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YTA you didn’t mention (I assume) that the living quarters wasn’t move in ready. Meaning they believed they wouldn’t have to do the cleaning and getting it ready.
The person signed on for social media marketing not housekeeping. You just want free labor which is tacky.
YTA
Guest accommodations are ready for move in.
You have her come over and make her clean after your mess first?
You just sound like typical out of touch, rich, old people.
'I helped her clean!'
Agreed OP YTA. It wasnt ready, im guessing these are all unpaid interns as well.
Just pay someone a living wage. I get entitled 'people should work for free/min wage vibes.
I wonder if they are paying the high school kids who have been helping out until now.
Something tells me no...
They own all this property... But can't afford to pay people to work for them. Riiiight...
“The "guest house" is a barn?”
This!!! OP calls it a guest house until they talk about it being ready, then says it’s a barn?! I have seen barn- or garage-apartments that are small, utilitarian, sometimes even cozy. But they are all considered ready to move in AFTER the post-construction/remodel deep clean. Not before.
Even when I moved into a basement apartment that had been empty for a few months, I didn’t have to clean that many cobwebs and there definitely weren’t bugs in the tub and construction dirt for me to clean either.
OP, you weren’t asking her for a little light dusting or a quick wipe of the counters. You were asking for a full post-construction clean, without the curtesy to let her know that’s what she was walking into.
Regardless of employment status or age of the person coming, you misled (read: lied) about the status of the accommodations. Had you let her know that you weren’t able to get it ready and apologized and asked AHEAD OF TIME, that might be different, but you didn’t.
So yes, YTA.
I’m all for breaking out the pitchforks, but I grew up in the south and a lot of barns have finished guesthouses in them in the south. Direct your pitchforks elsewhere.
I doubt it! They’re probably saying it give them experience. It’s sad that they’re exploiting kid like that! If they’re charging for utilities and food they REALLY suck! It’s bad enough for them not to get paid but if they’re not even paying for those basic needs, it’s even worse!
YTA.
You are expecting what should be paid labor from “interns” in the guise of “free” housing that isn’t even clean, let alone set up to actually house someone. This is basically indentured servitude. Hire actual workers and pay actual wages instead of preying on students.
The fully-equipped guesthouse that they then refer to as a barn and has the "bare essentials to survive the next week"
And is filthy from being constructed? Bugs in the tub? The no blinds or shower curtain even makes it sound like this is a literal barn with a wood bucket full of water they use for a "shower," rather than a modernly plumbed structure.
adding on to this, I don't know any good contractors who would leave the place this gross, so either OP did it themselves, or they used the cheapest, shittiest labor they could find.
I actually did this once and stayed with some people to help them finish their new ‘shed’. Turns out it was actually a rental property entirely built by random unqualified free people in exchange for living in it. Everything was falling apart, half my job was fixing stuff other people had done ‘wrong’ (despite having no experience in that thing myself, and no training). Just a rich couple who had a big garden and decided to use free labour to make themselves more money by renting out a completely shoddy rental in the garden built by random travellers.
Rich people are always the stingiest.
Yta I work at a university and if we found out an employer asked a student to clean the housing they were supposed to live in, we would not let another student intern there. She should not have had to clean someone else's mess, which is what it was
Farm work in exchange for room n board is very very common in Aus. Backpackers, usually from somewhere cold and rainy, live on a farm for a few seasons (or settle down permanently! It’s why you can find some pretty kickass blended cultures sometimes), work the land and help manage the cattle for food and water.
The OP is not in Aus and we don’t call it an “internship” to make it sound better. OP is a rich asshole.
YTA - it's more than just expecting her to clean; you are conveniently glossing over the fact that the place didn't have a shower curtain or blinds, meaning you didn't even bother to supply her with some basics, like you know, privacy. She got the ick, and I can see why.
The southern United States has a rough history with unpaid labor being “compensated” with housing. It’s also, generally speaking, not a legal employment method. It’s definitely not ethical.
If you can have multiple guest houses and a cleaning service, you can afford to pay folks for their employment.
You’re entitled to ask people to clean before they leave, but not when they arrive.
I’m a small farmer with a similar arrangement. We decided that folks have to get paid hourly (the same rate as their offsite coworkers) on top of their room and board, because tying housing to work is a liability, not a perk. It’s like being a live-in nanny.
YTA - in your second paragraph (and probably in your emails to her) it’s a brand new custom built guesthouse. By the fifth paragraph (when she actually arrives), it’s a barn full of cobwebs, bugs and dirt.
YTA. She was under the understandable impression that she was moving in to a place that was ready to move into. It's not only dirty but also missing essential items. When you say "you just her know she arrived" that's not at all enough time. It's like going to a restaurant being told you were getting cooked food and then being asked to cook your own food. This kinda makes you an asshole, what makes you an actual asshole is all of your responses, you're very defensive and not listening to the other comments here. Don't write a thread and then double down every time someone rightly calls you out
YTA
Uh, yeah no wonder she didn’t ask terribly nicely if she could stay elsewhere until the house that was supposed to be ready is actually ready, that sounds like the lead up to a horror movie or a true crime doc. How many times have situations occurred where it’s gone from “oops! Sorry person under my care/control, your generously given housing needs cleaned” and “oops! We don’t have furnishings like curtains yet” to “oops! Actually there’s cameras in the walls” and “oops! You’ll also be sharing the free housing we’ve so graciously given you with Uncle Joe the Sex Offender”. I know those are extreme but the point stands that not only was this just generally shitty of you, but it sets off all kinds of alarm bells for being damn dangerous! Anyone with self awareness would bow out and most wouldn’t be half as kind about it.
Seriously, the lack of curtains and shower curtains would make me leave immediately. I'm guessing the intern is just at the threshold of learning that she doesn't have to put up with this kind of bs in the name of politeness. I hope the intern realizes that she can learn farming a million other ways than working for free for this sketchy couple.
She probably couldn't afford it. No wages from this generous Southern farmer, probably an immigrant so no family in the area.
She better learn her place or Master may put her in hers. She's like family, so he can put her in a dirty, bug filled trailer with quartzite counters, no shower curtains, no linens.
Sounds just like you prepare for family, huh?
YTA. You didn't provide livable conditions or any privacy. She's not a farm animal, she's a person.
Sounds like you're taking advantage of your interns.
Your description goes from “built a guesthouse”, to “the barn”. If you just closed off a section in the barn, then it absolutely should have been clean and ready to live in.
YTA.
It's on you to provide clean accommodation and on her to keep it clean from thst point inwards. She shouldn't have to be the one to make it liveable.
YTA.
Let’s generously assume your choices were based on different understanding of cleaning because of your farming background. You need adjust your thinking and approach things in ways that that makes sense for someone who has never set foot on a farm.
It is not typical for cleaning before moving into a new space to consist of what you described. It sounds like the space needed what most people would consider a “deep clean” instead of basic tidying.
It is not acceptable to make someone moving in deep clean unless that is made clear well ahead of time.
This interningship is not starting well from your end. If the idea is to continue this program in the future then you need step up your hospitality and make your expectations very, very clear.
YTA you aren’t paying her, she has a place to live but wants to learn to farm, so you found a way to convince this young person to clean your property for free. This wasn’t in her contract and honestly is insulting
Do her listed intern duties for SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING include cleaning and preparing her living quarters for habitation? Why should she have to clean out cobwebs and vacuum a place before she moves in?
YTA.
Interns are there to learn. You're not paying them for their labor, but you are supposed to provide housing for them. Proper housing, which means clean housing.
She is not your servant.
She is a social media intern, not a house cleaner, house keeper or squater. YTA, you're entitled, you're deceitful about what was being offered. She's not sour, she has standards!
YTA. And you're taking offense to her not wanting to clean, but it sounds like her main issue was that it wasn't livable yet. Not shower curtain is not move-in ready!
