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.

And sorry, genuinely not trying to teach you how to suck eggs there, but you're making Lazy man and his managers problems your monkey on your back.
I'd turn it into a game. How late does the deliverable have to be before Lazymans manager does the work themselves? I'd be drippingly polite in all your emails - I always end with "Many Thanks" most times I mean it .

@AutumnBrooke I think we have the same manager.

I try to feel better by thinking I’d rather have my dignity and be thorough and work hard (patient related work) than be a manager that ignores everyone’s cries for help and not doing anything. At least my conscience is clear but I don’t think they think like that.

The only way to force the issue is to stop picking up any of the slack. At all. Not even a tiny bit. While you are covering up the cracks, no one is going to be bothered enough to do anything.

Can you ask for a clear indication of where your request is in the long long list of work that lazy colleague has to do?
Say oh yes I understand he has other work to do but please can we make my urgent requirement the top priority so other work is only undertaken when this is complete?
If LC's manager thinks the 'other work' is more important, ask them to give you a deadline by when he will deliver, and say that you will go back to your team & manager & adjust the project timetable because LC is unable to deliver to the agreed milestone because of x, y & z 'mystery projects' which don't exist, so everyone knows he's the blocker.
How long can they put up with this shit? Is he related to the CEO or something?

I’ve had two former bosses like this. V annoying and I never sorted out how to deal with it without too much risk to myself.

One of them was brilliant at convincing senior people he was achieving lots, while doing nothing useful.

He is now in an even more senior role.

Now when I look for a job I try to find out as much as I can about the main managers. My current one is good, and I knew that he was well regarded from asking around etc.

If you're in public sector then you need to play the public sector game. You sound like you're a proactive person @DalekScarecrow and I completely get your frustration. It was one of the reasons I left Public sector.

Ask different questions and also before doing so ask yourself if this is a place you want to continue to work at. The points your manager has asked for make me think that they would use that to build evidence to start the capability process. If that happened you wouldn't know about that.

If it's still directly affecting you in your role then either contact HR and ask to speak to them on an informal basis and ask for their advice on next steps. Or raise a grievance formally. Write an email to your Manager and tell them how serious this is now.

I'm sorry for you. It's a really shit situation to be in xx

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

I could have guaranteed it would be

What I'm not clear on is why you appear to have agreed to "temporarily go back into your old role", knowing that it almost certainly won't be temporary and they're just looking for the next mug to prop him up so that they're not obliged to act

Personally I'd just refuse, but if that's not possible contact your own manager in writing, point out what projects will soon fail, tell them what's possible in the time and ask what they want you to prioritise.
Or to put it bluntly, hand the problem right back to them in a provable way

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

More fool him, but if he's so incompetent that he'd rather do the work himself than actually manage, at least that saves you the hassle

There are no managers in the public sector. They are glorified admin pen pushers.

@rookiemere

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.

Good advice, thank you. I dont know if the manager is actually able to deliver the stuff we need, as they have different expertise, but I agree that we need to put the pressure on them to tell us when this stuff will be done, and make them answerable when/if it doesn't happen.

@feministqueen

If you're in public sector then you need to play the public sector game. You sound like you're a proactive person *@DalekScarecrow* and I completely get your frustration. It was one of the reasons I left Public sector.

Ask different questions and also before doing so ask yourself if this is a place you want to continue to work at. The points your manager has asked for make me think that they would use that to build evidence to start the capability process. If that happened you wouldn't know about that.

If it's still directly affecting you in your role then either contact HR and ask to speak to them on an informal basis and ask for their advice on next steps. Or raise a grievance formally. Write an email to your Manager and tell them how serious this is now.

I'm sorry for you. It's a really shit situation to be in xx

I have wondered whether they've started the capability process, but I don't think they'd have the balls to. Who knows.

I haven't given them any evidence of lazy colleague's failures recently, but my other colleague has done. So they should have plenty of evidence.

Personally I'd just refuse, but if that's not possible contact your own manager in writing, point out what projects will soon fail, tell them what's possible in the time and ask what they want you to prioritise.
Or to put it bluntly, hand the problem right back to them in a provable way

Yes, this is what I'm doing in a way. I've set up a meeting, I've put in writing what I suggest should be done including deadlines for lazy colleague, and pointed out what the implications will be if we don't have those documents in place by those dates. I'll ask his manager to agree to those deadlines at the meeting, then hold them both to account if they fail.

This is horrible, I hate it.

@Bodgerbarbara

There are no managers in the public sector. They are glorified admin pen pushers.

In my organisation they are people who once did technical roles, who were then promoted to become managers because it's the only way up the chain. But it takes a different type of person to be a people manager - and many of our managers simply don't have those skills.

