My colleague is taking the piss - I need coping strategies

[DalekScarecrow]

I have a senior colleague who is seriously taking the piss and getting away with doing very little work. It is doing my head in and to be honest I think it impacts on my mental health now.

He works in a senior post with direct impact on my work. He actively avoids work, never volunteers to do anything, and lies about how busy he is. When he is given tasks to do, he drags them out for as long as he possibly can, while moaning about how busy he is.

When we have to undertake tasks as a team, he always holds the team back by doing the bare minimum and failing to meet deadlines for group work, when everyone else works hard to complete work on time.

He is responsible for overseeing the resource needs for our area of work. He can't be arsed doing any forward planning, never attends cross-company meetings where he could fight our corner, never puts in any bids for resources, then moans that there's no point doing anything because we never have the resources we need (!!).

In the past, we used to work more closely together, and I would fill the gaps by doing all the work to make sure it got done. This obviously caused me a lot of stress and bad feeling. More recently, we've been moved into separate teams, so I no longer pick up his work, but we still work in the same subject area. I see the work failing, and our subject being let down because the person responsible for doing it just can't be arsed.

I have tried to tackle this by complaining to my manager, who has complained to his manager. They have asked me to keep them informed when incidents arise. The problem is, each incident in isolation seems petty - e.g. he missed a deadline, he didn't consult with others on a piece of work, he forgot to ask people for comments on something until the day of the deadline so we are left with a choice to either jump through his hoops, or watch the work be submitted without our input so it's probably shit... I recently met with his manager and gave him a list of these incidents. Nothing has happened.

Each one of these things is annoying but not catastrophic, but when they happen on a weekly basis they are detrimental to our work, and they are having an impact on my stress levels.

His manager doesn't appear to be doing anything. I feel like I'm just watching our work go down the plug hole. My manager is lovely, and keeps telling me that she understands, I must keep raising things if they're impacting on our work - but ultimately I must learn to let it go and not let it bother me.

How the hell do I do that?

I need coping strategies.

Sounds very familiar. It might help to look at it from another angle - managers are paid to manage, and their performance related pay is based on team performance. If he is getting everyone else to do his work so that all bases are covered, then in the eyes of his managers he is showing good management skills. Putting a poor operator in a managerial post is a cost cutting exercise, as the poor minions beneath will work like hell to cover everyone's backs. if he was a good operator, then the team would probably have to expand to take on the extra work load associated with increased productivity.
Is there a way of ring fencing your input so that he can't claim any credit? Otherwise a tough decision ahead - move out, or put up and shut up. Both stressful, unfortunately...
Good luck!

On the shared projects put each on a spreadsheet
Every task has a line with person responsible, deadline and progress update
Can highlight green for completed, yellow for in progress and red for missed deadline

Ask your manager to 'tell' you this is how they now want to follow progress and that you have to send an updated version every week, copying management

It will then be very transparent!

Good luck - but this worked for me

Get another job.

The mgt aren't going to fix this for you.

I would be taking detailed notes about everything and find a way to expose him without damaging myself

If hes manager isn't willing to do anything then I would go above their head into the next manager. He has to be dealt with.

I would just start ccing his manager into every email I send him. And I'd send a lot of emails. I'd do a lot of follow up emails to make sure he's doing his job. If his boss then questioned me, I'd point out that I've complained about him in the past and nothing is done so until something is, they are getting a notification on every piece of work and every follow up. Piss off his boss, his boss then kicks him.

Also, stop helping him. If he submits a bit of work to you close to a deadline, report it instantly to the project manager and tell them because he sent it late, you will be sending it late too.

@jackstini

On the shared projects put each on a spreadsheet Every task has a line with person responsible, deadline and progress update Can highlight green for completed, yellow for in progress and red for missed deadline

Ask your manager to 'tell' you this is how they now want to follow progress and that you have to send an updated version every week, copying management

It will then be very transparent!

Good luck - but this worked for me

This is a good idea

I'm resurrecting this thread because the problem is still going on and getting worse.

