Worst employee you have ever worked with?

Wanderer2010

Have you ever worked with someone who was so lazy, nasty or just crazy that you either had to move department/desk etc or even quit your job? The worst person I have ever worked with was a woman who spent her entire 8 hour shift sending emails or shopping online and the boss just gave up on her, he was too scared to give out warnings in case of bullying claims. In the end she was just left alone to do nothing..

Who was the worst person you have ever worked along side and why?

tenton

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

The worst person I have ever worked with was a woman who spent her entire 8 hour shift sending emails or shopping online and the boss just gave up on her, he was too scared to give out warnings in case of bullying claims.

was that in the public service? I cannot see that sort of thing happening much in the private sector or the business would soon go bust.

Arciphel

Even in the private sector it can be very difficult to fire someone, it takes a year usually to gather everything you need in terms of written and verbal warnings and negative performance reviews. Of course I am talking here about someone who doesn't make it easy by doing something that falls under the umbrella of gross negligence it something like that.

Wanderer2010

No, believe it or not its the private sector, and in her case weak cowardly management was to blame, then again when it comes to women most managers are cowards in case they are accused of all manner of stress related ailments. If that were a man doing that....no way would he get away with it. :rolleyes:

Cian92

tenton wrote: »

was that in the public service? I cannot see that sort of thing happening much in the private sector or the business would soon go bust.

Oh tenton you and your pre-conceptions of the working world. Sure we all know there couldn't possibly be a lazy employee in the private sector. :rolleyes:

HondaSami

tenton wrote: »

was that in the public service? I cannot see that sort of thing happening much in the private sector or the business would soon go bust.

It always comes down to the public /private sector argument. Not all public servants are lazy and not all private workers are saints.

tenton

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

No, believe it or not its the private sector,

and is the business still trading? Are there other employees in the business What do they think of carrying someone who refuses to work? is the business losing market share? Does the owner of the business know there is someone on the payroll who refuses to work?

Annasopra

HondaSami wrote: »

It always comes down to the public /private sector argument. Not all public servants are lazy and not all private workers are saints.

+1000000000000000000

Wanderer2010

tenton wrote: »

and is the business still trading? Are there other employees in the business What do they think of carrying someone who refuses to work? is the business losing market share? Does the owner of the business know there is someone on the payroll who refuses to work?

Its a large unionised business so the lazy employees always run to their rep if they are asked to do a reasonable amount of work. The business is doing very well, this woman is just deadweight that the boss has given up on. Yes, other workers have made several complaints about her not pulling her weight but he just stares at his feet and says "Ill look into it", hes scared to tackle her for fear of complaints, a real coward of a man. At this stage she is just left alone while the work just goes on around her. Sounds really unfair when I say it like that

jammywammy

I used to work with a guy who thanked every customer with 'spank you very much'.
And worked for years with another guy who wore the same suit to work everyday. Changed the shirt, but never the suit. He smelt of p!$$ and fustyness. Also never brushed his teeth. Stomach churning!

3ndahalfof6

I once worked with a dolphin, it was very hard at times to get it to do what I needed done, give me a goldfish any day, everyday, that is all.

tallaghtmick

I managed a in a shop at night with about 12-13 staff,one guy a English settled Traveller who was unbelievably nice but just mad,most of the times he done his work but you would have to keep an eye on him,one night when I walk in to take over from the security Manager he tells me he thinks this guy has a criminal record in England but cant get proof,a few weeks later this guy goes missing on a shift after the garda arrived (back gate was open for staff on lunch)when 2 of the other guys come up in tears laughing telling me they seen him run out,I checked the camera and the mad fella had run out the back crawled under the delivery van and ran out the gate,turns out the Garda only arrived to get access to the building as someone got stuck in the cinema:pac:,when this guy comes back 2 hours later im not even angry I cant stop laughing at what happened and his I was sick excuse,anyway I had to report it and he was let go,I hated doing it as he was a sound guy and I hate training new people in especially on nights as they tend to hire non English speaking staff.

