how do you handle lazy people?

[stevethepirate]

Last year I was looking for a summer job. got called by a guy who owned a scrap metal yard. he told me to come in for a day and see if i could handle the work. It was no problem for me. I was getting cut up, burned by molten metal (using torches to cut metal up) etc.
There was another unskilled laborer there. He was mexican, but that is beside the point... dont want this to get racist.

The first day i was there, he worked hard. The second day, he stopped doing anything! he would just sit there and watch me work my *** off. I quit after 2 weeks because i wasn't enjoying doing the work for 2 people, and getting paid for 1 person.
I didnt want to blame someone else for my quitting, so i told the boss that the work just wasnt for me... he got mad because he had warned me... but I just didnt want to be that guy who fu(ks someone else over, you know?


This summer I'm doing landscaping. There are the 2 american bosses, me, then 3 hondurans. Lately, 2 of the hondurans have started getting mad at me because I'm always working 100%. They keep telling me to calm down, sit there and watch me work while they are meant to be helping, etc. Today, they refused to help me carry a bunch of fence posts. So I was carrying way too many for my own good, and all frazzled because of how pissed off i was. Some of the posts fell, and crushed my finger. So there I am, bleeding everywhere, all because these guys are lazy! that was the icing on the cake for me...

I'm the only american that speaks spanish, so I talk to them quite a bit. The bosses have started asking me to "report" about what the hondurans are saying and doing. I have been telling them that the guys dont do anything, and complain all the time. I feel like a di(k for doing this... but I can't even begin to explain how lazy these guys are! As a result, one of the guys is getting fired. The bosses noticed his laziness too.... but I confirmed it for them.

What would you guys do? is it wrong to "tattle"?

[ssms5411]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

I think you did the right thing, if they don't work get rid of them. I would of probably told them right away. I'll be dammed if I work my a$$ off and have someone standing around doing nothing. Good job. Now, the others I hope will get the hint and start doing their job.

[Blizzard242]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

My dad has employees that I work with that are just.... well beat the crap out of. He says no cell phones because he doesn't pay people to talk on the phone. It's an easy concept. But this one bastard continually walks into a corner like an ostrich thinking that no one can see him while he's in a corner and he text and talks on the phone many times during the day.
I heats me up pretty damn good to see this guy disrespect my dad/his employer so much. He doesn't even put it on vibrate.. it rings every time he gets a call or text.
So now instead of just tattling I do the ******* thing.. whenever his phone rings I yell, "HEY KEITH, PHOOOOOOOOONNNNEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!" I'm satisfied enough by that.
The idiot still doesn't turn his phone on vibrate. He's like 42 years old that can half read. I have no sympathy. He knows trucks though. That's it.

[Windcharger99]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

Last year I was looking for a summer job. got called by a guy who owned a scrap metal yard. he told me to come in for a day and see if i could handle the work. It was no problem for me. I was getting cut up, burned by molten metal (using torches to cut metal up) etc.
There was another unskilled laborer there. He was mexican, but that is beside the point... dont want this to get racist.

The first day i was there, he worked hard. The second day, he stopped doing anything! he would just sit there and watch me work my *** off. I quit after 2 weeks because i wasn't enjoying doing the work for 2 people, and getting paid for 1 person.
I didnt want to blame someone else for my quitting, so i told the boss that the work just wasnt for me... he got mad because he had warned me... but I just didnt want to be that guy who fu(ks someone else over, you know?


This summer I'm doing landscaping. There are the 2 american bosses, me, then 3 hondurans. Lately, 2 of the hondurans have started getting mad at me because I'm always working 100%. They keep telling me to calm down, sit there and watch me work while they are meant to be helping, etc. Today, they refused to help me carry a bunch of fence posts. So I was carrying way too many for my own good, and all frazzled because of how pissed off i was. Some of the posts fell, and crushed my finger. So there I am, bleeding everywhere, all because these guys are lazy! that was the icing on the cake for me...

I'm the only american that speaks spanish, so I talk to them quite a bit. The bosses have started asking me to "report" about what the hondurans are saying and doing. I have been telling them that the guys dont do anything, and complain all the time. I feel like a di(k for doing this... but I can't even begin to explain how lazy these guys are! As a result, one of the guys is getting fired. The bosses noticed his laziness too.... but I confirmed it for them.

What would you guys do? is it wrong to "tattle"?