I moved jobs - I got a temporary promotion to the same grade as lazy colleague, in a different department. But my other colleague who worked alongside me then had to pick up my work, and was faced with the full force of the impacts of lazy colleage.

His lack of output continued. I mentioned above that his manager had decided to take all new tasks off him to get him to complete the outstanding projects that year. As predicted - he never finished them, nothing has been done, they remain un finished. No consequences.

A new member of staff was recruited to 'help' him because he was 'snowed under'. Then their manager asked me to set their workplan and give them work to do. I refused - saying if new staff were there to help lazy colleague, then surely lazy colleague could give them plenty to do. Several months down the line, new staff member came back to me asking how to find work to do, because they hadn't been given any...

As new requests for work came in, new staff member took them all on - shielding lazy colleague from doing any of it. They didn't back fill my role, so my other lovely colleague was massively overloaded doing her job and mine. She relies on Lazy colleague to provide steer, resources and oversight to her work - and she received none.

Today I was asked to temporarily go back into my old role (complicated recruitment issue). Meanwhile my nice colleague has gone off with stress. Lazy colleague and his 'helper' were initially asked to help her but did nothing for months, so she took it all on herself. The outstanding task list that I've been asked to take on is enormous, with imminent deadlines. I'm dismayed.

I've asked that 'helper colleague' is told under no uncertain terms that their job is now to support me, and they must drop their work helping 'lazy colleague'. Problem is helper colleague doesn't know how to do our job. I was asked by their manager last year to train them - I refused, saying they were recruited to help lazy colleague, I didn't have time, so lazy colleague should train them. They were asked to do so - and didnt do it. So I now have to train helper colleague, while dealing with the deadlines, and splitting my time between my old job and my new job.

Incidentally I did take on the strategy of cc-ing Lazy colleague's manager into every request, and every follow up when he failed to deliver. Manager jumps in and defends him every time - often answering emails for him while I never get a response from him.

So for example, I would email Lazy colleague (cc manager) chasing a response for a piece of work. Manager would immediately respond saying lazy colleague has been really busy and they are sure he will deal with it soon. Lazy colleague never replies.

It's weird - I'm wondering whether Lazy colleague has personal problems going on and his manager is covering up for him. He recently told us he was doing reduced hours for two weeks 'due to unforseen circumstances'. but that was a month ago, and no one knows whether he's actually working or not.

The spreadsheet approach suggested above has been tried - we have monthly meetings, he's set tasks with deadlines. He never does them, each month we have an update where he says he's been too busy (doing what?) and the deadline is extended.

For months.

Are you working for a private company or in the public sector?

Public sector. Where managers are weak and totally unwilling to take action.

Ugh, this is not on. What does your manager say?

@DalekScarecrow

That's the issue I'm having - I have to accept that nothing will change. I've worked with him for years, and he's always been like this (and got promoted when I didn't).

For years, I just really wanted other people to notice that I was doing all the work and he was a lazy shit. Then people did notice... but nothing changed.

It's the learning to cope with watching our work area fail that I struggle with. I need to find coping strategies

Serious question what was he doing that got him a promotion but not you?

Was he relying on you to be focused on getting the work done while he was busy telling everybody that he was so so busy? And as if by magic the work got done?
Self promotion works.

Your new collegue realised straight away that she was not getting any benefit from working with this guy. She ends up doing near 100% of the work for 50% or less recognition.
Her strategie was to inform her manager that she was not going to put herself in that position again.

You dont get paid to manage this employee, you wont get credit for pointing out that his manager is not managing their team member.

Best follow your collegue and just refuse to be teamed with him and let your manager know that if you are relying on deliverables from him that you will email (written trail) your manager and your manager can chase whomever they choose to get you the deliverable.

You just need to keep including his manager. Perhaps try to take the mindset that it doesn't matter who does his tasks providing they are done, and it's not you.
His manager will get fed up shielding him sooner or later, and until then you're absolutely right to let them know what blockers and delays are being caused by their member of staff.

Oh yes and cc your manager.

