to ask you whether you're a jobsworth?

[DolceButNoDecorum]

Trying to get some tedious admin done, and it seems a man who works for HR is deliberately delaying things for reasons I can't really understand (it seems to involve more work for him, and delay to everyone else, with no apparent benefit).

Got me wondering whether people are ever knowingly disruptive and jobsworth-y? Do you know anyone who is aware that they are seen in this way, and/but doesn't care/does it deliberately?

To be fair the fact that you can’t see the benefit of the system doesn’t mean there isn’t one. That fact that you can’t understand the reasons for the delay doesn’t mean they aren’t good reasons.

In my experience when people are called “jobsworths” it usually just means that person is following the correct procedure.

I get that it’s frustrating for you though!

To be fair the fact that you can’t see the benefit of the system doesn’t mean there isn’t one. That fact that you can’t understand the reasons for the delay doesn’t mean they aren’t good reasons.

What you say is true, yes.
But I do think this guy is actively getting pleasure out of it. That's why I've asked if anyone will admit to doing this!

To other people I seem very much a jobsworth. to me I'm working correctly to save time and reduce problems later on.

I have been called a jobsworth. It was written in the disciplinary notes for my unfair dismissal. I worked in advertising sales and the reps had complained because I wouldn’t transfer certain high value accounts to them from other people. It had to be signed off (obviously) by managers. They’d often fake their managers approval and got upset if I questioned it.

So agree, being a jobsworth is often just following the right procedure.

If you really think he’s delaying deliberately go to his boss. Say it seems to be taking a long time and ask for it to be speeded up.

Or send that message to him and copy his boss into the email.

I used to work in a café and it actually did give me great pleasure to deny customers things that were against the rules. I especially enjoyed refusing service because they were trying to order food to eat in too close to closing time. I think it was because generally the power balance is heavily weighted in the customer's favour (and a lot of them treat you like you are dirt on their shoe), so it feels good to exert some power.

I freely accept that I was pretty shit at the job and had completely the wrong attitude. Luckily my current job (which I am very good at) has nothing to do with any kind of customer service.

To me a jobsworth is someone who sticks rigidly to the ‘rules’ when it’s clear some flexibility is possible/better in a certain set of circumstances. This is usually to the detriment of doing their job well, so I definitely don’t think that being a jobsworth is interchangeable with being good at your job!

No I could never be a jobsworth. In fact in my discount shop job while I was at uni, I used to deliberately not scan through food for the skint old people who used to come in so I wouldn't have to charge them as much.

Hm, I have been once or twice after the IFA gave me a load of abuse and called me stupid. Normally I'll go out of my way to help people though, even if they're complaining for no reason.