    Maximum Web9072 I've always been the one to do things like this, and the challenge for me has always been to get people to not only put things back, but to put them back in the correct place.
    via Maximum_Web9072
  • 17
    Both Yesterday3065 OP The real challenge isn't organizing, it's turning grown adults into the kind of people who don't treat "miscellaneous" as a lifestyle. I need a label that just says: "Put it back or I will find you."
    via BothYesterday3065
  • 18
    Pareia0408 Just started my new job and cannot wait to organise the cupboards and shelves. I'm starting with their inbox. I can't deal with a messy inbox with emails everywhere. They need to be sorted
    via Pareia0408
  • 19
    ProphilatelicShock I do this but during office hours!
    via ProphilatelicShock
  • 20
    Rose Darlin58 As the receptionist and queen of keeping the office functioning, I say BRAVA. The fact that your work was noticed AND rewarded is a testament to the people you work with.
    via RoseDarlin58
  • 21
    Rough-Improvement-24 At least your efforts were recognised! That's the most impressive thing imho.
    via Rough-Improvement-24

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promotion boss workplace-stories office supplies employee manager job tales-from-the-workplace reward reddit story ceo label overworked-employees workplace Reddit company funny
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