An errand is a task of no great consequence, typically concerning household or business affairs, which requires the person undertaking it to travel to a place where it can be accomplished. The activity of undertaking this task is called running an errand, while a series of such tasks undertaken in a single outing is called errand-running or running errands.

Definitions

An "errand" can include delivering a message, for which reason an 1871 dictionary of synonyms described a message as synonymous with an errand, while allowing that an errand can be something other than a message:

In employment

Historically, people with more wealth or power would hire a person, typically called an errand boy or errand girl, to perform these tasks for them. The modern term for such a person is gofer (derived from the phrase ''go for''). In more modern times, an employer or supervisor with employees having specified job functions may be subject to legal consequences if the employer requires the employee to perform errands that are not part of their job. For this purpose, errands may be divided between those that are work-related, and those that are personal errands. A business owner or employee may also be subject to consequences for using company time or property to engage in personal errands. The liability of an employer for an injury caused by an employee departing from work-related activities to run an errand is addressed by the law of frolic and detour, under which the employer remains liable of the departure is minor. A 1909 report on the

English Poor Laws The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief in England and Wales that developed out of the codification of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws in 1587–1598. The system continued until the modern welfare state emerged in the late 1940s. En ...

noted that "the most hopeless position is that of the errand boy at a small shop in a poor neighborhood", for whom "prospects are absolutely nil".''Report on Boy Labour in London and Other Typical Towns'' (1909) p. 20. The report further noted that those employed as errand boys were unlikely to pick up any additional skills useful in a trade. In more recent times, some errand-running functions have been assumed by

gig economy The gig economy is the economic system by which a workforce of people (known as gig workers) engage in freelance and/or side-employment. Description The gig economy is composed of corporate entities, workers and consumers. The Internal Reve ...

businesses that will run typical errands, such as "donation drop offs, returns, shopping, random pickups/drop offs, pharmacy runs, and food pick ups" for a small fee.

Cultural significance

The running of errands may have some specific cultural significance. The Japanese television series '' Old Enough!'' () depicts, in a documentary manner, the efforts of toddlers going on an errand on their ownbuying groceries, delivering packagesaccompanied by the camera crew. The program highlights the Japanese cultural practice of sending small children to run errands as a means of increasing their sense of independence, and has been distributed internationally since 2022 on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. Most of the children who try to perform errands are between 3 and 6 years old (nursery school children and kindergarteners), but in rare cases, children as young as 1 or 2 years old have also participated. Since the parents basically do not provide notes, but only verbally tell their children what they want, there are many cases where children forget to buy items for the errands or make a mistake. A fool's errand prank is a type of

practical joke A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...

played in many parts of the world, where a newcomer to a group, typically in a workplace context, is given an impossible or nonsensical task by older or more experienced members of the group. A common fool's errand is to send someone to get " blinker fluid" or "turn-signal fluid" from an automotive parts store. More generally, a fool's errand is a task almost certain to fail.

Errand paralysis

Sufficiently severe anxiety can render a person unable to run even simple errands, for which the term "errand paralysis" has been coined. This is particularly the case where an individual allows a large number of small errands to accumulate, so that the collective work to be done becomes substantial.

References

{{reflist Everyday life