We thank the helpful coworkers who fix small problems for the team and make the workday easier. Oh, you thought you were just getting your coworker’s computer working? Nope, you were applying for a new position.

Nobody tells you when these extra roles become permanent. You discover it when someone brings you a spreadsheet you have never seen and says, «You’re good with Excel.» Well, you know how to widen a column (that’s a lot in Excel, I won’t judge). But you would also like to know how this became your problem.

If you’ve worked somewhere long enough to remember things, then you get a series of questions. Where do we keep that form? Who ordered the chairs? What happened to the old folder? You were there when the folder existed, so you should know where it went. I’m sorry, longtime employees are responsible for preserving the company’s history.

The longtime employees are also the ones who remember all the birthdays, which is a lovely gesture. The problem is that buying one cake leads to future questions about cakes for other birthdays. And it won’t take too long until you’re being asked what everyone should do for somebody else’s birthday. So I hope you enjoyed that first slice of cake. It came with responsibilities.

Anyways, helping feels good. That’s the tricky part, because you solve something, a coworker appreciates it, and their day gets better. Who wouldn’t feel happy about that? I’d happily help whenever I can. But by the fifth request, I would start wondering if anybody knows that my own work can’t wait forever.

A helpful coworker deserves helpful coworkers in return. We need someone who checks if you have time before handing you another task, someone who actually listens while you explain how something works so next time they can try it themselves. That person can sit next to me at this week’s Monday morning meeting. We have a lot of memes to enjoy.

Feel free to recognize yourself in the employee who knows too much about where everything is kept. You’ve been reeaaaally helpful, and people remember. Hopefully, somebody also remembers that you have your own tasks waiting.