Ugh, this is not on. What does your manager say?

When his work was directly impacting on me (and subsequently my new colleague), we would regularly complain to our manager. She told us to keep flagging up where his lack of work affected us, and she kept raising it with his manager. Empty promises were made to get him to focus on the key tasks - but they never got done.

Now I've switched jobs - I have a new manager. She is also sympathetic, and just advises me to not let it affect me, I have to focus on delivering the best for the business now rather than lamenting on what should have been done in the past. And I will do that, but that means me taking on extra work because of his lack of any effort.

Serious question what was he doing that got him a promotion but not you?

He didn't get a promotion - he was always in a higher grade job before I started with the company. I fought to get upgraded, but they decided that he did the higher level work, and I didnt.... then I subsequently ended up doing all his work anyway for less pay.

We do often push back on this saying 'we won't do XYZ because that's higher grade work for lazy colleague'. So he is given those tasks. Then fails to do them. And they never get done, and it impacts on our ability to do our work.

Was he relying on you to be focused on getting the work done while he was busy telling everybody that he was so so busy? And as if by magic the work got done?

Yes - this is exactly what happened and still does occasionally when I'm not around to correct him. But there is no consequence to this - people know that we're the ones doing all the work, they just roll their eyes and go 'oh lazy colleague is such a twat' and carry on.

You dont get paid to manage this employee, you wont get credit for pointing out that his manager is not managing their team member.

Yes I have to keep remembering this. And i have to tread carefully so that I don't piss off his manager by pointing out his failure to manage...

Best follow your collegue and just refuse to be teamed with him and let your manager know that if you are relying on deliverables from him that you will email (written trail) your manager and your manager can chase whomever they choose to get you the deliverable.

Yes I can do that to a certain extent. SOme things are unavoidable and we have to work together. As for the deliverables - yes we have moved to a system where everything he is asked to do is documented with deadlines. I will chase him and his manager for those deadlines. but his manager just defends him saying he's been so busy etc etc.

@rookiemere

You just need to keep including his manager. Perhaps try to take the mindset that it doesn't matter who does his tasks providing they are done, and it's not you. His manager will get fed up shielding him sooner or later, and until then you're absolutely right to let them know what blockers and delays are being caused by their member of staff.

Yes I think this is the approach I'll have to take. Make it clear we need XYZ by whatever date. And if he's too busy to deliver it, ask who is going to do it instead?

His manager has even suggested that he himself will do some of the tasks - so he's perfectly aware that lazy colleague is failing to do them.

Sorry to hear you're still going through this, I understand how stressful and anxiety inducing it can be. I went through a similar situation last year, in a target driven business where out department were consistently failing due to two senior colleagues lack of effort. I felt literally sick with anxiety feeling our department was failing, despite me working longer and longer hours to pick up the slack and cover senior colleagues work, losing sleep etc.

One way I could have dealt with the problem as undertaking CBT to change the way I let it affect me. Your manager is right, you can try to find ways not to let it affect you but for some people that's just not possible.

I ended up resigning and happily am now two months into fabulous new job where ALL team members have distinct responsibilities and I can happily sleep and not worry like before. Sadly it is sometimes the only solution.

I understand your frustration OP.

I used to work in an office where the manager was a lazy shit and just played computer games all day while everyone else did all the work. God knows how he managed it, but he got promoted even higher.

This is a nuts situation! His manager needs to start the sacking process?

Sooner or later lazy man's manager will realise that doing his employees work is more hassle than actually managing him.
Until then, just keep focused in deliverable you need and making everyone aware of impacts of not getting it.

So:
"Lazy person, will this spreadsheet be available on X date, otherwise we won't be able to do Y"
Manager responds " Poor lazy person has a lot of work on right now."
You " We need this spreadsheet by x date otherwise y deliverable will be delayed impacting the project deliverables date. What's the best way to get this spreadsheet for that date ? " >
At this point, based on what you say, his manager will do the work.

And you know what - so what - as long as you get your deliverable, who cares who does it. Lazy mans manager is also not currently doing his management role.