Raminahobbin

We once hired a guy in work who I had known personally for years and had vouched for. He is extremely intelligent academically, but he was godawful in this role. Had absolutely no cop-on. He'd get the simplest instructions wrong or interpret them in his own little way.

But the task he f*cked up that made me really confused as to how someone could be so thick, was when I asked him to deliver a letter to another shop. The envelope had the recipients name on it, nothing else, and I brought him to the door of my shop to point out the exact shop he was to drop it to (practically across the road).

Couple of hours later the recipient rang to say she hadn't gotten it. I checked with my friend who he had given the letter to.

'What do you mean? I posted it like you asked me to.

1) never hire a friend.
2) academic smarts don't mean common sense.

Grayson

There's a guy i work with who's a complete moron. He'll ask the same questions again and again and again. Things like Him:

Him: "What's the email address for the XXXXX team?"
Me: "I don't know the email address for every team, there's hundreds. I look them up in the directory when i need them. have you looked them up?"
Him: " no.
Me: "Why don't you look them up then"

5 minutes later

Him: "What's the email address for the YYYY team?"

He'll ask the dumbest questions, never take responsability and acts like he's gods gift to the job. I mentioned to my supervisor, but since he's the guy who hired him, any action taken liiks bad on him.

I was talking to a former employee and they said he's the kind of guy who wakes and bakes. So the fecker comes in stoned. But there's nothing I can do about it.
I wouldn't mind, but he could do half the jobs in this building stoned. Our teams job is particularly difficult and requires a lot of attention.

Grayson

3ndahalfof6 wrote: »

I once worked with a dolphin, it was very hard at times to get it to do what I needed done, give me a goldfish any day, everyday, that is all.

I had a goldfish and if you went up to the tank and pointed left with your right hand and said "GO LEFT" it would circle to the left around the tank.

It would do it whatever hand i used, or whichever way i pointed. But I like to think it understood what i was saying.

Herb Powell

What should we call this? It's like Godwin's Law, except instead of Nazis it's The Public Sector.

squod

There's been a few.

Grayson

Herb Powell wrote: »

What should we call this? It's like Godwin's Law, except instead of Nazis it's The Pulic Sector.

The peter principle?

shed head

tallaghtmick wrote: »

I managed a in a shop at night with about 12-13 staff,one guy a English settled Traveller who was unbelievably nice but just mad,most of the times he done his work but you would have to keep an eye on him,one night when I walk in to take over from the security Manager he tells me he thinks this guy has a criminal record in England but cant get proof,a few weeks later this guy goes missing on a shift after the garda arrived (back gate was open for staff on lunch)when 2 of the other guys come up in tears laughing telling me they seen him run out,I checked the camera and the mad fella had run out the back crawled under the delivery van and ran out the gate,turns out the Garda only arrived to get access to the building as someone got stuck in the cinema:pac:,when this guy comes back 2 hours later im not even angry I cant stop laughing at what happened and his I was sick excuse,anyway I had to report it and he was let go,I hated doing it as he was a sound guy and I hate training new people in especially on nights as they tend to hire non English speaking staff.

are you one of the non english speaking staff? cough

xLexie

I started working in Argos just after turning 18. They had taken on temp staff for Christmas and there was 5 positions after Christmas for temp staff to be made permanent. I started early December and most of the other temps had started just after Halloween. I got assigned to "picking" upstairs, so as soon as the ticket came out of the machine you had to go take it so the customer wasn't waiting ages for their stuff at collection point.

Well anyway, worked with this polish girl upstairs, and she would take all the tickets and be racing around getting all the stuff. Sometimes tickets would come out when she wasn't near the machine, so I would take those, stick them along my arm and go to get them. If she seen me with more than one picking ticket she would take the others off my arm telling me "no no no, I go!"

Now that often meant there was a delay, and when a manager would come upstairs to see what was going on, there id be standing doing nothing, waiting for the ticket machine to bleep, and there's your one racing around the store room up and down ladders with a heap of tickets.