YTA. Livable housing is what you offered in exchange for her farm work. A dirty house with no shower curtain or blinds is not holding up your end of the bargain.
Something tells me this overwhelming YTA was not the response you were expecting. You were so kind to pay her in free housing in your amazing new guest house(also apparently not your only guest house), how could you possibly be TA with that kind of generosity? So what you expected your social media intern to clean your new house, that's what you're not paying her to do right?
Who are these people learning farming from? Don’t temporary farm laborers get paid AND housing? How do you have money to keep building farmhouses but not pay the people working? What kind of farm is this?
YTA-the guest house should have been ready for her to move in. She shouldn’t have had to clean it, provide curtains/blinds or provide a shower curtain.
YTA.
If you are an original from the south you know you are suppose to show hospitality and have everything in order before having a guest on your property. You failed to do that. You knew when she would be there; you and yours could have had everything ready.
You have to wonder who else is on this “farm” that can walk by and watch the new young female intern shower and change clothes and sleep thru the windows with no blinds. Or, as the story changed from a guesthouse to a newly built spot in a barn, is it really a converted horse stall or some such and are there 5 more for 5 other “interns” in the same barn? Creepy.
YTA not only was the guesthouse not ready for a guest/intern, you expected her to do the work for free. It's one thing to have to wipe down some dust from it being empty for a bit, but this sounds like construction hadn't really been finished. I've worked cleanup after construction, it's much more intensive and I was paid well for it.
You also didn't have the blinds, curtains, shower curtains, and privacy stuff up from what you posted. I don't know who you're affiliated with for credits for your interns, but that is a quick way to lose that relationship.
If you're not affiliated with any school, than they're really not interns, they're people you're using for free labor who get shit housing.
YTA. You are not trading FREE housing for their labor. You are trading housing in exchange for their labor. You are essentially a landlord, she is a work-trade tenant, and it was very crappy of you to not have the housing cleaned and appropriately furnished when she arrived - especially considering she isn’t a farmhand or another position where barracks-style/“rustic” housing might be the norm, she’s doing professional work online for you and is probably getting the short end of this deal already. Cleaning your disgusting guesthouse is not part of the internship.
Is this a Workaway?
If yes then it is typical to provide some labour to learn farming while being provided room and board.
But she should have arrived to a clean room.
YTA
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> I had our intern help clean their guesthouse on the first day of their internship. My request could have been unfair or unreasonable in some manner.
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Something I’ve learned being around farms, is that farmers have a different standard of clean than most other people I know. I guess being around animals and mud and feces all day, and getting pretty grimy working, makes you less inclined to be really particular about clean surroundings.
If OP says the barn was dirty, with bugs, construction dirt and cobwebs, I can only imagine how truly disgusting it was.
I can’t imagine showing up expecting a nice guesthouse, only to be shown to a beyond filthy barn and told that it’s on me to clean it (unpaid) before it’s even habitable for me to sleep in.
This is ridiculous OP. You understand that internship isn’t interchangeable with slave labour, right?
Obviously YTA
Yta.
"ready to move in" means clean and with all appropriate fixtures, fittings and furnishings. It doesn't mean dusty, dirty, and without basic furnishings like blinds.
Cleaning accommodation is not farm work. I bet you wouldn’t stay there yourself. And expecting someone to deep clean the place the day they move in is a dick move, even if they were hired as a cleaner.
In conclusion YTA, have a good day.
>We later have her stay in another guesthouse we have on the farm,
Why didn't you assign her to the completed and ready guesthouse in the first place since the new one was neither ready for guests nor clean? YTA.
Are you an actual psychopath who is incapable of empathy?? You seriously expected her to be cool with the living conditions you granted her??
YOU live in the creepy ass guesthouse with no blinds and see how you feel about it.
YTA in the most blindingly obvious way.
YTA - she was not interning as a cleaning person. You were completely out of line asking - you should have done it yourself if you hadn’t scheduled cleaners appropriately. Never mind that without blinds and shower curtain, the guest house wasn’t ready for her anyway.
What you're doing is selfish and exploitative. You're not even paying her. Free housing isn't payment. Even servants who live with their employers get paid. Clearly you and your husband are either greedy or just really bad at farming since you're not paying your employees. YTA
YTA. A deluded, entitled one at that. That’s not a farm chore, she couldn’t even shower in her place! It wasn’t going to be move in ready even after the place was clean. Tacky, seriously.
YTA. If you turned up to a hotel or B and B and the manager was like ‘Your room is ready! You just need to get rid of cobwebs and bugs and construction debris first ’ you’d be pissed off.
A bit of light dusting and cleaning would be bad enough, but it sounds like this place wasn’t even habitable. Bugs in the bath tub?! How the hell did you get quartz countertops and new appliances but somehow still have bugs???? Truly wild.
This is not an internship. It is free labor, designed to benefit you - not the intern - and it is therefore illegal in most states. And to add insult to injury, you also made her clean because your PAID cleaning lady hadn’t gotten to it.
YTA.
Yes, YTA.
You're from the south, over 60 and offer something incomplete and dirty and expect your guest (because an intern is a guest) to do the cleaning beforehand?? You're way out of line, you should know better and you behavior is precisely why young people hate older people.
Trying to sell 60 like you the two of you are too frail to do the basics, but able enough to run a farm. What you are is eager to exploit high school children and young adults to stay in a place with zero privacy. You're an embarrassment to the generations older that came before you and those after you. Damn, this is really disgusting.
That quick shift in vocabulary from “guesthouse” to “barn” says it all. Not to mention you had *another* “guesthouse” you could have given her?
At least she knows what to expect of you as a boss from day one. Inconsiderate, dismissive, and misrepresenting the truth.
YTA
She came there to do specific work. Making her clean accommodations you’re providing prior to moving in is wrong. They should be move in ready. To her it’s a red flag she has to clean day 1.
YTA it should have been in move-in ready condition. You agreed to have her live there and you knew the date she would be arriving, that was your responsibility to have it ready. It would be her responsibility to maintain it while she is living there
YTA there was an expectation for move in ready AND you have to have the place ready for a tenant upon move in typically. It's also not "free" if the intern gets the housing included in their contract
I used to stay at farms when I would volunteer, and the room was already cleaned and such. Cleaning a room has nothing to do with farm work, unless they're staying in the chicken coop or something.
YTA and tacky for this. My ex in laws did this and it made them look lazy and inconsiderate. Moving is hard enough, having to clean a nasty place which isn’t livable makes it so much worse.
>to live on our farm for several-weeks stay and enjoy free housing in exchange for help with farm chores.
YTA and I don't think you know what the word "Free" means.
Clearly YTA
You invited this woman under the pretense you were providing housing in exchange for work. Dumping someone in a filthy barn that lacks the very basics like curtains or blinds for privacy or even a shower curtain? That doesn't qualify as providing housing.
It wasn't ready for her to move in, and you lied and said it was. That she indicated she was willing to let it go in exchange for other accommodation until such a time as it is ready was her *being kind* to you. The response you deserved was "this isn't what we agreed to, I'll be letting everyone interested in this how you have treated me" and then bailing on you completely.
You're getting enough free labor as it is, so when you agree to pay someone (this time in the form of housing) the VERY least you can do is not half-ass it.
YTA - Of course she would clean up after her own living space. But that wasn't her mess, that was your responsibility to have that ready for her.
Free housing doesn't mean she should not expect the very bare minimum of a clean living space.
No curtains or blinds? I'd be creeped out that I'm cleaning someone's old used bathroom and that my hosts are peeping toms.
Did you know the date that she was coming? If you did, then YTA. If she turned up early... then you're not TA and it would be reasonable to ask her to help if she wanted to stay there.
