Work can be a very frustrating place to be if a coworker constantly fails to put enough care or effort into his or her work. This situation can breed resentment if you are forced to spend time correcting other person’s mistakes. It is hard enough doing your own work most of the time, but trying to cover for the coworker who either consistently drop the ball or spend all their time socializing can make it next to impossible to complete your own work schedule.
The worst part about the situation is that sometimes it feels like no one else notices that you are doing the work of two people while the person next to you is spending all of his or her time surfing the web or is constantly making mistakes. Complaining about your coworker will make you seem like someone who can’t keep up, or who causes discord in the office.
Laziness is a disease which if not solved can spread, lazy people are like rotten tomatoes; leave one rotten tomato next to a healthy one and the health tomato will also rot.
Tips for dealing with a lazy co-worker
Don’t let them distract you
Tune your coworker out of your mind and focus on your work.
Focus on being the best that you can be
Do your work to your best ability so that you can become a champion at work.
Decide who you want to be.
Develop and implement your mission in life. Think of successful people you deeply admire and make them your role models.
Concentrate on your work and avoid stories
Mind your own business of succeeding in life.
Don’t let their work become your responsibility.
Do not babysit your lazy colleagues as they have to do their own work.
Don’t let them affect your success.
A lazy colleague can hinder your progress. If your boss notices work isn’t getting done, don’t let the blame fall on you. This is your opportunity to speak up, if you haven’t done so already.
Communicate with your co-worker.
Be clear to co-worker about goals, deadlines and commitments as sometimes they are not so clear.
Model hard work for them
Some lazy people are encouraged by watching what they should be doing. Some will adapt to the environment if the environment is working hard.
Don’t let it affect your attitude.
If you waste your time and energy on being angry or annoyed about your lazy colleague, your work performance may start slipping and you may be less pleasant to be around.
Don’t whistle blow.
But if you go to your boss about the delayed project say this; ‘I’m at a point where I can’t go any further with this project because I’m waiting for “A”to finish his part. What can we do about this?
Use the opportunity to become a leader.
This may be your chance to really step up and prove you can deal with difficult situations as a leader.
Tips on how to come out of laziness
- Find out the cause of your laziness as laziness is generally a symptom and not the problem itself.
- Set some achievable goals.
- Know that the work is worth it.
- Ask for help when you need it.
- Self motivation, Compliment yourself every step of the way.
- Realize that life is about trading costs and benefits.
- Stay on track, there will be times when it gets harder and you need to draw on inner reserves to remind yourself of the goal or solution sought to stay focused.
- Don’t give up, you are not alone and stay focused
- Remind yourself when you want to achieve your goal or task.
- Surround yourself with people who uplift you, and drive you, the love, support and encouragement of others can boost your inner strength.
- Drink cold water when you feel lazy. The water stimulates your brain, increasing the want to move around and get things done.
- Try using the 20/5 technique that is 20 minutes of completing a task followed by a 5-minute break.
- When contemplating whether or not you should do something, think to yourself “I’ll do what I have to do, so I can do what I want to do.”
- Avoid over sleeping
- Bathe cold water to give you energy and keep alert
- Stop over eating as it worsens the problem
- Tell yourself that I should not eat if I have not completed my task
Conclusion
Stop covering up for a lazy coworker,there is a difference between being a supportive team member and enabling a team member’s laziness. You may end up creating a vicious cycle in which you may just place your own job at risk because of supporting laziness.
Author
Kasemiire Agnes Akiiki
kasemiire25@gmail.com
