Laziness, or invisible labor? Workers, managers weigh in
A recent column on lazy co-workers struck a chord with workers and managers alike. (Responses edited for length and clarity.)
Personal business on business time:
"Some [personal] tasks are time sensitive. Calling a doctor's office to make an appointment has to be done during business hours. You may need to make reservations as soon as you find out that you must travel. If evening plans suddenly go sideways, you may need to make alternative plans. These tasks can be completed in roughly the same amount of time it would take to get a cup of coffee." - Anonymous, no location given
"I had no qualms about doing personal things at work, because I'd get out of bed at 2 a.m. when I was inspired to write code. My products were always on time, under budget, and accepted as delivered. - Anonymous, former software developer, Alexandria, Virginia.
Managers weigh in:
"If you have time to worry about what other people are doing, you must not be busy enough." - Gray Grantham Jr., online commenter
"It can be extremely frustrating to have other employees constantly pointing out others' bad behavior. You can't indicate you're aware of the situation and things are under control. All you can say is, "Thank you for your input.'" - MDENGL, online commenter
"When I was the boss, we had defined outputs and responsibilities, but I also monitored quality through personal observation and site visits, as well as client surveys. I got to know my employees as individuals. My expectations were clear. I had to have everything properly documented. I also dealt with problems quickly." - Anonymous, Texas
"Lazy" colleagues weigh in:
"My work is 95 percent cerebral. Some part of it is always being 'worked on' in my head. My deliverables are a few spreadsheets, the occasional PowerPoint and verbal advice. If people watched me working, they'd all wonder how I get paid for seemingly 'doing nothing.'" - Coaxial Tasco, online commenter
"I asked if I could help on projects, take up other work, research, test. But I was told that what I was there to prevent was too important to allow me to do anything that would keep me from jumping in with both feet if it happened. The unpreventable happened one time in six months and took three hours to handle. I didn't stay there long." - mtkaLiz, online commenter
"A junior colleague confessed to wondering what exactly I did all day, until an opportunity to fill my shoes revealed my hitherto invisible workload: responding to emails, chasing down answers, troubleshooting and otherwise buffering my team from focus-sapping tasks and outside requests." - Karla
Comeuppance for a lazy co-worker:
"Every time I walked by our auditor's desk, he was on the Internet. It bothered me because some of my work required his approval. And I couldn't get it because he was 'too busy.' So I finally complained to management. He was investigated, and it turned out he was teaching online classes as a second job and using his time at work to review papers, respond to students, etc." - sewgal, online commenter
Why MYOB is sometimes the best policy:
"A guy I work with was taking naps in a closet at work, and a few other workers decided to out him to their manager. Turns out, the guy was staying with his wife in the hospital at night (and doing work there while she slept). The manager was aware of this, but because other workers made such a big deal of exposing the guy, the manager had no choice but to publicly shame the shamers." - RP Reader, online