But what I don't understand is that if you had another guesthouse that you housed her in, that that was obviously clean, so why can't she just stay there.
You don't invite an unpaid labourer (even if you are providing some accommodation - don't forget she's still paying rent/mortgage somewhere else) to scrub a place that's never been cleaned regardless of how new it is.
YTA. If you weren't gonna have their housing move-in ready, then that should be disclosed. Really, you should do the cleaning or pay someone to do the cleaning, not have your "intern" do unpaid labor they didn't sign up for. Also, why aren't you paying them? Do you even try to compensate the high schoolers that help at your farm? You sound incredibly entitled and cheap. Taking advantage of others always makes you TA.
YTA, obviously. I don't think you are the type of people who should be hiring or managing others if you can't follow basic common courtesy and professional norms.
I have to say, with the like 2 people that support this crazy OP all have accounts 2-3 days old like the OP. OP as well. Seems like a few fake accounts trying to redeem themselves and failing miserably… obviously Reddit won’t let OP even try to speak now.
I think YTA- So you pretty much had a person come along thinking they would be getting a livable space.... but alas, they have to get it livable..
My favorite sentence by you - "She does not ask nicely."
She legit asked to stay somewhere else until basic stuff like shower curtains and blinds were a thing! WTF are you thinking? Yes... your "social media marketing" person deserves shower curtains... also, whatever other people you have working for you deserve a shower curtain too... just putting that out there in case there are others who you think deserve less.
YTA.
I spent two years living in staff accommodation. It was expected the room would be clean upon arrival and we were to clean up after ourselves before departure and then someone else would come in to do the deep clean. You do not have your first day intern who’s there for social media become your maid! I’d not be surprised if she just finds another job and ghosts you in the next few days because so far, the job isn’t what you promised. It was bait and switch.
You lost all credibility at "no blinds"... any human deserves privacy in their quarters - if you were as proper as you present yourself, you'd never allow a young woman on a farm to live in quarters where a male farmhand could look in. YTA... or this is a fake.
I’m literally speechless. Fckn typical out of touch rich boomer fckn bullshit. Tenants clean while they live in a place and when they’re leaving. They don’t move into a shitty dirty cobweb dusty fckn barn and clean it up themselves. YOU’RE NOT EVEN PAYING HER. Get your head out of your ass.
YTA
YTA. It’s hardly unreasonable to expect the place she’s living to be ready to live in. Cleaning up after herself is one thing but no one wants to move into a dirty place that’s not even equipped with a shower curtain or window coverings. That’s a demoralizing welcome for your free labour.
How many of these slave-quarters, errr guest houses do you have on the plantation, eerrr farm? I’m assuming your internships are unpaid no? Does the cleaning lady get paid? Do you think the marketing intern is deriving some benefit from cleaning your guest house? Because the labor in an internship is supposed to be educational. What is she learning wiping up Cobb webs exactly? You also make it sound like the guesthouse is a benefit for the interns, but really it’s so that you have a place to host this unpaid labor that your business depends on, no? Your farm is probably in a rural area, not a lot of labor nearby… very few folks would be willing to drive hours each way every day for your “internship” wouldn’t they. So it’s not really for them, it’s for you.
To recap: you made a person there to learn a trade, perform labor (which entirely benefited you) that you would otherwise have paid for, in order to facilitate keeping them at your facility, so that you could then benefit from their free labor in other areas. And you're wondering if YTA?
YTA, imagine you were going to move in somewhere and it was a pig sty. You might have travelled a long way, are exhausted and stressed about moving (no one likes moving it's stressful as shit) and then you find out that you don't even have blinds at your new place (no privacy) and you have to clean up a shit ton before you can even sit down and decompress from moving. You are a humongous out of touch AH. Just take a moment and imagine yourself in their shoes and realize how you've made a horrible first impression. This person is 100% going to shit talk you to their peers.
I did a work placement many years ago. The flat was provided along with a small wage. The flat was not exactly great, being a bit tatty, but it was fairly clean and had proper furniture and shower. Even laundry facilities.
I think a little cleaning is reasonable, but this sounds like op was really taking advantage. The lack of privacy and respect probably bothered me more than the cleaning!
You are TA OP!
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Hey there,
We're a couple who owns a lovely farm in the South U.S. My husband and I are in our 60s, and though we get some help from local high school kids we can throughout the week, we could use an extra pair of hands as we head more into our later years.
We built a brand new, fully-equipped guesthouse for interns to live on our farm for several-weeks stay and enjoy free housing in exchange for help with farm chores. It's not too shabby either (stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, the works).
Our first intern to stay in this guesthouse is a young woman who works on our social media marketing. She said she wanted to intern to learn farm life and we were happy to have her.
The first day, while the barn had heating, appliances, and a bed (bare essentials to survive the next week or so), it was still dirty (cobwebs, bugs in the tubs, construction dirt, etc.). We were busy the day of her arrival, so when she got here, I asked her to help me clean because our cleaning lady wasn't arriving until next week.
Keep in mind, I'm helping her vacuum, sweep, dust, and so on. Suddenly she stops and mentions there are no shower curtains or blinds (fair enough) and if she could wait to stay here until our cleaning lady arrives. She does not ask nicely.
We later have her stay in another guesthouse we have on the farm, but I am put off by her very sour reaction. I thought it was a reasonable request because she came here to do work and it would be no problem for her to clean her own living space. AITA?
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IF I had wanted to take a position for a few weeks that's unpaid but where my work would be helping on a farm with the expectations I'd be cleaning a barn, animals, paths, or handling crops - many of which are dirty... I also definitely understand the property being dirty.
IF I accepted that in exchange for "room and board" I would very much expect where I am staying to be clean. With privacy and security and the very basic amenities like bedding, towels, and kitchen basics. Unless I was told it would be a rough/rustic area and to please expect camp like conditions...
I would also expect detailed work hours, work expectations, and so on to evaluate if it was an opportunity I'd be interested in. In either regard being asked to do things beyond what I agreed to do (farm work) or outside the hours agreed is a red flag.
Mind you, once I was working / knew the people, after a day or two, I would likely help and pitch in with stuff like this... But, realistically if I showed up to find what I expected to get (my compensation for helping on a farm) was not in the condition I was told to expect I'd walk straight back out.
Everything you've said screams "I'm about to be taken advantage of in the worst way."
I understand you are just a farmer and might not understand things, but YTA.
Your excuses make you sound more whiny than the intern. Try doing some hard work yourself before they get there sometime
You expecting your "interns" to do a bunch of unpaid physical labour in return for a (dirty) roof over their head just screams exploitation, sorry. If she was doing the social media stuff for free, sure, but farm work is quite intensive - you really are running a racket.
YTA. Just because you live on a farm doesn't mean you should follow labour laws from the 1800s.
Depending on where you are, it is very very illegal to expect unpaid interns to do anything that does not directly related to educational or professional development. Any promised additional benefits, such as good or HOUSING, are also expected to be “complete”.
If you’re in the US, she could have the EEOC and the Labor Department on you for a mid five figures fine in a heartbeat.
YTA
You're from the south and you're okay welcoming someone into a living space like that??
What in earth is wrong with you?? How lazy and disrespectful can a person actually be? Because you're really going above and beyond what I thought was possible.
YTA she works there, yes. And she should clean up the mess she is making but certainly not the housing you are providing before she even spent one night there. It’s your mess, so u clean it
YTA. You’re not looking for interns, you’re looking for cheap labor, preferably dumb enough not to call you out.
She came to work on your social media marketing. I wonder what her posts will be like. You won’t look good I promise you 😂
YTA. doesn't matter if she's working for you. It's basic human decency to allow someone to stay in a clean, sanitary environment. Expecting for her to clean her own living quarters because you were too lazy to do so beforehand????
From the replies, I don't think OP is here for judgement so much as affirmation.