I've set up a meeting, I've put in writing what I suggest should be done including deadlines for lazy colleague, and pointed out what the implications will be if we don't have those documents in place by those dates. I'll ask his manager to agree to those deadlines at the meeting, then hold them both to account if they fail

Good luck holding anyone to accunt for anything in the public sector, but it sounds as if you've covered it well - just so long as you don't allow yourself to be put in the position of doing it yourself

Unfortunately you're facing the mindset - all too common - of finding a reason not to do something instead of the one which makes things happen. IME this is one of the main reasons why those with initiative avoid the public sector like the plague, and I wonder if you wouldn't find more satisfying work outside of it?

@DalekScarecrow yes that sounds very familiar as well. It causes so many problems where I work that the managers are not leaders with people skills. I can’t wait to leave.

@DalekScarecrow

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.

Stop chasing him.

Start only emailing his manager.

Dear manager
Deliverable X is due on Y date can you confirm your team is on schedule to meet the deadline.

Dear manager
Deliverable X is due today can please forward at your earliest convenience.

Dear manager
Deliverable X was due on Y date. Without the deliverable Z can not proceed. Please confirm when deliverable will be available. Please note our team will have to reschedule the current work flows to accommodate this delay.
Please confirm that your team are on schedule to meet the of the following deliverable dates....

Dont ask who is doing the work just when you will have it
Its his managers problem to solve, removing other parties from the email chain makes it a failute to manage problem.

Part of the problem with doing that is that I'm junior to all of them (lazy colleague and manager), so it's difficult for me to make those sort of demands. I have to rely on my manager to do it - but I'm not privy to those conversations so I'm not aware of how assertive they are in asking.

The deliverables we require from lazy colleagues team are essentially documents to facilitate our work. Without them, we have to make those decisions ourselves, which extends the time and effort and stress it takes to complete the work. But we have absolutely no option to extend the deadlines or anything.

So it comes down to - receive deliverable from other team = our work is easier and better OR don't receive deliverable = our work is much harder. There is no implication for the business, because we get the work done regardless - the only impact is on the level of stress it causes us to do the work without the stuff we need from others.

So when communicating this to my manger, and them communicating it onwards, it comes down to:

'Please can we have XYZ from Lazy Colleague because Dalek needs it to do their work properly by X date" and the reply then is:

"Sorry Lazy Colleague is far too busy at the moment hence he failed to produce XYZ in time, sorry. We know Dalek is more than capable, I'm sure they managed ok"

And so it goes.

There is no implication for the business, because we get the work done regardless - the only impact is on the level of stress it causes us to do the work without the stuff we need from others.
We know Dalek is more than capable, I'm sure they managed ok

You start out with whats best for you.

Think of yourself as an independant contractor. Your contract says you get paid £500 to produce at least 1 wooden table top a day and and £1 fix it to the metal legs which will be provided. Each day you work 5hrs to make the top and no legs arrive. You go to the metal shop and spend 2.5hrs making the legs. The guy sitting in the sun is also getting £799 a day. The table is sold for for £5,000.
It cost the company nothing extra they get £3,700.
You could be making a extra table £501 every two days instead you are stressing to make the legs the other guy is being paid for.
Only once you dont make the legs because its not your job are the company motivated to act.

You need to have a brutally honest conversation with your manager.

If your manager is not prepared to act in your best interest why would work extra and stress for their benefit. Its the managers job to manage resources (other teams supply chain and you) to meet the deadline.

Option 1 continue on as you are and suck it up.

Option 2 Your manager takes responsibility for giving you the deliverable, either the other team produce it [ you dont get paid to worry about if its produced by the LC or his manager ] or even your manager. You are saying no matter what happens you are not doing the work.

Option 3 your manager is not prepared to do that, they pull back the delivery date by the time it takes your team to do the work. Manager makes the request, delivery fails, you step up. You are going to have to produce work while acting up in a more senior role, so you want the recognition, HR approval, pay etc.

If that fails you are back with the option to flat out refuse to work on project connected to the LC and raising a grievance via HR

Excellent advice from SolasAnla, identifying that far too much of the responsibility's being shouldered by OP and her team

There's actually no need to say "xyz isn't available because the lazy sod didn't do it" - they know that, and if they choose to do nothing that's their problem. All you need is to take the personalities out of it, say such and such CAN'T be done without that xyz, and let them work it out

It's more nuanced than that - it's difficult to describe, but basically we're doing the work in the absence of improvements that have been requested from LC.

If we don't get those improvements, we still produce the work, but it's harder to do, and potentially not as good. Not producing the work is simply not an option - we are just told to do the best we can with the resources we have.

So time and again - we ask LC for XYZ improvement. He fails to produce it, and we continue producing sub-standard work without it.

