Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Teamwork at work doesn't always work?

12 replies

Rubystone · 02/03/2022 18:20

Read the thread about OP colleague taking credit for her work. This shows teamwork is not necessarily the fairest option in the workplace?

OP posts:
ClariceQuiff · 02/03/2022 18:23

I'm on that thread.

There are lots of reasons why team work can fail or might simply be the wrong approach to a problem. Team work is overrated. But I don't think that thread is a particular example of it - the two people worked well as a team, it was simply that the disproportionate effort of their contributions wasn't acknowledged. They were both given equal credit when 99% of the work had been done by one of them alone.

Rubystone · 02/03/2022 18:36

Aside from that thread. Teamwork is flawed. Essentially slackers taking credit for work they haven't done and hard workers getting blamed when slackers do not deliver?

OP posts:
DetailMouse · 02/03/2022 18:39

There may be instances where teamwork appears to disadvantage one person, but over time it's always the best way.

  • It makes for happier working relationships
  • It means you always have a bank of favours to call on
  • It means people are more likely to help you when you need it and share expertise
  • It gets the job done better

Plus almost always, when someone "steals" credit, those that matter are well aware of what went on and it won't do them any favours.

dipdye · 02/03/2022 18:40

Can anyone link that thread please?

DetailMouse · 02/03/2022 18:40

In the thread referred to I believe the "aggrieved" was the senior?

I am more than happy to give every possible credit to my junior staff. If my juniors are doing well, that looks very good for me.

ClariceQuiff · 02/03/2022 18:41

Yes, sadly it often does work out like that. On the other hand, sometimes you can find yourself in a good team - I've had team members 'save' me a few times. Management style can have a lot of influence on how well a team work. If the 'slackers' are favourites of the manager then it can end up exactly as you say above.

ChicCroissant · 02/03/2022 18:41

@Rubystone

Aside from that thread. Teamwork is flawed. Essentially slackers taking credit for work they haven't done and hard workers getting blamed when slackers do not deliver?
No, because all teams are different.
malificent7 · 02/03/2022 18:42

Surely if teams work well together then the outcome is better. In healthcare teamwork is vital especially in the operating theatre.

Kazzyhoward · 02/03/2022 18:43

Teamwork doesn't always work in Uni projects either. My son has done two "group" projects so far and both have been a nightmare with participants either not doing anything (despite promising to do so) or them making an absolute balls up of their contribution. In both cases, my DS has been very annoyed at the "group" getting a poor mark despite him literally doing all he could (some others worked hard too) - feeling it's very unfair, especially when it impacts their ultimate grade. Both times, he and a few others in each group who "did" do plenty of work wrote a separate joint letter to the Uni outlining who had done what and who'd done nothing, to at least highlight the unfairness of it all.

sst1234 · 02/03/2022 18:48

It depends on the culture of the organizations. Organizations where results matter more than politics and there is a way measuring input as well as output (American organizations mostly), teamwork works. In organizations where saying the right stuff matters more than doing it, teamwork doesn’t pay. Many ‘old school’ organizations and businesses operate that way.

Kazzyhoward · 02/03/2022 18:50

@malificent7

Surely if teams work well together then the outcome is better. In healthcare teamwork is vital especially in the operating theatre.
Well, yes, in some instances, teamwork is absolutely vital, but in those circumstances, anyone not pulling their weight and not acting as part of the team wouldn't survive in the job long as they'd get managed out pretty damn quick. An operating theatre is a good call, as would be a fire engine crew.

The difference is that sometimes, there's simply no need for a piece of work or a job to be done by a "team" when it could adequately be done by one person, capable of doing the whole thing from start to finish.

Likewise sometimes, collaboration improves the end result, such as creative tasks like advertising & marketing, branding, etc., when a pool of ideas improved the product.

I'm an accountant, in one of my previous audit employments, "teamwork" was a big issue - several staff would be on, say, an audit at the same time, all liaising, sharing the file, sharing the "books", etc., so they had to plan their respective work so that they weren't trying to access the same things at the same time, i.e. generally planning so as to not get in eachother's way - all could have done all bits of the job, so no need for Joe to do payroll and Mary to do sales - it was all interchangeable. In another firm, a similar job would simply be done by one auditor, who'd take a few weeks to do it, so there'd be no worries about planning/scheduling around others - the job just took longer in terms of overall timespan, but in reality, the number of hours spent was lower as with the best will in the world, when jobs are done by a "team", there is going to be wasted/duplicated time when one person can't do something because they're waiting for someone else to do their bit.

SevenWaystoLeave · 02/03/2022 19:02

In all honesty, in most cases your workplace doesn't give two hoots if it's fair or not as long as the work is being done effectively. Coping with a bit of unfairness is part of adult life.

I'm also not sure of your overall point. Teamwork isn't necessary or appropriate for every job, but for larger projects, like it or not, it's inevitable, since one person can't do every single job role or have every bit of relevant expertise, especially not if the project needs delivering in a timely manner.

Inevitably in a team, you'll have some people whose role or contribution is bigger in a certain project, but in general this evens out over time - someone might contribute less to one project but more to another. The recieving credit thing works both ways - yes you might have to share credit at times when you did the bulk of the work, but you'll also get the credit when your team does well even when your contribution was lesser. It's part of being a team that success as a whole is more important than individual glory. If individual glory is important to you, there are many jobs you can find where you'll get to work solo (and hopefully you are as good as you think you are).

If someone's a habitual slacker, that's going to be a problem whether they work in a team or solo, and it's for managers to sort out.

Fairness is also kind of subjective - there will always be some people who are convinced that they deserve most of the praise and credit for a project, but they may be overlooking or completely unaware of what others contributed.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page