How would you handle a co-worker slacking off

28 Comments

1. Julie HumbirdOctober 14,2022 at 6:49PM UTC

   I would have done the same. Turn it over to the lead and agency. I had a similar situation last year. The guy was billing full time hours to projects, doing nothing and then we find out he's got another full-time job the entire time.

2. AnonymousOctober 15,2022 at 1:42AM UTC

   I think that you were more than patient and did the right thing by reporting the problematic employee.

   It seems clear that the employee had another job and was giving your project short shrift, while billing your company excessively.

   You and your company deserve better. The employment agency might have been victimized or complicit, hard to say.

3. AnonymousOctober 17,2022 at 12:22PM UTC

   It sounds like your coworker quietly quit her job. Be sure to document everything that your coworker is not doing if asked by Human Resources.

4. AnonymousOctober 17,2022 at 12:37PM UTC

   This is not quiet quitting.

5. AnonymousOctober 17,2022 at 12:23PM UTC

   All I can say is that sometimes it takes the IT Department a while to install software even if you make a request for the software to be installed.

6. AnonymousOctober 17,2022 at 1:54PM UTC

   Particularly for new or temporary employees.
   They need to sync up with HR. These may have been factors beyond this person’s control.

7. AnonymousOctober 18,2022 at 3:21AM UTC

   That’s totally fair. However in this case it took her 3 weeks to pick up the phone and make the initial phone call to IT.

8. GirlBossanova934974October 17,2022 at 12:34PM UTC

   My question. Who and where is the manager involved with this work? Shouldn't someone be supervising the work of this other employee or contractor? What is the so called "lead" doing? If there is no supervisor, this is the fault of the folks running the agency.

9. AnonymousOctober 18,2022 at 5:02AM UTC

   I think looking back the lead was too trusting in the people hired for the project. Unfortunately not everyone works the same.

10. AnonymousOctober 17,2022 at 1:17PM UTC

    So is this an employee or contractor? A contractor should be on top of anything you put in front of them, especially charging full time hours. If this person is an employee, then it sounds like you need to have a serious conversation about her performance before it becomes a real issue and causes you to look bad.

11. AnonymousOctober 17,2022 at 3:32PM UTC

    This is a contractor that was supposed to be helping meet a deadline.

12. Crystal HowellOctober 17,2022 at 1:45PM UTC

    Enabling a slacker is all they need. I would giver her an assignment with a drop dead deadline(usually a week before its do, for wiggle room without her knowing), start documenting for termination if you are in at will state or not.

    Dead weight needs to be trained or dropped.

13. TiffanyOctober 17,2022 at 2:42PM UTC

    I had the same thought of something going on behind the scenes. Doesn’t quite excuse taking that long, but was that her pace in the previous position?

14. TiffanyOctober 17,2022 at 2:58PM UTC

    Also meant to add to the above: she could have undiagnosed or untreated ADHD.

    As for how I handled slacking coworkers, I made some questionable decisions. I did their job too and tried to constantly remind myself that how other people perform at work wasn't my business. See ‘questionable decisions.’ ??‍♀️

    I think you did the right thing reporting her. No one deserves to have their workload increased because someone else has their head up their @$$

15. AnonymousOctober 17,2022 at 3:23PM UTC

    Yes there was a time I would do the same thing. I am not sure of her pace in the previous position but I kept getting feeling my work was her side project. But you are right there may be more going on than we realize.

16. AnonymousOctober 17,2022 at 3:29PM UTC

    Thanks for your post.
    I did ask her if she had any issues. She said her other client had some needs but not to worry all her time was committed to our project as of 10 days ago. I gave her a section and regularly asked if she had questions and if she had what she needed.

    I did bring this up with the agency as I wasn’t sure of her required time based on how little was done. I confirmed she was full time.

    She had nothing in the files as of last Wednesday. Then she provided me with 6 incomplete slides in 5 days, nothing in the report, and a missed the deadline.

17. AnonymousOctober 17,2022 at 4:00PM UTC

    There are a lot of details here that are left out. Is this an agency employee or a temp? Was she hired on as a permanent employee? How such a situation is handled could be different based on these things.