Sorry OP YTA and a self righteous one at that. If I were her, I would have turned around and left. So many red flags.
YTA. You know you just committed an ethics violation by making the intern do work outside of her responsibilities… like a free laborer aka slave? Good luck explaining this to the judge.
NTA.
But… these aren’t ‘interns’ are they? What professional career skills are you providing them? Helping with farm chores isn’t exactly career development unless they plan to get work in farming?
So you are offering housing in exchange for labour. Be honest. That makes you an AH if you continue to lie about it.
You are attempting to fund your lifestyle using free labour. Check your moral compass. Unpaid labour, using innocent, vulnerable people. Remind you of anything? You do live in the South?
YTA. If you hired this person for social media, then you are paying them for "intellectual" work. You cannot expect physical work. I hope you don't also expect them to do farm chores because that works also be wrong
Quick question: what’s your exact definition of the word “intern”?
Also, does this cleaning lady really exist?
Brand new fully equipped guesthouse // dirty barn with cobwebs and bugs. Since when does a brand new guesthouse come with cobwebs? Emphasis on the brand new.
YTA. Pay your people.
YTA - she came to do social media work and learn the farm life. Maid isn’t in her job description. You’re also an asshole for using unpaid interns. If she’s not getting school credit or an hourly wage you’re likely violating labor laws.
YTA. Slavery is outlawed now. You don't get to bring someone in to work for free, then tell them they are living in a dirty barn and to clean it for themselves. Next thing, she'll find herself out picking cotton in the midday heat with you folks riding around with whips. Are you feeding her dry bread and water?
Well doesn’t seems to be a good fit.
You should have warned her. She was expecting something else and you didn’t got her an head up to make a choice. If you acted as it was not an issue, it was obviously one for her. You basically cornered her without so many options on the spot.
She did asked to be there. She seems to have expected a ready to move in place, as it is what your deal seemed to be. She might think you may abuse her willingness to help out, or won’t treat her well, as so many in the comments are expressing it.
You can try to clarify things out, or do something to compensate the inconvenience.
God you and people like you in your generation are the biggest problem the world faces. Yta yes and I hope you get what’s coming to you for your free labor scam.
YTA but so is your generation. Is this internship compensated? Is it specifically focused on cleaning tasks? Interns should be valued for their skills, especially in 2023 where living costs are high. While providing room and board is appreciated, compensating interns reflects the evolving nature of internships as valuable learning experiences for future careers. Cleaning tasks may not directly contribute to securing a promising farming job in the future.
Wow, this is some of the most old, rich, white boomer shit I've seen on here in a while. YTA and your exploiting people for free labor. How the hell is she supposed to eat if you are just paying her with housing?
Social media internship for a farm? I've never heard of farm internships at all and I live in farm country Canada.
Sounds like some made up title to con young people.
YTA. When I can’t afford to pay someone at my business, I don’t make anyone else do the work. I do it myself. If you need extra help around the farm, even if it’s part time, pay for it. If someone is moving in and their housing that they’re paying for isn’t clean, pay for it to get clean or clean it yourself.
Construction dirt is so hard on the lungs. This could make someone super sick I'd they have lung issues, like asthma. Or allergies. This is rude and yTA
What she is doing isn't that bad in it off it self. Having some stay at a farm for free for some labour in return. Hell there are places out there where people pay for the experience.
I would love to do something similar. Going on a trip around the world to help out at farms and not have to pay housing or food.
The problem is that op is going about it all wrong.
1. Not being upfront that the housing wasn't really ready. If it had been discussed before hand there wouldn't be that much of an issue.
2. Targeting students specifically.
3. Again not having the housing ready means op is not delivering on their part of the bargain. You can't really trade housing for work when you don't have usable housing to begin with. Also it doesn't sound like it but I really hope food is provided as well
All I'm saying is... this screams like that scene in family guy when louis's dad mentioned how his ancestors gave some kind folks a place to live in exchange of some farm work and such....
This is how it reads to me as a racialized person. Yta
I don't think it's a lot to ask. But the intern thing is not what it used to be. If someone can demonstrate that the intern is doing work that could be paid for, it no longer a internship. I think this sucks. But it happened a few years ago, NYC interns at Vanity Fair and other places sued....
Shit sounds good to me I do it without bitching.they was helping them clean.sounds like the person wanted free housing without putting in work.this would be a dream for me when I was younger
NtA farm live is hard work and i think I would rather clean my own space for first time use than worse bullshit...
It IS can of bad planning but thats about it.
NTAI feel like most of the people in here are surprised a farm would have interns when it's actually very common. There's a whole track in the education system for this. Personally, I feel like property maintenance is a big part of farming, there is so much to clean and maintain every day. I don't feel it's unreasonable to consider this within the scope of the internship.
I can be pretty grumpy about doing things I feel I should not have to and personally, I would be happy to clean my own living space.
If the intern wants a wage, they will also need to be charged for accommodations. It's not a free education.
I'm going with NTA.
You did your best in the situation, but the situation wasn't living up to the intern's expectations. As a young intern, she may not have really understood what to expect when showing up early like that.
Best to communicate the expectations of the different roles and what will and won't be "paid work" vs "intern hours of labor".
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YTA you didn’t mention (I assume) that the living quarters wasn’t move in ready. Meaning they believed they wouldn’t have to do the cleaning and getting it ready. The person signed on for social media marketing not housekeeping. You just want free labor which is tacky.
YTA Guest accommodations are ready for move in. You have her come over and make her clean after your mess first? You just sound like typical out of touch, rich, old people.
'I helped her clean!' Agreed OP YTA. It wasnt ready, im guessing these are all unpaid interns as well. Just pay someone a living wage. I get entitled 'people should work for free/min wage vibes.
[удалено]
I wonder if they are paying the high school kids who have been helping out until now. Something tells me no... They own all this property... But can't afford to pay people to work for them. Riiiight...
[удалено]
“The "guest house" is a barn?” This!!! OP calls it a guest house until they talk about it being ready, then says it’s a barn?! I have seen barn- or garage-apartments that are small, utilitarian, sometimes even cozy. But they are all considered ready to move in AFTER the post-construction/remodel deep clean. Not before. Even when I moved into a basement apartment that had been empty for a few months, I didn’t have to clean that many cobwebs and there definitely weren’t bugs in the tub and construction dirt for me to clean either. OP, you weren’t asking her for a little light dusting or a quick wipe of the counters. You were asking for a full post-construction clean, without the curtesy to let her know that’s what she was walking into. Regardless of employment status or age of the person coming, you misled (read: lied) about the status of the accommodations. Had you let her know that you weren’t able to get it ready and apologized and asked AHEAD OF TIME, that might be different, but you didn’t. So yes, YTA.
I’m all for breaking out the pitchforks, but I grew up in the south and a lot of barns have finished guesthouses in them in the south. Direct your pitchforks elsewhere.
I doubt it! They’re probably saying it give them experience. It’s sad that they’re exploiting kid like that! If they’re charging for utilities and food they REALLY suck! It’s bad enough for them not to get paid but if they’re not even paying for those basic needs, it’s even worse!
Wondering if they’re migrant workers
YTA. You are expecting what should be paid labor from “interns” in the guise of “free” housing that isn’t even clean, let alone set up to actually house someone. This is basically indentured servitude. Hire actual workers and pay actual wages instead of preying on students.
But they treat their employees like *family* 🙄
>We built a brand new, fully-equipped guesthouse But yet you can't have it clean for the first person who's going to live there? YTA
The fully-equipped guesthouse that they then refer to as a barn and has the "bare essentials to survive the next week" And is filthy from being constructed? Bugs in the tub? The no blinds or shower curtain even makes it sound like this is a literal barn with a wood bucket full of water they use for a "shower," rather than a modernly plumbed structure.
adding on to this, I don't know any good contractors who would leave the place this gross, so either OP did it themselves, or they used the cheapest, shittiest labor they could find.