I was sure it made me look bad and lazy, but I think somebody must have told a manager because she was let go on Christmas Eve and I got one of the 5 positions. She was a nightmare, just trying to make you look bad and generally aggressive to work with.

wandatowell

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

the boss just gave up on her, he was too scared to give out warnings in case of bullying claims. In the end she was just left alone to do nothing..

I'd have sacked her boss too.
What a coward, unable to discipline his staff.

Wanderer2010

wandatowell wrote: »

I'd have sacked her boss too.
What a coward, unable to discipline his staff.

Im with you there, but what made this situation really unfair was that if it was a man lazing off all day, he would have no problem demanding they get off the computer and do some work. Its a lot more common than you think- never mind the public versus private sector debate, the debate over the expectations from men and women is much more relevant. A lot of women want equal pay but not equal work, and men are never expected to goof off or be stressed.

SHOVELLER

Working with unqualified people is soul destroying. Unqualified who spend all their time on the phone and who take ages to do something:

"How do you do this?"

I could write a book.

B0jangles

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Im with you there, but what made this situation really unfair was that if it was a man lazing off all day, he would have no problem demanding they get off the computer and do some work. Its a lot more common than you think- never mind the public versus private sector debate, the debate over the expectations from men and women is much more relevant. A lot of women want equal pay but not equal work, and men are never expected to goof off or be stressed.

I used to work with a guy who spent all day with his feet up playing solitaire - you'd email him to get some information, hear nothing for hours and when you'd go over to badger him into doing something he wouldn't even bother to take his feet off his desk as he gave you a generic "I'll look into it" kind of answer.

Based on this experience I'm going to generalize that all men get a much easier time in the office compared to women because... I don't know, they talk football with the office manager and thus he doesn't feel comfortable reprimanding them?

You see the point I'm making here about lazy generalizations based on a sample size of 1?

Wanderer2010

^ It isnt just one though, in practically all the places I have worked, women tend not to be disciplined as often for infractions as men for any number of reasons..women can realistically claim stress, badger a boss over and over until the boss just gives in because its easier and in general, they argue their cases more than men making it easier for weak bosses to give up on them. Im not saying all men are hard working but definitely theres a higher expectation on men to work harder.

A friend of mine works in a small office with just 7 people and the boss is male. Lunch is from 1pm to 2pm but one woman strolls in at half 2 after lunch every single day and the boss has never once pulled her up on it, even if the other workers make a private complaint. I doubt a man could get away with that.

B0jangles

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

^ It isnt just one though, in practically all the places I have worked, women tend not to be disciplined as often for infractions as men for any number of reasons..women can realistically claim stress, badger a boss over and over until the boss just gives in because its easier and in general, they argue their cases more than men making it easier for weak bosses to give up on them. Im not saying all men are hard working but definitely theres a higher expectation on men to work harder.

A friend of mine works in a small office with just 7 people and the boss is male. Lunch is from 1pm to 2pm but one woman strolls in at half 2 after lunch every single day and the boss has never once pulled her up on it, even if the other workers make a private complaint. I doubt a man could get away with that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

Wanderer2010

B0jangles wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

Right, fair enough, I must have been making up the reaction of the boss when asked to pull up a lazy female worker, I also must have been hearing things when I heard the same guy demand action from a male worker, and maybe all my long workplace experiences in the whole male vs female treatment were all a result of bias too....great theory there. :rolleyes:

B0jangles

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Right, fair enough, I must have been making up the reaction of the boss when asked to pull up a lazy female worker, I also must have been hearing things when I heard the same guy demand action from a male worker, and maybe all my long workplace experiences in the whole male vs female treatment were all a result of bias too....great theory there. :rolleyes:

No, I'm suggesting that when you see a lazy male co-worker, you appear to think "that guy is lazy", whereas when you see a lazy female co-worker, you jump to "Jeez, women are so lazy".

Can you see the difference?

Wanderer2010

I see the difference but you miss my point. Im not saying that all men are good workers or that all women are bad workers, Im saying that a huge number of male managers of female workers look the other way when they dont pull their weight because they are either too weak to discipline them, they dont want the hassle of it, or they tend to just ignore it and hope the other members (others both male AND female) will pick up the slack, its very common.

speedboatchase

Anyone with regular BO. There's no excuse.