18. AnonymousOctober 18,2022 at 4:55AM UTC

    She was hired as a contractor to help me complete a project.

19. TiffanyOctober 19,2022 at 9:04PM UTC

    Oh, she’s toast, then.

20. Andrea JennerOctober 17,2022 at 4:29PM UTC

    A couple suggestions, more for the future than for now, as it seems you've already made your decision on this person.

    First, make your deadlines absolutely clear, maybe even setting them a day before you need it so there's time to review, and some wiggle room. After that, schedule periodic touch point calls about the project. Even if the deadline is the next afternoon a "I'll check in with you tomorrow to see how it's going" doesn't hurt. When you check in, ask to see the progress. "Let's look at what you've done so far. " This will help identify potential issues while they're still small. Try passing the work along as smaller tasks.

    I find that when you ask someone "how are you doing with the project," it's rare that someone will actually admit they're floundering. Nobody wants to look like they don't know, or can't do something. The right questions can save a lot of grief.

    Also, please don't make assumptions that the person will know everything you know and all the short cuts you may have picked up over the years. And dplease don't assume someone is slacking because they're working slower than you. :)

21. Audrey KirschOctober 17,2022 at 9:03PM UTC

    I'm all for giving someone a chance but bottom line, the project is yours. You said that you were able to handle it and that's what you should have done while waiting to see if this person was going to be a help or a hinderance. Until someone proves to me that they can handle the work, I would have proceeded as if they might not work out. Still, I would have checked in to see if my help was needed and doing anything I could to give them the best chance to succeed. I'd have rather been pleasantly surprised and thankful to get some help than to be stressed to the max to get the project completed on time. As for reporting them, I probably wouldn't have done that. I would have waited until I was asked about their performance.

22. AnonymousOctober 19,2022 at 3:19AM UTC

    According to OP's comment, "She was hired as a contractor to help me complete a project. "

    OP gave her plenty of grace here. I'd be livid that my company was paying someone to work on a specific project, that person was not actually doing any work, but still billing full-time hours.

    I think OP handled this very well.

23. Audrey KirschOctober 27,2022 at 10:38PM UTC

    You might want to re-read OP's comments. This person was hired for a project that never materialized so OP was asked if she needed any help to which she responded that she could handle it. I'd be annoyed having a slacker foisted on me but wouldn't have felt the need to narc on her. If she hadn't been brought on, the money the company wasted wouldn't have gone in the OP's pocket. If the project was mine to see through to the end and there was a deadline, I would have made sure it was completed with or without the slackers help.

24. Ani BerberianOctober 18,2022 at 12:44AM UTC

    I think that as a manager, you have to set clear expectations and direction (written and verbal) and communicate them right off the bat. That way, if someone does not meet them, you have the ammunition and documentation to make the changes you need. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but my perception is that you somewhat left this situation up to fate. Employees have to prove they can be trusted, but until then, clear expectations from you will help protect you on your end. A little micromanaging in the beginning is necessary until they can prove themselves to be trustworthy.

25. AnonymousOctober 18,2022 at 4:52AM UTC

    I hear you, but the problem is I am not her manager. Technically we are equal and we were supposed to be dividing up the work. As a result I didn’t have the authority to call her out. All I was able to do was ask her questions and ensure she had what she needed. I shared the correspondence and documentation with our lead as she needed to deal with it.

26. Ani BerberianOctober 19,2022 at 6:19PM UTC

    It sounds like you did the rights things, but some people need more guidance. Even though you are equals, you can still exhibit leadership in the situation and shepherd someone along if they need it, and if you rely on their performance for the project.

27. AnonymousOctober 18,2022 at 12:38PM UTC

    It starts at the top, you have to set the tone up front so situations like this don't occur. To correct future occurrences you need to set the tone NOW. As far as the current project; it's a wash.

28. Rosa GoesOctober 19,2022 at 2:57AM UTC

    I suspect she had one foot out the door. It's hard to rely on someone in that situation. I think next time, give them small tasks until you see some effort and/or serious interest.