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Ask HN: My coworker doesn't work. Does it make sense for me to say anything?

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Re: Ask HN: My coworker doesn't work. Does it make sense for me to say anything?

#91

Post by effingwewt »

deanmoriarty wrote: post #65
ratg13 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a saying that goes, "the fastest way to demotivate a good employee is to allow them to watch you tolerate a bad one" Not all managers are aware of this. Everything you say is true, however, I have also witnessed first hand this sort of thing drain a company of talent. It's only after everyone else leaves and maybe you leave yourself where you start to question whether watching the whole company lose it's tal…

I wish I could upvote you 100. This is exactly the kind of thing I witnessed in real life. It was absolutely sad.

Indeed. I'd never heard the saying but have definitely experienced it first-hand more times than I care to remember.

Re: Ask HN: My coworker doesn't work. Does it make sense for me to say anything?

#92

Post by loquor »

cosmotic wrote: post #80

I once compiled a load of data that I consistently close more tickets, close more story points, commit more lines of code, more number of commits, etc compared to my coworkers with the same or similar title. I was laid off a few weeks later because my "goals were not the same as the company's". If you want to keep your job, don't bring it up. If you think you deserve better, find a new employer.

Wow. But why would your manager do that though? Were you working unreasonably hard, so much so that others couldn't keep up and it made them look bad? Did they dislike something about your attitude? I want to understand their perspective on why they jettisoned a high-performing employee.

Re: Ask HN: My coworker doesn't work. Does it make sense for me to say anything?

#93

Post by edmundsauto »

ncmncm wrote: post #79
edmundsauto wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are also many other possible outcomes. Even if it's less likely that the manager would side with OP, it doesn't mean "approaches 0", as you stated previously. Additionally, even if the manager doesn't address it, it could end up being a positive. Instead of "which is more likely", what really matters is the value of the outcome. I'm the kind of person that I would rather know whether my manager cares at all, so…

"Which is more likely?" is a hint that one choice obviously has probability near 1, and the other as near zero as makes no difference.

So in this made up scale, "more likely" means "absolutely definitely without any evidence"?

Re: Ask HN: My coworker doesn't work. Does it make sense for me to say anything?

#95

Post by ncmncm »

edmundsauto wrote: post #93
ncmncm wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Which is more likely?" is a hint that one choice obviously has probability near 1, and the other as near zero as makes no difference.

So in this made up scale, "more likely" means "absolutely definitely without any evidence"?

It means anything you like. Wishful thinking can take you anywhere in all fantasyland.

Re: Ask HN: My coworker doesn't work. Does it make sense for me to say anything?

#96

Post by piva00 »

aaomidi wrote: post #71
_8j50 wrote: post #31

Yes keep your mouth shut. I have the opposite problem of doing too much but people who get bothered about other people's laziness are my pet peeve. Unless you are a manager, managing people is not your responsibility. If you do well and offer your support to get them to where they need to be, you are doing your best, take the nice paycheck home and enjoy! I have no idea what people are going through or what they brin…

Basically don't police your coworkers for the sake of your company. The only time you should step in is to literally save someone from being actively harmed. E.g. Hateful comments by some coworker, etc.

> Basically don't police your coworkers for the sake of your company.

Exactly, don't start a culture of surveillance by peers, that's what the KGB or the Stasi did to sow distrust and fear in societies...

Re: Ask HN: My coworker doesn't work. Does it make sense for me to say anything?

#97

Post by throwaway313313 »

This question is an awesome rorschach blot for the answerers ethics and morality.

I've worked with people that had answers regarding this all over the place.

My answer would be that it depends on context.

You could qualify "doesn't work" with all kinds of qualifiers, that they might or might not do, such as take credit for your your work, take credit for others work, interfere, steal, harass, block, distract, etc.

You could also specify a counter party for each of those: coworkers, management, the company, vendors, customers, or the public.

For example, do they steal money, property, or time from the company, coworkers, or customers?

In my experience the people you work with will have all kinds of different answers, that are sometimes surprising.

Some people never say anything to management or their coworkers, even if the culprit was stealing property from customers or the company, and only draw the line if it was them personally.

As a meta answer, we could try to construct levels of morality necessary for different levels of cooperation and trust to be achieved.

Anyway, if your coworker doesn't take credit for your work, steal, interfere, harass, or otherwise block anything, then you are more in a case of thinking about the relative fairness of the situation. Recognize that and put it aside. It's not useful to you.

If you end up in a situation where it's impacting your ability to get a significant objective done, then it's material and you should focus on practical ways to work around them, for example by working with other people or making it so they aren't in the decision path.

Re: Ask HN: My coworker doesn't work. Does it make sense for me to say anything?

#98

Post by freedom2099 »

My question to you is: how do you know he is doing nothing? Are you working with him and end up doing everything yourself? Or you simply “see” him relaxing all the time? I know people that seems alway on a break and yet deliver more than most!

Re: Ask HN: My coworker doesn't work. Does it make sense for me to say anything?

#99

Post by temp438 »

bko wrote: post #78
datenarsch wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If I pay someone $100 to come clean my house and they take my money and don't clean my house, its no different than if they came into my house and stole $100. It is not OP's house though. He is just another employee, so it's none of his business to worry about this. Your argument sounds just like an excuse to morally justify snitching on co-workers.

If someone paid me to clean their house and the person I'm with starts stealing, I I would not be okay with it either. I would say something if I saw someone getting pick-pocketed or call the police if someone is being mugged. Theft is theft and its wrong. If I have a chance to easily address an injustice I will certainly consider it. This moral relativism has really gone overboard.

You're selling your work. If what you sell doesn't cost as much as you asked for it, then you will lose ability to sell it, eventually. It's not a theft, it's how market works and it doesn't work in any other way.

Re: Ask HN: My coworker doesn't work. Does it make sense for me to say anything?

#100

Post by nrat »

Is no one considering the fact that this "slacker" is in a place of seniority over OP?

How could one possibly aspire to climb the ladder when the person above you is unlikely to ever move up another rung?

If slacker never gets promoted, due to their lack of performance, what chance does OP have? Or should OP find a better paying job elsewhere where this is not the case?

I am not advocating for snitching here, but let's consider it from that vantage point at least.

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