Have you ever been in a situation where there is someone not pulling their weight at work? It may be unintentional or intentional, but the outcome is the same. MORE WORK FOR YOU! I’ve been in that situation more than a few times and it sincerely drives me crazy. The picture is how I feel when I have to deal with such a thing. I feel like I go through something parallel to the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance), and maybe you can relate.
First, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. I am one of those people that is quick to judge, but then changes my initial judgments depending on the more information I get. So, if I think you are worthless, I probably will try to get some more information before I stick to that judgment. I basically deny there is a problem until I’d have to be blind not to see it.
The thing that probably affects me and others the most is the second stage. Personally, I get rather angry at whatever company hired such a moron or worthless individual. Especially when they don’t see the error of their ways and people keep making excuses for such an individual. It makes me not want to work there and really lowers my engagement and commitment. I definitely skip the “bargaining” part of the stages as I think that isn’t my style, but I can see that people could start to think in those terms. An example may be “well they can keep the weakest link, as long as I get paid more, etc.” Maybe my style of bargaining is just knowing that I’m the better employee and trying to avoid all contact, etc. with that individual. That only works sometimes, especially when they are on your team, typically on the same shift hours, etc.
I’m sure no one gets depressed when thinking about annoying and incompetent employees. I think the thing that substitutes in this stage is just feeling sorry for that person, when their incompetence is not due to laziness. It seems like this person is trying to be a good employee and is simply in over their heads.
The last stage is acceptance that that individual is a bad hire and trying to compensate for the problem. It’s very difficult for me not to try and help that person and I do when I can, but is it really up to everyone else to pull that person’s weight? In addition, if the incompetence is due to laziness, the result is the same; the team will start to pull that person’s weight, begrudgingly. Why is it that the responsibility falls to the team?
This issue is difficult to discuss with leadership, especially when leadership was who hired this individual to begin with. How do you go to your boss and say, “hey, I think Dave was a terrible hire, bad decision on your part.”? In addition, in competitive environments, tackling the problem in a direct way makes it seem as if you view that individual as a threat and that perception could tarnish your overall reputation. Now my answer to most things is being direct and confrontational, but in this instance, I think there is some finesse involved.
My advice would be to do your absolute best to not pick up the slack and to notify your boss when there are ACTIONS from the incompetent individual. If your boss is complaining about them or if they are asking for help for the millionth time, make it open to your boss that you are willing to help, but be sure that your boss KNOWS that you are helping. Don’t try and cover mistakes by that individual, but also don’t point them out at every chance you get. Pick your battles. That’s really what it is, a battle against the incompetence. Once it is recognized, training or moving that person around may ensue, but for now, it seems that there isn’t a good answer on how to deal with this issue directly. If anyone has any thoughts or stories about a similar situation, please share in the comment section!!
No comments:
Post a Comment