ArtSmart

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Its a large unionised business so the lazy employees always run to their rep if they are asked to do a reasonable amount of work. The business is doing very well, this woman is just deadweight that the boss has given up on. Yes, other workers have made several complaints about her not pulling her weight but he just stares at his feet and says "Ill look into it", hes scared to tackle her for fear of complaints, a real coward of a man. At this stage she is just left alone while the work just goes on around her. Sounds really unfair when I say it like that

lol.

sigh.

bobwilliams

Arciphel wrote: »

Even in the private sector it can be very difficult to fire someone, it takes a year usually to gather everything you need in terms of written and verbal warnings and negative performance reviews. Of course I am talking here about someone who doesn't make it easy by doing something that falls under the umbrella of gross negligence it something like that.

how can you say usually? every case is different,if a person is taking the complete pish they would be out the door in a month or 2 easy.

B0jangles

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

I see the difference but you miss my point. Im not saying that all men are good workers or that all women are bad workers, Im saying that a huge number of male managers of female workers look the other way when they dont pull their weight because they are either too weak to discipline them, they dont want the hassle of it, or they tend to just ignore it and hope the other members (others both male AND female) will pick up the slack, its very common.

Have you any (non-anecdotal) evidence whatsoever to back this theory up?

ArtSmart

I'm beginning to see the difficult employee alright.

spankysue

I worked in a pharmaceutical factory years ago with a guy who was dangerously incompetent. We were doing visual inspection for tablets and the amount of unhygienic things I caught him doing were ridiculous.

He never used to wash his hands, used to re-use his gloves all day long, used to take off his hairnet when it pleased him and no matter how many times it was said to him, he just couldn't grasp basic hygiene skills.

The worst one was when I was inspecting with him one day and he had a cold, he picked a tablet up off the machine, blew on it, then tried to put it back on the belt until I stopped him. The tablets were going to people with kidney problems so ya know, their immune system was probably low as it was and this dope, (with his cold) tries to infect a whole barrel.

miamee

Wanderer2010, out of interest in your experience are these "weak bosses" mostly male or female? You didn't say.

Back on topic, used to work in a company where the office staff were 100% female so when a male credit controller was hired we were all excited for a new office dynamic. He got on great with most if the staff and he and I got on particularly well. Sound fella, I thought. About 4 or 5 months after he started he was just gone one day. Turns out he had a drawer full of cheques he'd never lodged and had basically done nothing since he got there and had been fired. The finance manager never bothered checking up on him despite constantly checking female staff's work. Yer man could have screwed up the whole company, very small company. It took the others quite a while to 'clean up' after him.

So yeah, that finance manager who was more excited about having a golf buddy than a member of staff who knew what he was doing was a numpty.

jammywammy

spankysue wrote: »

I worked in a pharmaceutical factory years ago with a guy who was dangerously incompetent. We were doing visual inspection for tablets and the amount of unhygienic things I caught him doing were ridiculous.

He never used to wash his hands, used to re-use his gloves all day long, used to take off his hairnet when it pleased him and no matter how many times it was said to him, he just couldn't grasp basic hygiene skills.

The worst one was when I was inspecting with him one day and he had a cold, he picked a tablet up off the machine, blew on it, then tried to put it back on the belt until I stopped him. The tablets were going to people with kidney problems so ya know, their immune system was probably low as it was and this dope, (with his cold) tries to infect a whole barrel.

Uggghhhhhhh yuck

tonycascarino

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

In the end she was just left alone to do nothing..

I wish I had that job

GalwayGuy2

Jesus, what does Gender have to do with this:S

Anyway, I think I was the worst employee in my first job:o

token101

It's not just one employee, there seems to be like a stereotypical type of moron in every company for almost every occasion. The people who hand you cards for every employee leaving and expect money. "Hey, John from risk management, you know the guy who was responsible for getting a kettle with a foot long, unpourable spout because hot water is a health hazard? The guy who's got such a low opinion of his colleagues he tethers the knives to the kitchen counter? He's leaving here's his card everyone's giving 2 euro". Nah, I'm ok thanks.