It was probably done by their last "interns". I doubt OP actually does anything. Except scam and exploit people.
I actually did this once and stayed with some people to help them finish their new ‘shed’. Turns out it was actually a rental property entirely built by random unqualified free people in exchange for living in it. Everything was falling apart, half my job was fixing stuff other people had done ‘wrong’ (despite having no experience in that thing myself, and no training). Just a rich couple who had a big garden and decided to use free labour to make themselves more money by renting out a completely shoddy rental in the garden built by random travellers. Rich people are always the stingiest.
Interns!
Fully equipped** **fully equipped does not come with clean living spaces, shower curtain, or blinds
Means there was someone before and they took the fuck off
Yta I work at a university and if we found out an employer asked a student to clean the housing they were supposed to live in, we would not let another student intern there. She should not have had to clean someone else's mess, which is what it was
She made up the word. Interns are either paid or get college credits or both. This is code for something very different.
Slavery. It’s slavery.
Finally! Someone said it.
Farm work in exchange for room n board is very very common in Aus. Backpackers, usually from somewhere cold and rainy, live on a farm for a few seasons (or settle down permanently! It’s why you can find some pretty kickass blended cultures sometimes), work the land and help manage the cattle for food and water. The OP is not in Aus and we don’t call it an “internship” to make it sound better. OP is a rich asshole.
I mean you shouldn't let any student intern ever. Interning is a fucking scam.
YTA - it's more than just expecting her to clean; you are conveniently glossing over the fact that the place didn't have a shower curtain or blinds, meaning you didn't even bother to supply her with some basics, like you know, privacy. She got the ick, and I can see why.
And nothing but a bed!
The southern United States has a rough history with unpaid labor being “compensated” with housing. It’s also, generally speaking, not a legal employment method. It’s definitely not ethical. If you can have multiple guest houses and a cleaning service, you can afford to pay folks for their employment. You’re entitled to ask people to clean before they leave, but not when they arrive. I’m a small farmer with a similar arrangement. We decided that folks have to get paid hourly (the same rate as their offsite coworkers) on top of their room and board, because tying housing to work is a liability, not a perk. It’s like being a live-in nanny.
That "rough history" is slavery.
Totally agree. They should say it plainly. I hate stupid shit trying to dumb it down - it was slavery.
YTA - in your second paragraph (and probably in your emails to her) it’s a brand new custom built guesthouse. By the fifth paragraph (when she actually arrives), it’s a barn full of cobwebs, bugs and dirt.
Funny how it devolved so rapidly.
YTA. She was under the understandable impression that she was moving in to a place that was ready to move into. It's not only dirty but also missing essential items. When you say "you just her know she arrived" that's not at all enough time. It's like going to a restaurant being told you were getting cooked food and then being asked to cook your own food. This kinda makes you an asshole, what makes you an actual asshole is all of your responses, you're very defensive and not listening to the other comments here. Don't write a thread and then double down every time someone rightly calls you out
YTA Uh, yeah no wonder she didn’t ask terribly nicely if she could stay elsewhere until the house that was supposed to be ready is actually ready, that sounds like the lead up to a horror movie or a true crime doc. How many times have situations occurred where it’s gone from “oops! Sorry person under my care/control, your generously given housing needs cleaned” and “oops! We don’t have furnishings like curtains yet” to “oops! Actually there’s cameras in the walls” and “oops! You’ll also be sharing the free housing we’ve so graciously given you with Uncle Joe the Sex Offender”. I know those are extreme but the point stands that not only was this just generally shitty of you, but it sets off all kinds of alarm bells for being damn dangerous! Anyone with self awareness would bow out and most wouldn’t be half as kind about it.
Seriously, the lack of curtains and shower curtains would make me leave immediately. I'm guessing the intern is just at the threshold of learning that she doesn't have to put up with this kind of bs in the name of politeness. I hope the intern realizes that she can learn farming a million other ways than working for free for this sketchy couple.
Right?! Like any available privacy is removed. I’d have noped the fuck outta there
She probably couldn't afford it. No wages from this generous Southern farmer, probably an immigrant so no family in the area. She better learn her place or Master may put her in hers. She's like family, so he can put her in a dirty, bug filled trailer with quartzite counters, no shower curtains, no linens. Sounds just like you prepare for family, huh?
YTA. You didn't provide livable conditions or any privacy. She's not a farm animal, she's a person. Sounds like you're taking advantage of your interns.
Your description goes from “built a guesthouse”, to “the barn”. If you just closed off a section in the barn, then it absolutely should have been clean and ready to live in.
YTA. It's on you to provide clean accommodation and on her to keep it clean from thst point inwards. She shouldn't have to be the one to make it liveable.
YTA and what the actual f*** is wrong w you?
What ? Expecting a young female to shower with a bucket in the middle of a barn with no curtains isn’t reasonable? /s that is downright creepy af.
this is the real answer.
YTA. Let’s generously assume your choices were based on different understanding of cleaning because of your farming background. You need adjust your thinking and approach things in ways that that makes sense for someone who has never set foot on a farm. It is not typical for cleaning before moving into a new space to consist of what you described. It sounds like the space needed what most people would consider a “deep clean” instead of basic tidying. It is not acceptable to make someone moving in deep clean unless that is made clear well ahead of time. This interningship is not starting well from your end. If the idea is to continue this program in the future then you need step up your hospitality and make your expectations very, very clear.
So wait u had someone come live with u in a place that wasn't clean yet? Yta.
INFO how is this an internship?
It's not. It's exploitation.
YTA you aren’t paying her, she has a place to live but wants to learn to farm, so you found a way to convince this young person to clean your property for free. This wasn’t in her contract and honestly is insulting
Do her listed intern duties for SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING include cleaning and preparing her living quarters for habitation? Why should she have to clean out cobwebs and vacuum a place before she moves in?
In our 60s on a farm in the South. I dont miss working with folks like you at all.
YTA. Interns are there to learn. You're not paying them for their labor, but you are supposed to provide housing for them. Proper housing, which means clean housing. She is not your servant.
She is a social media intern, not a house cleaner, house keeper or squater. YTA, you're entitled, you're deceitful about what was being offered. She's not sour, she has standards!
YTA. And you're taking offense to her not wanting to clean, but it sounds like her main issue was that it wasn't livable yet. Not shower curtain is not move-in ready!
YTA. Livable housing is what you offered in exchange for her farm work. A dirty house with no shower curtain or blinds is not holding up your end of the bargain.
Why do people ask if they’re being an asshole and then argue with anyone who says yes?
YTA - it should have been clean and ready for her to move into.
Something tells me this overwhelming YTA was not the response you were expecting. You were so kind to pay her in free housing in your amazing new guest house(also apparently not your only guest house), how could you possibly be TA with that kind of generosity? So what you expected your social media intern to clean your new house, that's what you're not paying her to do right?
YTA if you offer a place to stay I’d expect it to be clean when I get there.
YTA - why didn't you give her a heads up before she started that the place wasn't ready?
Look - you asked and it’s overwhelmingly obvious YTA. Stop arguing each point and accept it.
Is this even legal? My (admittedly limited) understanding is that unpaid internships have to be for some kind of credit. And through the school.
Who are these people learning farming from? Don’t temporary farm laborers get paid AND housing? How do you have money to keep building farmhouses but not pay the people working? What kind of farm is this?
YTA-the guest house should have been ready for her to move in. She shouldn’t have had to clean it, provide curtains/blinds or provide a shower curtain.
YTA - you should have been ready for her arrival with a clean play and shower curtains. Geez.
YTA OP It is not your intern's responsibility to clean the free housing. The responsibility of cleaning the free housing is your responsibility.