Unless you are being paid to be a supervisor it is neither your responsibility nor in your best interest to "tattle" on anyone. All you are doing is creating a hostile work environment. Yes, most of us do our best at what we do, however if the status quo was working before you got there, who are you to change it?

We all work with lazy people, this will never change. Do you get paid more for working harder than everyone else? probably not. If you are going to be talking to your management then do it constructively to better yourself. let them know that you feel you are working harder and maybe you should get paid a little more. How about if they are asking you to "report" on your coworkers they promote you to a supervisory position? ratting out on other people will just make everyone dislike you and not trust you.

who wants to go to work for 8+ hours a day with people they dislike and who dislike them? rather than just complaining about other peoples laziness, work on a constructive solution and discuss that with management. If your management doesn't want to do anything about it, either follow suit with everyone else and clam up or find a better job.

Not to mention picking up and moving too many fence posts was your own decision. That was no one else's fault but your own. blaming your coworkers for your decision to do something that injured you is just ignorant, regardless of whether or not they were inclined to help you. not trying to rip into you here just pointing out the facts. I have worked in a number of different jobs with the same scenarios and i have supervised and managed as well. Get paid for doing managements job, don't do it for free. this is why we work.

[Blizzard242]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

^^^

A few good points but, wtf do you do when it's a family business? I understand trying to get along with these *******s but seriously. These guys drag their feet all over the place. It's too frustrating but I know that it frustrates my parents more when they have to deal with getting rid of people and hiring someone new. Ya feel like you could clean house if you got into a position to do so but nowadays it's hard to find anyone that is capable of doing ANYTHING! Then again, I'm an *******.

[Windcharger99]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

^^^

A few good points but, wtf do you do when it's a family business? I understand trying to get along with these *******s but seriously. These guys drag their feet all over the place. It's too frustrating but I know that it frustrates my parents more when they have to deal with getting rid of people and hiring someone new. Ya feel like you could clean house if you got into a position to do so but nowadays it's hard to find anyone that is capable of doing ANYTHING! Then again, I'm an *******.

i don't know what your family business is, but for an example I ran my own computer maintenance business for a few years. When I hired people i did a thorough interview with them before hiring. I paid them a better wage than they could get anywhere else. I offered benefits. I made the job better than any other job in the same industry around, due to this i got the best staff who did the best job.

No one on my staff humped the pooch so to speak, they knew if they didn't do the best job they would be looking for a new one, and some one else would easily take their place. I never once had a problem. I treated them all with respect and learned as much about them as i could. I worked around their schedule and if i ever asked one to do overtime or some extra work they always did it for me because they knew I wouldn't ask them if it wasn't absolutely necessary. I sold that business when i moved, and every employee quit after that. (The new boss didn't understand treating people with respect is the key to productivity.)

I can't say how your family business works unless i worked in it, I would ask buddy on the phone why he always has his phone on when it isn't allowed? Maybe he just doesn't care about his job. Maybe he should be told the next time that phone rings at work he gets a 3 day unpaid suspension. Enough of those and chances are the phone gets turned off. If you can't do without him then why not check phones at the door so to speak. If everyone has to do it then he can't claim it is unfair.

[ironranger]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

I wouldnt put up with it ....you arent there to make friends. so what if they dont like or trust you they dont pay your bills bottom line. 8hrs pay for 8hrs labor. work more get paid more

[vanbibber]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

**** that, i work with a bunch of lazy azzes, and ill tell you right now i have no problem lighting them up on the spot. if i see them standing around,i tell them to get their **** in gear or go the **** home and i do it right in front of the bosses. i get paid more but im not in charge of anything. its just the principle of it all. youre being paid to work. so ****ing do it or get the **** out. i couldnt give a rats a$$ if they like me,hate me or want to stab me. only thing i care about is getting the work done like its supposed to be. cant take it? get the **** out.

the managers love it and let me do what i do because im a good employee and theres never any slack when im there.

i have and always will make sure lazy people dont have jobs with me, ive gotten so many people fired or fired them personally over the years its just rediculous. i dont feel bad one bit about it.

[u441105]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

I'm kind of in the same situation. When I'm not down at college, I work as summer help doing maintenance for a company my mom works for. The other maintenance guys have the mentality that you get paid by the hour, not by the job and it works for them. The first summer I worked there I worked my *** off and the same thing you guys said happened, everyone hated me.

