Co-workers who don't do their job

[tara g]

I'm pretty much watching two people in our lab do nothing, or next to nothing, daily. One of them was almost laid off back in November, and I have no idea WHY they didn't (oh yeah, because she told them a few years ago she would sue them for racial discrimination if they ever fired her).

It's so aggravating watching people around you do nothing, when they are lucky enough to have a job instead of sitting around hoping for one. Luckily I dont have to work directly with either of them, but they are in the same lab room as I am (they do all metals, I do solely mercury, and usually do more than they do - there's 4 of them!) I just feel bad when the other 1st shift guy is over there trying to do everything at once when the other two women sit there and watch and mess on the computer.

Some people are so irritating! I would find a way to let your boss/supervisor know for sure. Unfortunately in my case, the boss AND our team leader already knows, but that one reason keeps him from firing her I guess.

 

[mobius]

There is always a way to legally terminate an employee who isn't doing
their job - even one who threatens to sue for discrimination.

All it takes is proper documentation of each and every late arrival, long
lunch, violation of company policy, etc, along with evidence that every
issue has been address with the employee each time.

It may take a few months, but once there is enough evidence to show a
pattern of bad behavior and that the employee refuses to modify their
behaviour even after repeated warnings, most of the time the case wont
make it past the preliminary hearing. If the employee actually carries
through with their threat that is - many are a lot of hot air who can't even
afford the attorney fees to go through with a discrimination suit.

 

[yosemite]

Originally Posted by Möbius

There is always a way to legally terminate an employee who isn't doing
their job - even one who threatens to sue for discrimination.

All it takes is proper documentation of each and every late arrival, long
lunch, violation of company policy, etc, along with evidence that every
issue has been address with the employee each time.

It may take a few months, but once there is enough evidence to show a
pattern of bad behavior and that the employee refuses to modify their
behaviour even after repeated warnings, most of the time the case wont
make it past the preliminary hearing. If the employee actually carries
through with their threat that is - many are a lot of hot air who can't even
afford the attorney fees to go through with a discrimination suit.

I agree completely. Start cracking down on the free-loaders. Write up and document everything and put a copy in their employee file. Have IT check how much time they are spending on non-work related surfing, etc. It is not impossible to get rid of bad employees but it will take effort on the part of management. If someone told me they would sue me if I fired them, I would be looking for every thing they did wrong to document just to get rid of them. I would not want anyone with that attitude working (or loafing) for me.

 

[addiebee]

Originally Posted by Yosemite

I agree completely. Start cracking down on the free-loaders. Write up and document everything and put a copy in their employee file. Have IT check how much time they are spending on non-work related surfing, etc. It is not impossible to get rid of bad employees but it will take effort on the part of management. If someone told me they would sue me if I fired them, I would be looking for every thing they did wrong to document just to get rid of them. I would not want anyone with that attitude working (or loafing) for me.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. However... you have to have upper management with some backbone. I worked in a situation where we had a crazy/lazy woman who threatened to sue for racial discrimination if she was fired. Now mind you, I DO NOT CARE WHAT COLOR, RACE, CREED, RELIGION you are!!!! Truly.

My immediate boss at that time was told "document everything" which he did meticulously... including this woman's threats of physical violence against him!! (Stunning b/c he was just the nicest guy and one of the best bosses I ever had.) He went to his superiors with this detailed info and know what? They still refused to get rid of her. And my department eventually was decimated by layoffs and the only person still standing after the dust settled? Crazy lady. Go figure.

 

[anjhest]

To follow up on my co-worker:

He ended up giving me the copy at the end of the day. We have a production meeting today. When it is my turn to let everyone know what I have going on, I will mention that I got the Nursing Annual Report copy at EOB Tuesday and the Community Benefit Report Copy at EOB Wednesday and that I am going to focus on the CBR because it's a priority. That will immediately raise red flags and I'm sure my boss will ask, "Why didn't you get the copy until Tuesday?" and I'll let Steve answer that question. I'll bet my next paycheck that he will stutter!

This will actually feel LESS like I am throwing him under the bus because I won't be walking in my boss's office to specifically address the issue. Everyone knows that I'm working on these to things, so it'll be perfectly natural for me to bring them up and let people know when I got the copy. I do that every week. In fact, for the last two weeks, I have been publicly asking Steve for the Nursing AR copy. So it's not news.

My boss is actually teh worst micro-manager I've ever worked for. BUT, she also avoids conflict so that when someone is NOT doing what they're supposed to, she makes excuses for them. "Well, Steve has a LOT on his plate," or something equally pathetic.

 

[emrldsky]

Originally Posted by anjhest

To follow up on my co-worker:

He ended up giving me the copy at the end of the day. We have a production meeting today. When it is my turn to let everyone know what I have going on, I will mention that I got the Nursing Annual Report copy at EOB Tuesday and the Community Benefit Report Copy at EOB Wednesday and that I am going to focus on the CBR because it's a priority. That will immediately raise red flags and I'm sure my boss will ask, "Why didn't you get the copy until Tuesday?" and I'll let Steve answer that question. I'll bet my next paycheck that he will stutter!

This will actually feel LESS like I am throwing him under the bus because I won't be walking in my boss's office to specifically address the issue. Everyone knows that I'm working on these to things, so it'll be perfectly natural for me to bring them up and let people know when I got the copy. I do that every week. In fact, for the last two weeks, I have been publicly asking Steve for the Nursing AR copy. So it's not news.

My boss is actually teh worst micro-manager I've ever worked for. BUT, she also avoids conflict so that when someone is NOT doing what they're supposed to, she makes excuses for them. "Well, Steve has a LOT on his plate," or something equally pathetic.

I hate to break it to you, but IMO, outing him in front of all the staff is more like throwing him under the bus than approaching your boss in private to discuss.

But that's just my opinion.

 

[anjhest]

Originally Posted by emrldsky

I hate to break it to you, but IMO, outing him in front of all the staff is more like throwing him under the bus than approaching your boss in private to discuss.

But that's just my opinion.

I know what you're saying. But in our production meeting, we have a "round robin" where each staff member gives a status on all of their ongoing projects, including whether or not they have what they need. For the last two weeks, I have said, "I am waiting on copy for the nursing annual report" during the round robin section. so this time i'll just state that i got the copy on tuesday. it's really a natural follow-up.