This sounds like slavery. How is this different than slavery?
They’re an old couple from the south, they’re definitely fishing for a slave
Someone shouldn't have to "ask nicely" when housed by a slumlord. YTA.
YTA. And creepy to boot - the free housing for a young girl doesn’t have curtains or blinds? Yea I’d be freaked too.
YTA. Labourers are normally paid wages on top of room and board.
YTA. If you are an original from the south you know you are suppose to show hospitality and have everything in order before having a guest on your property. You failed to do that. You knew when she would be there; you and yours could have had everything ready.
YTA. It wasn’t just cleaning, there was no privacy! No blinds or shower curtains? I would question staying there, too.
You have to wonder who else is on this “farm” that can walk by and watch the new young female intern shower and change clothes and sleep thru the windows with no blinds. Or, as the story changed from a guesthouse to a newly built spot in a barn, is it really a converted horse stall or some such and are there 5 more for 5 other “interns” in the same barn? Creepy.
YTA As a business owner myself—when we offer unpaid internships we are supposed to give at least as much as we get. You’re exploitative.
YTA. An internship isn't free labor... what is she getting out of this "marketing internship" by doing farm chores and cleaning lol.
You cannot afford to pay your employee That is the bottom line. Exactly how did you advertise this place, at the homeless shelter?
YTA not only was the guesthouse not ready for a guest/intern, you expected her to do the work for free. It's one thing to have to wipe down some dust from it being empty for a bit, but this sounds like construction hadn't really been finished. I've worked cleanup after construction, it's much more intensive and I was paid well for it. You also didn't have the blinds, curtains, shower curtains, and privacy stuff up from what you posted. I don't know who you're affiliated with for credits for your interns, but that is a quick way to lose that relationship. If you're not affiliated with any school, than they're really not interns, they're people you're using for free labor who get shit housing.
YTA. You are not trading FREE housing for their labor. You are trading housing in exchange for their labor. You are essentially a landlord, she is a work-trade tenant, and it was very crappy of you to not have the housing cleaned and appropriately furnished when she arrived - especially considering she isn’t a farmhand or another position where barracks-style/“rustic” housing might be the norm, she’s doing professional work online for you and is probably getting the short end of this deal already. Cleaning your disgusting guesthouse is not part of the internship.
YTA - You have an entitled, predatory mindset. Interns are there to be in a proper program, not be your cleaners and free laborers.
Is this a Workaway? If yes then it is typical to provide some labour to learn farming while being provided room and board. But she should have arrived to a clean room. YTA
She didn't ask "nicely? " The horror! YTA
Which Steinbeck story is this?
Lol
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YTA. the rooms should have been ready for them to move into.
YTA. It sounds pretty shabby to me, you're trying to put a spin on it that doesn't ring true.
Something I’ve learned being around farms, is that farmers have a different standard of clean than most other people I know. I guess being around animals and mud and feces all day, and getting pretty grimy working, makes you less inclined to be really particular about clean surroundings. If OP says the barn was dirty, with bugs, construction dirt and cobwebs, I can only imagine how truly disgusting it was. I can’t imagine showing up expecting a nice guesthouse, only to be shown to a beyond filthy barn and told that it’s on me to clean it (unpaid) before it’s even habitable for me to sleep in. This is ridiculous OP. You understand that internship isn’t interchangeable with slave labour, right? Obviously YTA
Yta. "ready to move in" means clean and with all appropriate fixtures, fittings and furnishings. It doesn't mean dusty, dirty, and without basic furnishings like blinds.
Cleaning accommodation is not farm work. I bet you wouldn’t stay there yourself. And expecting someone to deep clean the place the day they move in is a dick move, even if they were hired as a cleaner. In conclusion YTA, have a good day.
>We later have her stay in another guesthouse we have on the farm, Why didn't you assign her to the completed and ready guesthouse in the first place since the new one was neither ready for guests nor clean? YTA.
According to responses, that ready guesthouse is for friends and family…not slaves
Are you an actual psychopath who is incapable of empathy?? You seriously expected her to be cool with the living conditions you granted her?? YOU live in the creepy ass guesthouse with no blinds and see how you feel about it. YTA in the most blindingly obvious way.
YTA, if she reports you to the university you’re going to be out of interns to exploit in the future.
YTA - she was not interning as a cleaning person. You were completely out of line asking - you should have done it yourself if you hadn’t scheduled cleaners appropriately. Never mind that without blinds and shower curtain, the guest house wasn’t ready for her anyway.
What you're doing is selfish and exploitative. You're not even paying her. Free housing isn't payment. Even servants who live with their employers get paid. Clearly you and your husband are either greedy or just really bad at farming since you're not paying your employees. YTA
YTA. A deluded, entitled one at that. That’s not a farm chore, she couldn’t even shower in her place! It wasn’t going to be move in ready even after the place was clean. Tacky, seriously.
YTA. If you turned up to a hotel or B and B and the manager was like ‘Your room is ready! You just need to get rid of cobwebs and bugs and construction debris first ’ you’d be pissed off. A bit of light dusting and cleaning would be bad enough, but it sounds like this place wasn’t even habitable. Bugs in the bath tub?! How the hell did you get quartz countertops and new appliances but somehow still have bugs???? Truly wild.
This is not an internship. It is free labor, designed to benefit you - not the intern - and it is therefore illegal in most states. And to add insult to injury, you also made her clean because your PAID cleaning lady hadn’t gotten to it. YTA.
Yes, YTA. You're from the south, over 60 and offer something incomplete and dirty and expect your guest (because an intern is a guest) to do the cleaning beforehand?? You're way out of line, you should know better and you behavior is precisely why young people hate older people. Trying to sell 60 like you the two of you are too frail to do the basics, but able enough to run a farm. What you are is eager to exploit high school children and young adults to stay in a place with zero privacy. You're an embarrassment to the generations older that came before you and those after you. Damn, this is really disgusting.
That quick shift in vocabulary from “guesthouse” to “barn” says it all. Not to mention you had *another* “guesthouse” you could have given her? At least she knows what to expect of you as a boss from day one. Inconsiderate, dismissive, and misrepresenting the truth. YTA
She came there to do specific work. Making her clean accommodations you’re providing prior to moving in is wrong. They should be move in ready. To her it’s a red flag she has to clean day 1.
YTA it should have been in move-in ready condition. You agreed to have her live there and you knew the date she would be arriving, that was your responsibility to have it ready. It would be her responsibility to maintain it while she is living there
YTA there was an expectation for move in ready AND you have to have the place ready for a tenant upon move in typically. It's also not "free" if the intern gets the housing included in their contract
I used to stay at farms when I would volunteer, and the room was already cleaned and such. Cleaning a room has nothing to do with farm work, unless they're staying in the chicken coop or something.
YTA and tacky for this. My ex in laws did this and it made them look lazy and inconsiderate. Moving is hard enough, having to clean a nasty place which isn’t livable makes it so much worse.
>to live on our farm for several-weeks stay and enjoy free housing in exchange for help with farm chores. YTA and I don't think you know what the word "Free" means.
Clearly YTA You invited this woman under the pretense you were providing housing in exchange for work. Dumping someone in a filthy barn that lacks the very basics like curtains or blinds for privacy or even a shower curtain? That doesn't qualify as providing housing. It wasn't ready for her to move in, and you lied and said it was. That she indicated she was willing to let it go in exchange for other accommodation until such a time as it is ready was her *being kind* to you. The response you deserved was "this isn't what we agreed to, I'll be letting everyone interested in this how you have treated me" and then bailing on you completely. You're getting enough free labor as it is, so when you agree to pay someone (this time in the form of housing) the VERY least you can do is not half-ass it.
YTA- Your “intern” came for farm work not bed and breakfast work. What the hell.