But the advice above has given me an idea how I can raise the risk that this presents. I can say 'I can do the work - it won't be as good without the stuff I've asked LC to input - but I have no choice'. Then stick a flag on it when I submit it saying 'This work has been produced in the absence of XYZ, any challenge to this work must be directed to LC and his team please'.

It doesn't help me in the short term - because LC gets to continue to fail in blissful ignorance of the pressure it puts on me. But all I can do is continue to raise that it is an issue.

How do i learn not to let this affect me so much? I'm really struggling with it and it's taking up a huge amount of my work time finding strategies to either try to flag up the things he's failing to do, or finding ways to work around him.

Hate to say it but any option to leave to another organisation/post? Not that you should but it just sounds so stressful.

@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

anyway you can override his areas of responsibility to make sure the projects are still completed on time etc ?

This is tough, but to some extent you have to become part of the problem too. It feels as though your management team will let LC run the dept into the ground, so let then. Your colleague is off with stress, you have the unreasonable expected of you. Can you plead that you're really unhappy in the role and you need to be moved back to your previous role? Or can you just leave....this situation has the potential to destroy your mental health. Get out of there and stop propping LC up.

It's more nuanced than that - it's difficult to describe, but basically we're doing the work in the absence of improvements that have been requested from LC.
[Who is we? Your manager and you or staff at your level and below?
Who is ultimately responsible (being paid) for making sure the work is done? ]

If we don't get those improvements, we still produce the work, but it's harder to do, and potentially not as good. Not producing the work is simply not an option - we are just told to do the best we can with the resources we have.
[Who is giving you the instructions?
Who is we?
Why are you failing to follow the instruction, you cant use a resource you dont have the manager giving the instruction is giving permission to produce D+ work you are trying to produce A+ work]

So time and again - we ask LC for XYZ improvement. He fails to produce it, and we continue producing sub-standard work without it.
[Again demarcation of work product, your manager is responsible for procurement and allocation of resource XYZ, not you. You are not getting paid to manage LC, you have not been given the authority. Your manager is responsible for the teams product so who is we?]

But the advice above has given me an idea how I can raise the risk that this presents. I can say 'I can do the work - it won't be as good without the stuff I've asked LC to input - but I have no choice'
[ what happened to we?
Did you notice you taking on your managers job here?
How about : I can chat with my manager about the risk of them failing their evaluation. I can say 'Manager, you failed to the manage the resources - it won't be as good without the stuff you asked LC to input - but the team have no choice']

Then stick a flag on it when I submit it saying 'This work has been produced in the absence of XYZ, any challenge to this work must be directed to LC and his team please'.
[See here is you failing to point out you did the work assigned to a more senior staff level and aiming at LC not his manager.
Try : I have based my estimates of XYZ on , available at the date of publication //, sourced data from .Department of LC produces XYZ, Head "Manager of LC" can be contacted at _ .
Or whatever Passive Agressive Manager Speak your organisation use to say they fucked up not us]

It doesn't help me in the short term - because LC gets to continue to fail in blissful ignorance of the pressure it puts on me. But all I can do is continue to raise that it is an issue.
[You can organise your scheule to factor in XYZ being your work.
You start pointing out that your work is resulting in the final product. Every time and at every oppertunity point out what an excellent job you are doing. You have limited resources and are trusted to produce work normally assigned to senior staff. That your work is used to do _ and relied upon by senior staff. Sure you could produce an even better product if Manager of LC's was able to supply XYZ but you manage to overcome that limitation.]

How do i learn not to let this affect me so much? I'm really struggling with it and it's taking up a huge amount of my work time finding strategies to either try to flag up the things he's failing to do, or finding ways to work around him.
[Its your managers job to supply XYZ falling that you redesign your job to produce XYZ and have it recognised in the time you need to allocate and in any evaluation your manager performs.

Human resource management is a learned skill.
I hire you because it makes my life easier, if you take on roles I did not hire you for but it makes my life even easier I have no motivation to take the role back or promote you out of your job.
Someone complained about their manager doing nothing all day, but everything was done so the manager sucessfully managed the poster and others on the team.

You take pride in your work and do your best, but sometimes you have to stand back and act in your personal best interest
Spend your energy on your work. if you are stressing, working OT, etc. then your manager needs to fight to get find the resources so new staff or challange LC's manager.
If your aim is a promotion list all the things which you need to do to that, i will bet managing LC is not on the list so hand the problem of solving LC back to your manager.

Just wanted to say thank you all for your supportive words and suggestions. I had a meeting with my line manager today, and I let them know the impact this is having on me.

They can see the problem, and they're going to discuss this with LC's line manager to spell out some of the deliverables that I really need to get my job done. No guarantee it will make him actually do anything, but at least I know that someone else knows.