Workmate not pulling weight, very stressed!

stressed2013

Hi guys, Im having a big problem at work with a guy who is on my team, basically he doesnt do his share of his work and im at the end of my patience with the situation. There are 6 in our group but the other 4 are doing reports and other admin work and dont depend so much on each other whereas I need to get a lot of documents and slides approved and this lazy guy is the only one with this ability on our team but the problem is he browses the net, talks to his workmates and takes a lot of personal calls, leaving me delayed in my work and i have asked him several times can he hurry up but he is a very resentful characater and he blanks me for days afterwards if I ask him to hurry, he creates a horrible atmosphere if it isnt done "his" way.

Im there 3 years now and he is there 7 but he has always been like that in previous projects but the others on the team just laugh it off or accept his extremely slow pace instead or bringing up a complaint to the boss. I finally snapped 2 weeks ago and explained to my boss that this guy is delaying my presentations etc and he just said "well, i trust you to do it, he is just a slow worker" and nothing more to it, I think the last time the boss tried to pull him up, he was chewed out by this guy who claimed he was being picked on, Im shocked by the complete power he seems to have with nobody tackling him. Last week I gave up and when my boss wanted my report I told him I didnt have time, I was browsing the net "just like Tom over there" (false name), and my boss basically just scoffed and gave the work to someone else, ignoring the situation yet again. I dont want to appear a trouble maker but if neither the boss nor the guy himself are willing to change, how can I change this very frustrating situation, its as if laziness is rewarded. :mad::mad:

stressed2013

Thought I could bump this up to see if anyone can give advice? Since I confronted my boss about how little my co worker does he has been very off with me and now I only get given just enough work that I dont complain, but I want to reach my potential here, and this worker is dragging me right down, and the boss seems unwilling to jump in!

strandroad

Take as much work as you can and do your bit diligently but if someone asks you about your presentations tell them "they are still with Tom", "I am still waiting to hear from Tom" and keep repeating it ad nauseam albeit very politely.

tbh

what you have to realise is that you've can done all you can do.

You've brought your concerns to your boss and he's made his call, for whatever reason.

You now have a clear choice - you can get on with your job, or you can quit.

I'll say this to you - it is frustrating, and it's not fair, but if you keep going the way you're going, you will be seen as the troublemaker. Unfortunately, in my experience, this is extremely common.

stressed2013

Thanks for the advice guys, I guess what really baffles me is why the boss wont do something about him, hes not even a really popular character and he rarely tries to hide it when he is browsing the net, taking calls etc so all his non-work activities are easy to monitor and he could easily be taken to HR over it but I sense my boss is a coward and would rather people just work around him, would i really be the worse off if I asked him to just deal with him, im close to it now as my mood is low at work lately..

percy212

Your boss doesn't really care how you feel, because the work is being done by someone, namely you. So long as your boss looks ok, nothing will change. Go to HR.

December2012

I'm guessing your boss won't do anything with it because HE (your boss) will look ineffective.

What's communication like with HR?

westies4ever

OP I would start polishing up my cv and interview skills. You've done all you can do and its obvious that your boss is going to let it go. I would come into work, put my days in as best I can, with a smile on my face all with a view to getting out of there as quickly as possible.

Try not to piss your boss off too much - you might need him as a reference.

percy212

I don't think the OP should be forced to look for another job just because a manager doesn't care about their work environment. I would go to HR, or preferably a union rep or other legal adviser if possible. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself, but get advice first.

If you are forced to look for another job, that could be construed as constructive dismissal. The company will not want to run that risk, if you have made your concerns known officially.

They won't give you a bad reference if you leave, as you could potentially sue for a less than helpful reference causing you to lose a new job.

Your manager sounds like a fool. You work hard, and should be treated well.

Mrs OBumble

OP, you have no way of knowing why the boss isn't actively managing your co-worker. May the colleague related to or sleeping with someone important. Maybe the boss is just incompetent. Maybe the boss is managing him out, but needs to give him every chance to stuff up first. Whatever. It's actually irrelevant - especially if the company is making money, meeting targets and KPIs or whatever.

What matters is that you do your job (yours, not your colleagues or your managers) to the best of your ability. If your colleague holds you up, then as someone said, you just have to make it clear what the source of the delay is and not take ownership of it.

After that, if you want to shine, you have to either take on other responsibilities which aren't impacted by the colleague, or find a new job.

I think it would be very far fetched to claim constructive dismissal because your boss wouldn't make someone else work harder.