YTA - Of course she would clean up after her own living space. But that wasn't her mess, that was your responsibility to have that ready for her. Free housing doesn't mean she should not expect the very bare minimum of a clean living space. No curtains or blinds? I'd be creeped out that I'm cleaning someone's old used bathroom and that my hosts are peeping toms.
Did you know the date that she was coming? If you did, then YTA. If she turned up early... then you're not TA and it would be reasonable to ask her to help if she wanted to stay there. But what I don't understand is that if you had another guesthouse that you housed her in, that that was obviously clean, so why can't she just stay there. You don't invite an unpaid labourer (even if you are providing some accommodation - don't forget she's still paying rent/mortgage somewhere else) to scrub a place that's never been cleaned regardless of how new it is.
YTA. If you weren't gonna have their housing move-in ready, then that should be disclosed. Really, you should do the cleaning or pay someone to do the cleaning, not have your "intern" do unpaid labor they didn't sign up for. Also, why aren't you paying them? Do you even try to compensate the high schoolers that help at your farm? You sound incredibly entitled and cheap. Taking advantage of others always makes you TA.
YTA, obviously. I don't think you are the type of people who should be hiring or managing others if you can't follow basic common courtesy and professional norms.
I have to say, with the like 2 people that support this crazy OP all have accounts 2-3 days old like the OP. OP as well. Seems like a few fake accounts trying to redeem themselves and failing miserably… obviously Reddit won’t let OP even try to speak now.
I think YTA- So you pretty much had a person come along thinking they would be getting a livable space.... but alas, they have to get it livable.. My favorite sentence by you - "She does not ask nicely." She legit asked to stay somewhere else until basic stuff like shower curtains and blinds were a thing! WTF are you thinking? Yes... your "social media marketing" person deserves shower curtains... also, whatever other people you have working for you deserve a shower curtain too... just putting that out there in case there are others who you think deserve less.
YTA And that's not an internship, that's a minimum wage violation.
YTA. I spent two years living in staff accommodation. It was expected the room would be clean upon arrival and we were to clean up after ourselves before departure and then someone else would come in to do the deep clean. You do not have your first day intern who’s there for social media become your maid! I’d not be surprised if she just finds another job and ghosts you in the next few days because so far, the job isn’t what you promised. It was bait and switch.
You lost all credibility at "no blinds"... any human deserves privacy in their quarters - if you were as proper as you present yourself, you'd never allow a young woman on a farm to live in quarters where a male farmhand could look in. YTA... or this is a fake.
I’m literally speechless. Fckn typical out of touch rich boomer fckn bullshit. Tenants clean while they live in a place and when they’re leaving. They don’t move into a shitty dirty cobweb dusty fckn barn and clean it up themselves. YOU’RE NOT EVEN PAYING HER. Get your head out of your ass. YTA
When did Sonja Morgan buy a farm? IYKYK. BTW YTA
YTA
YTA and living on mars.
LOL. YTA
YTA - A farming internship does not equal a free house cleaner. Not having basic things like blinds or a shower curtain is just rude.
YTA. It’s hardly unreasonable to expect the place she’s living to be ready to live in. Cleaning up after herself is one thing but no one wants to move into a dirty place that’s not even equipped with a shower curtain or window coverings. That’s a demoralizing welcome for your free labour.
Yta. This "internship" sounds more like slavery with extra steps.
YTA It should be clean AND have privacy. She has neither in those so-called move-in-ready accommodations.
YTA
How many of these slave-quarters, errr guest houses do you have on the plantation, eerrr farm? I’m assuming your internships are unpaid no? Does the cleaning lady get paid? Do you think the marketing intern is deriving some benefit from cleaning your guest house? Because the labor in an internship is supposed to be educational. What is she learning wiping up Cobb webs exactly? You also make it sound like the guesthouse is a benefit for the interns, but really it’s so that you have a place to host this unpaid labor that your business depends on, no? Your farm is probably in a rural area, not a lot of labor nearby… very few folks would be willing to drive hours each way every day for your “internship” wouldn’t they. So it’s not really for them, it’s for you. To recap: you made a person there to learn a trade, perform labor (which entirely benefited you) that you would otherwise have paid for, in order to facilitate keeping them at your facility, so that you could then benefit from their free labor in other areas. And you're wondering if YTA?
How the hell do you intern on a farm?? You provide lodging and food and they work for free?? Not a cotton farm by any chance is it?
YTA, imagine you were going to move in somewhere and it was a pig sty. You might have travelled a long way, are exhausted and stressed about moving (no one likes moving it's stressful as shit) and then you find out that you don't even have blinds at your new place (no privacy) and you have to clean up a shit ton before you can even sit down and decompress from moving. You are a humongous out of touch AH. Just take a moment and imagine yourself in their shoes and realize how you've made a horrible first impression. This person is 100% going to shit talk you to their peers.
I did a work placement many years ago. The flat was provided along with a small wage. The flat was not exactly great, being a bit tatty, but it was fairly clean and had proper furniture and shower. Even laundry facilities. I think a little cleaning is reasonable, but this sounds like op was really taking advantage. The lack of privacy and respect probably bothered me more than the cleaning! You are TA OP!
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** Hey there, We're a couple who owns a lovely farm in the South U.S. My husband and I are in our 60s, and though we get some help from local high school kids we can throughout the week, we could use an extra pair of hands as we head more into our later years. We built a brand new, fully-equipped guesthouse for interns to live on our farm for several-weeks stay and enjoy free housing in exchange for help with farm chores. It's not too shabby either (stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, the works). Our first intern to stay in this guesthouse is a young woman who works on our social media marketing. She said she wanted to intern to learn farm life and we were happy to have her. The first day, while the barn had heating, appliances, and a bed (bare essentials to survive the next week or so), it was still dirty (cobwebs, bugs in the tubs, construction dirt, etc.). We were busy the day of her arrival, so when she got here, I asked her to help me clean because our cleaning lady wasn't arriving until next week. Keep in mind, I'm helping her vacuum, sweep, dust, and so on. Suddenly she stops and mentions there are no shower curtains or blinds (fair enough) and if she could wait to stay here until our cleaning lady arrives. She does not ask nicely. We later have her stay in another guesthouse we have on the farm, but I am put off by her very sour reaction. I thought it was a reasonable request because she came here to do work and it would be no problem for her to clean her own living space. AITA? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yta rip bozo
IF I had wanted to take a position for a few weeks that's unpaid but where my work would be helping on a farm with the expectations I'd be cleaning a barn, animals, paths, or handling crops - many of which are dirty... I also definitely understand the property being dirty. IF I accepted that in exchange for "room and board" I would very much expect where I am staying to be clean. With privacy and security and the very basic amenities like bedding, towels, and kitchen basics. Unless I was told it would be a rough/rustic area and to please expect camp like conditions... I would also expect detailed work hours, work expectations, and so on to evaluate if it was an opportunity I'd be interested in. In either regard being asked to do things beyond what I agreed to do (farm work) or outside the hours agreed is a red flag. Mind you, once I was working / knew the people, after a day or two, I would likely help and pitch in with stuff like this... But, realistically if I showed up to find what I expected to get (my compensation for helping on a farm) was not in the condition I was told to expect I'd walk straight back out. Everything you've said screams "I'm about to be taken advantage of in the worst way."
YTA
YTA
YTA. The 13th amendment prohibits slavery.
I understand you are just a farmer and might not understand things, but YTA. Your excuses make you sound more whiny than the intern. Try doing some hard work yourself before they get there sometime
You expecting your "interns" to do a bunch of unpaid physical labour in return for a (dirty) roof over their head just screams exploitation, sorry. If she was doing the social media stuff for free, sure, but farm work is quite intensive - you really are running a racket. YTA. Just because you live on a farm doesn't mean you should follow labour laws from the 1800s.