Or the staff who send text speak emails with ridiculous requests. "Hi hun, cn u plz cum 2 my desk n tell me hw i set up a mailin list? thnx bbz". No, I can't 'cum' over there, I'd be fired and likely jailed.

thebostoncrab

Used to work with a guy who often fell asleep at his desk, would sometime watch the 90s Spider-Man cartoon on his phone instead of working and when inputting data on locations, wouldn't bother trying to find the real location, just something close to it.

We were all temp workers but he was never released early and always got his contract renewed because his supervisior thought he was a funny guy. Used to infuriate us that actually worked hard and surpassed targets!

Lumbo

bobwilliams wrote: »

how can you say usually? every case is different,if a person is taking the complete pish they would be out the door in a month or 2 easy.

Not necessarily. If its not a straight forward case of gross misconduct and the employee takes an unfair dismissal case the court will ask to see that the employer gave the employee reasonable time to improve performance, etc. Sacking someone in Ireland is a very difficult and can be an expensive business.

HondaSami

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Im with you there, but what made this situation really unfair was that if it was a man lazing off all day, he would have no problem demanding they get off the computer and do some work. Its a lot more common than you think- never mind the public versus private sector debate, the debate over the expectations from men and women is much more relevant. A lot of women want equal pay but not equal work, and men are never expected to goof off or be stressed.

He probably felt more comfortable talking to the men, it does not make it right.
Some men are well capable of taking time off with stress same as women imo.

I have no problem with anyone having an off day but would not be happy if it were everyday, saying that most people seem to think it's none of their business etc.

Grayson

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

I see the difference but you miss my point. Im not saying that all men are good workers or that all women are bad workers, Im saying that a huge number of male managers of female workers look the other way when they dont pull their weight because they are either too weak to discipline them, they dont want the hassle of it, or they tend to just ignore it and hope the other members (others both male AND female) will pick up the slack, its very common.

The diference might be what you hear about it. I know of people who have been diciplined where i work. Some of it I only hear years later. Crap might be happening about some of your coworkers, but it's confidential and they don't bother talking about it.

i71jskz5xu42pb

A few at current workplace

First, there is this supermodel wanna-be chick. Yeah, okay, she is pretty hot, but damn is she completely useless. The girl is constantly fixing her hair or putting on makeup. She is extremely self-centered and has never once considered the needs or wants of anyone but herself. She is as dumb as a box of rocks, and I still find it surprising that she has enough brain power to continue to breathe.

The next chick is completely the opposite. She might even be one of the smartest people on the planet. Her career opportunities are endless, and yet she is here with us. She is a zero on a scale of 1 to 10. I'm not sure she even showers, much less shaves her "womanly" parts. I think she might be a lesbian, because every time we drive by the hardware store, she moans like a cat in heat.

But the jewel of the crowd has got to be the fúcking stoner. And this guy is more than just your average pothead. In fact, he is baked before he comes to work, during work, and I'm sure after work. He probably hasn't been sober anytime in the last ten years, and he's only 22. He dresses like a beatnik throwback from the 1960's, and to make things worse, he brings his big fúcking dog to work. Every fúcking day I have to look at this huge Great Dane walk around half-stoned from the second-hand smoke. Hell, sometimes I even think it's trying to talk with its constant bellowing. Also, both of them are constantly hungry, requiring multiple stops to McDonalds and Burger King, every single fúcking day.

Anyway, I drive these rétards around in my van and we solve mysteries and shít.

missingtime

Pet peeve of mine is people who don't put a subject in the subject bar.

spankysue

Raegan Drab Earthquake wrote: »

A few at current workplace

First, there is this supermodel wanna-be chick. Yeah, okay, she is pretty hot, but damn is she completely useless. The girl is constantly fixing her hair or putting on makeup. She is extremely self-centered and has never once considered the needs or wants of anyone but herself. She is as dumb as a box of rocks, and I still find it surprising that she has enough brain power to continue to breathe.

