Co-workers

scottscott
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I'm sure everyone here has horror stories of co-workers. You wonder why they haven't been fired for all the bullshit the pull?





I have a colleague of mine. Get's paid 6 figures. Can't seem to show up for work on a regular basis. Called in sick on Tuesday because he says he got the flu shot and isn't felling well. Come to find out that was his day to cover late and his birthday. Today he just didn't show up. Passed his work off to a lower level person via email but didn't bother to let anyone else know he wasn't coming in. Last week his teeth hurt and he had to leave. Week before that he send out an e-mail 20 minutes after the big wigs leave for a meeting stating he "doesn't feel well" and had to leave. Several weeks ago when "everyone" was out of town he took a day off without calling in. In the past he "hasn't felt well" and has had "dizzy spells". Somehow that ties into the hurting teeth.



When he does show up he does a bad job. Does everything he can to pass work on to others. He sabotaged a lower level person last week by dropping work off without letting him know that it needed to be complete within hours. Didn't bother to check himself. Good thing it backfired on him.



He has every critical thing to say about everything we do. He can never articulate why did doesn't like it. I ask "why is this bad", "it just is", "well why, what parts and how would you do it", "come on man", "'come on' what?", "I don't want to talk about it"



Sends out his self righteous email to everyone about some problem he sees and he's not willing to take the lead on and will not follow up on.



He's late for every meeting. Leaves early everyday. We just laugh out loud when people ask if he's around.



He's the butt of every joke.



Every time he gets a better job offer he begs for more money. His latest is that he wants an office in the "back". Back where no one can find him to make him do work. He cries wolf all the time and I think at this point no one is willing to listen.



We'd literally be better off without him. We be better off paying him 6 figures not to come in. Things a better when he's not around. Oh and they can't "fire" him.





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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    How come they can't fire him?
  • Reply 2 of 30
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    faculty
  • Reply 3 of 30
    trick falltrick fall Posts: 1,271member
    Every job has to have at least one person like that. Usually more. The begging for more money thing makes me crazy, cause unfortunately it's the whiners who wind up getting bigger raises. They just wear you down....
  • Reply 4 of 30
    midwintermidwinter Posts: 10,060member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Scott

    faculty



    Tenured, I assume? If so, that's a pain. I've been around a couple of tenured folks who turned out to be real lemons and an embarrassment to their departments.



    Does your department not have a way to levy some kind of sanctions or formal reprimand? Take away classes or funding?



    Cheers

    Scott
  • Reply 5 of 30
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    My coworkers are pretty good. I work at a school library (Walter Library at the University of Minnesota) and I really enjoy it. This weekend I'm going to a funeral, and I managed to get all 8 of my work hours covered within 10 minutes of calling people. With the other jobs I've had, no one was ever willing to come in for more work, and I couldn't blame them.



    Anyway, my dad had a horrible coworker for a while. She wouldn't do work - instead, she sat at her desk and spoke to her family in Russian all day long. She rarely did any work assigned to her, forcing my dad and other people in the office to pick up her slack. Eventually she got canned. It's not that she was a bad person, she just had a horrible work ethic.
  • Reply 6 of 30
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by midwinter

    Tenured, I assume? ...





    NO! It's complicated. Here's my deal.





    I work in a hospital as "faculty". My bosses bosses boss is the dean of the med' school. I'm a "Clinical Instructor". That means my primary interest and what my academic promotion is based on is my service to the clinical operations of my department. I teach, I train, I do a lot of day to day patient work. (Oh god what I saw this week ). I'm 75% "clinical" and 25% "research". I assume the pay for the 75% comes from the hospital paying the med' school paying me. 25% pay comes from my bosses huge grants. So ... I get paid to do clinical work.





    Now if they wanted to "end" my position I think they have to tell me a year in advance. And they'd have to get the dean to fire me. I'd guess it looks very shitty to have to go to the dean and say, "remember this guy we had you sign off on 5 years ago? ... we need you to fire him for us". It's not a small deal.





    This person needs to be helped out.
  • Reply 7 of 30
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Oh but ... yea ... there's one in every group. We keep telling ourselves that. Over and over. And over. again and again.
  • Reply 8 of 30
    midwintermidwinter Posts: 10,060member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Scott

    It's not a small deal.



    Doesn't sound like it. It sounds like a few people need to go to the dean and request that he have a come to jesus meeting with this bad employee.



    Cheers

    Scott
  • Reply 9 of 30
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Sounds like this person has a serious problem, I mean, like maybe a Rush Limbaugh type problem.
  • Reply 10 of 30
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    In the office we decided that is was ethical to slip a prozac & ritalin__

    mix into his coffee.
  • Reply 11 of 30
    argentoargento Posts: 483member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Scott

    In the office we decided that is was ethical to slip a prozac & ritalin__

    mix into his coffee.



    I hear arsinic is cool too
  • Reply 12 of 30
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Naw I can't do that. He has a kid.
  • Reply 13 of 30
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Scott

    Naw I can't do that. He has a kid.



    Poor kid
  • Reply 14 of 30
    argentoargento Posts: 483member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Scott

    Naw I can't do that. He has a kid.



    WHo knows, maybe the kid will do it for you
  • Reply 15 of 30
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    What may be more fun is to litter his desk with evangelical material from time to time.



    Don't tell Fellowship I said that.
  • Reply 16 of 30
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Fellowship may find that fun too.



    We've thought up many gags to pull. The best one was submitting his name for employee recognition not coming in to work.
  • Reply 17 of 30
    influenzainfluenza Posts: 146member
    It's more fun if you spell it 'cow-orkers'
  • Reply 18 of 30
    thuh freakthuh freak Posts: 2,664member
    i dont think we have anyone that bad at my job. several people in my dept (myself included) are habitually late. we usually make up for it by leaving later. we, of course, have a few people who have no idea what they are doing, or procrastinate or avoid work as much as possible (me).
  • Reply 19 of 30
    audiopollutionaudiopollution Posts: 3,226member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Scott

    Fellowship may find that fun too.



    We've thought up many gags to pull. The best one was submitting his name for employee recognition not coming in to work.



    So, did you actually do it, or do you guys just sit around and come up with ideas?



    Be insidious.
  • Reply 20 of 30
    finboyfinboy Posts: 383member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Scott

    Oh but ... yea ... there's one in every group.



    At least you know who yours is, Scott.



    I always tell students that there's one loser in every group, and if they can't tell who it is, then...
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