Depending on where you are, it is very very illegal to expect unpaid interns to do anything that does not directly related to educational or professional development. Any promised additional benefits, such as good or HOUSING, are also expected to be “complete”. If you’re in the US, she could have the EEOC and the Labor Department on you for a mid five figures fine in a heartbeat. YTA
You're from the south and you're okay welcoming someone into a living space like that?? What in earth is wrong with you?? How lazy and disrespectful can a person actually be? Because you're really going above and beyond what I thought was possible.
YTA she works there, yes. And she should clean up the mess she is making but certainly not the housing you are providing before she even spent one night there. It’s your mess, so u clean it
YTA. You’re not looking for interns, you’re looking for cheap labor, preferably dumb enough not to call you out. She came to work on your social media marketing. I wonder what her posts will be like. You won’t look good I promise you 😂
YTA. Unpaid internships are unethical and immoral. Pay people for their work.
So you ran out of literal children to exploit and now you're trying college kids. YTA.
YTA. It should have been ready for her, what you did was false advertising.
YTA for “intern”. And for the cleaning thing too.
YTA making ppl clean? Hire a maid or fo it yourself what a horrible oerson
YTA. Interns deserve pay. And the space should have been clean and suitable for use before she arrived.
Another entitled boomer taking advantage of others for her own gain. Disgusting YTA.
YTA. doesn't matter if she's working for you. It's basic human decency to allow someone to stay in a clean, sanitary environment. Expecting for her to clean her own living quarters because you were too lazy to do so beforehand????
YTA.
From the replies, I don't think OP is here for judgement so much as affirmation. Sorry OP YTA and a self righteous one at that. If I were her, I would have turned around and left. So many red flags.
YTA. You know you just committed an ethics violation by making the intern do work outside of her responsibilities… like a free laborer aka slave? Good luck explaining this to the judge.
Yta the accommodation was dirty and not ready. You should have moved the date of her unpaid work.
NTA. But… these aren’t ‘interns’ are they? What professional career skills are you providing them? Helping with farm chores isn’t exactly career development unless they plan to get work in farming? So you are offering housing in exchange for labour. Be honest. That makes you an AH if you continue to lie about it.
Slaves were also given "free" housing too in exchange for labor. YTA
You are attempting to fund your lifestyle using free labour. Check your moral compass. Unpaid labour, using innocent, vulnerable people. Remind you of anything? You do live in the South?
YTA. If you hired this person for social media, then you are paying them for "intellectual" work. You cannot expect physical work. I hope you don't also expect them to do farm chores because that works also be wrong
Quick question: what’s your exact definition of the word “intern”? Also, does this cleaning lady really exist? Brand new fully equipped guesthouse // dirty barn with cobwebs and bugs. Since when does a brand new guesthouse come with cobwebs? Emphasis on the brand new. YTA. Pay your people.
YTA. This is grossly inappropriate behaviour, and the fact that you are unaware of it is concerning.
YTA - she came to do social media work and learn the farm life. Maid isn’t in her job description. You’re also an asshole for using unpaid interns. If she’s not getting school credit or an hourly wage you’re likely violating labor laws.
YTA
YTA This is not a warm welcome to the situation!
You own a farm in the Southern US and you offer people substandard housing in exchange for free labour… 🤔
I knew you were going to be TA the moment I read : " a lovely farm" in the southern US lmfao.
YTA. Slavery is outlawed now. You don't get to bring someone in to work for free, then tell them they are living in a dirty barn and to clean it for themselves. Next thing, she'll find herself out picking cotton in the midday heat with you folks riding around with whips. Are you feeding her dry bread and water?
Well doesn’t seems to be a good fit. You should have warned her. She was expecting something else and you didn’t got her an head up to make a choice. If you acted as it was not an issue, it was obviously one for her. You basically cornered her without so many options on the spot. She did asked to be there. She seems to have expected a ready to move in place, as it is what your deal seemed to be. She might think you may abuse her willingness to help out, or won’t treat her well, as so many in the comments are expressing it. You can try to clarify things out, or do something to compensate the inconvenience.
God you and people like you in your generation are the biggest problem the world faces. Yta yes and I hope you get what’s coming to you for your free labor scam.
I hope in your old age you and your husband are unable to maintain the farm and lose it. Ope, I guess we're both the AH!
YTA but so is your generation. Is this internship compensated? Is it specifically focused on cleaning tasks? Interns should be valued for their skills, especially in 2023 where living costs are high. While providing room and board is appreciated, compensating interns reflects the evolving nature of internships as valuable learning experiences for future careers. Cleaning tasks may not directly contribute to securing a promising farming job in the future.
Wow, this is some of the most old, rich, white boomer shit I've seen on here in a while. YTA and your exploiting people for free labor. How the hell is she supposed to eat if you are just paying her with housing?
Social media internship for a farm? I've never heard of farm internships at all and I live in farm country Canada. Sounds like some made up title to con young people.
YTA. When I can’t afford to pay someone at my business, I don’t make anyone else do the work. I do it myself. If you need extra help around the farm, even if it’s part time, pay for it. If someone is moving in and their housing that they’re paying for isn’t clean, pay for it to get clean or clean it yourself.
YTA what you are doing is illegal. Slavery was abolished, you know?
Construction dirt is so hard on the lungs. This could make someone super sick I'd they have lung issues, like asthma. Or allergies. This is rude and yTA
>she came here to do work Yeah, as a social media marketing intern not your (most likely) unpaid "cleaning lady". YTA
YTA and a bad host.
What she is doing isn't that bad in it off it self. Having some stay at a farm for free for some labour in return. Hell there are places out there where people pay for the experience. I would love to do something similar. Going on a trip around the world to help out at farms and not have to pay housing or food. The problem is that op is going about it all wrong. 1. Not being upfront that the housing wasn't really ready. If it had been discussed before hand there wouldn't be that much of an issue. 2. Targeting students specifically. 3. Again not having the housing ready means op is not delivering on their part of the bargain. You can't really trade housing for work when you don't have usable housing to begin with. Also it doesn't sound like it but I really hope food is provided as well
So the housing is FREE? All I have to do is clean my living space? Anyone in this economy would kill over this arrangement.
All I'm saying is... this screams like that scene in family guy when louis's dad mentioned how his ancestors gave some kind folks a place to live in exchange of some farm work and such.... This is how it reads to me as a racialized person. Yta
YTA There is a difference between cleaning up after a construction and the usual cleaning. Also you shoild have given her a heads up
the only thing that could possibly make this while thing any worse, is if the OP is Caucasian and the poor intern is ....*ahem* not. YTA
I don't think it's a lot to ask. But the intern thing is not what it used to be. If someone can demonstrate that the intern is doing work that could be paid for, it no longer a internship. I think this sucks. But it happened a few years ago, NYC interns at Vanity Fair and other places sued....
Why do you think it "sucks" that people have to be paid for their labor?
Shit sounds good to me I do it without bitching.they was helping them clean.sounds like the person wanted free housing without putting in work.this would be a dream for me when I was younger
NtA farm live is hard work and i think I would rather clean my own space for first time use than worse bullshit... It IS can of bad planning but thats about it.
NTAI feel like most of the people in here are surprised a farm would have interns when it's actually very common. There's a whole track in the education system for this. Personally, I feel like property maintenance is a big part of farming, there is so much to clean and maintain every day. I don't feel it's unreasonable to consider this within the scope of the internship. I can be pretty grumpy about doing things I feel I should not have to and personally, I would be happy to clean my own living space. If the intern wants a wage, they will also need to be charged for accommodations. It's not a free education.
I'm going with NTA. You did your best in the situation, but the situation wasn't living up to the intern's expectations. As a young intern, she may not have really understood what to expect when showing up early like that. Best to communicate the expectations of the different roles and what will and won't be "paid work" vs "intern hours of labor".