The next chick is completely the opposite. She might even be one of the smartest people on the planet. Her career opportunities are endless, and yet she is here with us. She is a zero on a scale of 1 to 10. I'm not sure she even showers, much less shaves her "womanly" parts. I think she might be a lesbian, because every time we drive by the hardware store, she moans like a cat in heat.

But the jewel of the crowd has got to be the fúcking stoner. And this guy is more than just your average pothead. In fact, he is baked before he comes to work, during work, and I'm sure after work. He probably hasn't been sober anytime in the last ten years, and he's only 22. He dresses like a beatnik throwback from the 1960's, and to make things worse, he brings his big fúcking dog to work. Every fúcking day I have to look at this huge Great Dane walk around half-stoned from the second-hand smoke. Hell, sometimes I even think it's trying to talk with its constant bellowing. Also, both of them are constantly hungry, requiring multiple stops to McDonalds and Burger King, every single fúcking day.

Anyway, I drive these rétards around in my van and we solve mysteries and shít.

Yeah I know how you feel, I work with this insufferable pr1ck who wears a cravat every day. I've had many a daydream where I'm strangling him with it, then throwing him out the back of the van as it's moving.

ArtSmart

Raegan Drab Earthquake wrote: »

A few at current workplace

First, there is this supermodel wanna-be chick. Yeah, okay, she is pretty hot, but damn is she completely useless. The girl is constantly fixing her hair or putting on makeup. She is extremely self-centered and has never once considered the needs or wants of anyone but herself. She is as dumb as a box of rocks, and I still find it surprising that she has enough brain power to continue to breathe.

The next chick is completely the opposite. She might even be one of the smartest people on the planet. Her career opportunities are endless, and yet she is here with us. She is a zero on a scale of 1 to 10. I'm not sure she even showers, much less shaves her "womanly" parts. I think she might be a lesbian, because every time we drive by the hardware store, she moans like a cat in heat.

But the jewel of the crowd has got to be the fúcking stoner. And this guy is more than just your average pothead. In fact, he is baked before he comes to work, during work, and I'm sure after work. He probably hasn't been sober anytime in the last ten years, and he's only 22. He dresses like a beatnik throwback from the 1960's, and to make things worse, he brings his big fúcking dog to work. Every fúcking day I have to look at this huge Great Dane walk around half-stoned from the second-hand smoke. Hell, sometimes I even think it's trying to talk with its constant bellowing. Also, both of them are constantly hungry, requiring multiple stops to McDonalds and Burger King, every single fúcking day.

Anyway, I drive these rétards around in my van and we solve mysteries and shít.

he he he. ye had me all the way. ye bollix

tritium

Probably the psycho i worked with a few years ago. Sexual predator and a violent drunk with an alcohol problem. Turned out he'd left a previous job after committing a violent assault. He eventually left us just before he was facing the sack for similar. Unfortunately for him some of his sexual shenanigans made their way to his missus before he left. Oh how we laughed

Augmerson

Used to work with this extremely passive-aggressive girl, I don't know what the story was. When customers asked her about stock, she told them to ask at another desk (basically she didn't know but wasn't too keen on trying to find out either) and when I would ask her for help to do something, she would glare at me and just say no. Needless to say, this girl didn't stay very long with us. Maybe it was because she was young or her background was well off and she didn't get the idea of having to work, I dunno.

I hope that people don't think this thread is forming a bias because a lot of replies are about women. I've certainly no bias against women in the work place and I've worked with as many lads who were just as useless but she was harmful and really stuck in my head afterwards.

Cantona's Collars

Worked with an alcoholic,he had drink stashed everywhere & looked for every opportunity to get out of sight of his co-workers to have a quick sip.Caught him stealing drink from a shop one day,he got the sack shortly after.A supervisor spotted him hiding a bottle of vodka in the store room,went to investigate & found booze everywhere.

Another guy was simply the laziest human I've ever met & came up with every excuse not to do any kind of work.His best was that "it was too windy",all he had to do was get out of the truck to move a machine.