Now this is my second summer back and I've sort of been following suit and the work environment has greatly improved with the same people. Even my boss likes me more and raves about me to HR. I don't know if I'm saying if everyone else is being lazy do it yourself cause I'm not sitting on my *** but I've slowed my pace a bit. The maintenance department still keeps everything running so it's not like the place is turning into a mess.

So in my situation some may say I took the easy way out and conformed but I must say it has worked out. I am just summer help though and I'm done late August.

[FirebirdPhil]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

If your boss asked you if he was dead weight and you told him your opinion then no, you did nothing wrong. As long as you don't go out of your way to complain about co-workers then you're doing nothing wrong. I'd be po'd also for my hands getting crushed thanks to two people being lazy. Hell, knowing me, I probably would've lost my temper and hit the guys. I honestly say kudos for not blowing a fuse and getting into a fight at work.

[Blizzard242]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

i don't know what your family business is, but for an example I ran my own computer maintenance business for a few years. When I hired people i did a thorough interview with them before hiring. I paid them a better wage than they could get anywhere else. I offered benefits. I made the job better than any other job in the same industry around, due to this i got the best staff who did the best job.

No one on my staff humped the pooch so to speak, they knew if they didn't do the best job they would be looking for a new one, and some one else would easily take their place. I never once had a problem. I treated them all with respect and learned as much about them as i could. I worked around their schedule and if i ever asked one to do overtime or some extra work they always did it for me because they knew I wouldn't ask them if it wasn't absolutely necessary. I sold that business when i moved, and every employee quit after that. (The new boss didn't understand treating people with respect is the key to productivity.)

I can't say how your family business works unless i worked in it, I would ask buddy on the phone why he always has his phone on when it isn't allowed? Maybe he just doesn't care about his job. Maybe he should be told the next time that phone rings at work he gets a 3 day unpaid suspension. Enough of those and chances are the phone gets turned off. If you can't do without him then why not check phones at the door so to speak. If everyone has to do it then he can't claim it is unfair.

We can do it without him no problem. The only reason he's still there is because he shows up.
I'm willing to bet I could learn that stuff easily enough with as much as I've learned and have done from just this forum in the past year. Actually my parents were talking about him taking my job and then I get to start working on the equipment more but they said he couldn't do it because he was too slow.. lmao.
What I'm also willing to bet is he gets paid more. Whatever. We have a 24 hr garage that maintains fedex equipment. Routes are contracted to private business owners whom own the trucks which we also do work for.
I inspect the equipment and write up what needs to be repaired. I'm like half this guy's age and I show more responsibility than he does. I've got a lot to learn with tolerence and such but its sooo hard! I'm trying to train his nephew but that's a whole other story.
Basically it comes down to who shows up on time and shows some effort. We're a pretty highly revered garage as far as I've heard but good employees lately have been few and far far inbetween.

[jabberman]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

I Think These Guys were Just Trying See If you Could handle the Pressure without "Tattling" to see what kind of a Man you were..:rant:

Unless you are being paid to be a supervisor it is neither your responsibility nor in your best interest to "tattle" on anyone. All you are doing is creating a hostile work environment. Yes, most of us do our best at what we do, however if the status quo was working before you got there, who are you to change it?

I couldn't have said it better Myself!!

[ssms5411]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

Say theres a job to do: unload a truck of crates, you and another employee, while your unloading he is sitting there doing nothing or talking on a phone, you bet your a$$ I'm going to say something, and it is not your responsibility to comfront the employee it is the supervisor, so I would tell the supervisor, just because why should I do all the work while the other guy is doing nothing and still getting paid the same as me. I could give a damm if it is ratting him out, if it is making me work harder I would tell in a heart beat.

[DAS BOOT]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

I would let some slide too but I have no problem *****ing when someone else is lazy, it drives me nuts. Employees wonder why I flip out on them so much for being lazy, and I tell them they are ****ing over the rest of their co-workers and I am not going to let them get paid for someone else to do their work.


I wouldn't ***** every 5 seconds, but I would bring it up in a calm and collective manner so you just don't sound like a whiner.

[youngsc]

Re: how do you handle lazy people?

I didn't read the replies but I'm sure mine will be along the same lines. I ****ing hate that. I'm the same way, I'm getting paid by someone else to do the job I will work as long and hard as it takes to get it done. I notice someone not pulling their weight I will make it known, calmly at first then I will make a scence. I have no qualms about someone getting fired for their incompetence, hell I'd be happy to throw em off a cliff, if we had any in Florida. One of my biggest pet peeves in the world in inefficeny. Argh, thanks I needed that vent.