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how do you deal with a colleague or co-worker who is "slacking off"..?

A

aidanjm

Lifer
this question was asked of me recently (in a job interview). I am curious to know what people do in such situations (what they really do, as opposed to what they say they do in a job interview).

my own tendency is to try to not interfere in another person's life. I can't even begin to imagine complaining to management that someone isn't "pulling their weight". does this make me a less than ideal employee? Is there a responsibility to the employer to be zealous about lazy co-workers?
 
Just let them slack off. As long as they get all their work done by the deadline, who cares?

Damn, I should have replied to this thread tomorrow at work ...
Then I could have sent my boss the URL 🙂
 
Me personally, talk to the person first about your disappointment in their performance. Let them know to shape up or ship out, if it's a team effort then the whole team should be working. This is something I have done before. No threats, just let them know calmly that you feel they are not performing
 
Originally posted by: griffis
Me personally, talk to the person first about your disappointment in their performance. Let them know to shape up or ship out, if it's a team effort then the whole team should be working. This is something I have done before. No threats, just let them know calmly that you feel they are not performing
Click to expand...

Then I would respond with something like "you must be slacking off if you have time to observe me and try to assume that I'm not working." I then would go and inform your boss that your are slacking off because of all the excess time you have spent trying to be my boss and not worring about your tasks.

 
If slacking off is hurting their work performance, their next review will reflect it. It is up to their supervisor whether the slacking off is a problem or not.
 
In the past I've suggested to our supervisor that we hold a 15 minute "status meeting" at the end of each week so each of us could keep him "better informed" of where we were and what our short term objectives were.

The weak link was quickly exposed. He didn't get fired or anything like that, but he stopped receiving the team's shared recognition.

I know it sounds petty to some, but having a leech on a team can be quite a morale/motivation drain on people who take a lot of pride in their work.

When I sense that someone isn't pulling their weight on my team, I start asking for more detailed status updates each week. It's only happened a few times, but sometimes people need to be reminded that work isn't a free ride. I slack off from time to time, and I think it's important to give people time to unwind and recuperate from intense periods of work, but some people think if they have to work more than 30 minutes a day that they're being "taken advantage of".

I work in software development, so most efforts are team efforts. You'd be amazed what one heap of dead weight can do. You can have 3 very productive people, but when you toss in a 4th who doesn't pull his/her weight and instead rides on the coattails of the others, the others will become demoralized and their productivity will suffer. No one likes to feel they're working their asses off so someone else can get a free ride.
 
I'd switch him to an Open Source Linux system. Everything turns up roses, rainbows, and fluffy little bunnies with Linux! It's the magical cure-all!

- M4H
 
i noticed at various jobs thru the years that the guys who were the biggest whistle blowing rat bastards were the ones fvcking the company over the most..
not a hard rule, but fairly consistent in my experience.

 
used to have a guy who would come in 1/2 an hour late every day and arrive with his food (he was fat) tucking into his food for a good 10 or 15 mins, so would only start work at 9:45. He'd take 1hr 20 for his 1 hour lunch, and then come back with a stinking bag of fries and tuck into those for another 20 mins. He's literally lean back on his chair and look around, openly not doing anything. The boss was too much of a wuss do do anything about ti....

so frustrating when you're working your ass off, getting stressed, and he's sat there eating all day.
 
As a manager, you have to make sure that the business or 'slacking' does not get into a personal argument. This leads nowhere. You try to find ways to motivate the individual. I have also given the individual 'peon jobs' or work that could be interpreted as demeaning so their punishment is somewhat recognized. Nothing like cleaning toilets, but just jobs the typical new person does. I have also sent people home if they are not pulling their weight. No sense in wasting company resources...

If not a manager, I try to let the person know in a subtle, but very stern way, they are pissing myself and others off. I am blantantly honest with my feelings and do not hold back. I tend to keep very open relationships with my coworkers and they share themselves with myself as well. On a personal level, motivating words can have a very strong effect on the situation at hand.
 
Originally posted by: brandonbull
Originally posted by: griffis
Me personally, talk to the person first about your disappointment in their performance. Let them know to shape up or ship out, if it's a team effort then the whole team should be working. This is something I have done before. No threats, just let them know calmly that you feel they are not performing
Click to expand...

Then I would respond with something like "you must be slacking off if you have time to observe me and try to assume that I'm not working." I then would go and inform your boss that your are slacking off because of all the excess time you have spent trying to be my boss and not worring about your tasks.
Click to expand...



If it is a team project and it is my job to do so I will say something, if I am not the lead on the project then I would just go to the lead and then inform them that person needs to start getting his shvt together.
 
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