Dealing With an Unproductive Colleague

Among the most common complaints that employees of large organizations and co-founders of businesses express, involve a colleague or associate who doesn’t seem to pull h/er own weight.

This situation can become especially awkward if the aggrieved party and the espied slacker share equal authority within an organization. The reason for this is straightforward: bosses have the authority to keep under-performers in line, and to dismiss them if the problem persists. But staff members and associates who occupy the same position in the organizational hierarchy as an alleged slacker don’t have this luxury, and face a multifaceted dilemma.

Is it better to confront the offending party, or try to ignore the issue? Face to face, or by reporting the problem to superiors or other colleagues? What about the risk of being labeled a tattle-tale, the potential strain on interpersonal relationships, or even the prospect of retaliation? What if it becomes one person’s word against another’s?

How does the perceived slacker’s underperformance affect you?

The answer to this question will determine whether it’s worth your time and energy to actively address the problem.

If the behaviour of the alleged slacker affects your work and professional relationships very little, or not at all, then you’re better off minding your own business. On the other hand, if your ability to complete job tasks and/or your rapport with colleagues and superiors suffers due to an unproductive colleague, then you have a legitimate concern and should take action.

Once you resolve to act, your first step (barring extraordinary circumstances) should be to address the matter directly with the perceived slacker.

Start by favouring diplomacy over confrontation.

Even if you suspect your colleague’s lack of productivity owes to laziness, don’t assume that. Your colleague may be experiencing a legitimate mental health issue, may be distracted by difficult conditions in h/er personal life that are beyond h/er control, or may have an easily resoluble gap in h/er skill set that is slowing h/er down.

 

Instead of adopting a confrontational tone, try approaching the issue tactfully at first—e.g. “Is everything OK? I’ve noticed that you seem less engaged with this task than you normally are.” Then ask if there’s anything you can do to help. The “slacker” may call your attention to a factor you hadn’t considered that changes your perception of the problem. Be prepared to afford h/er the benefit of the doubt.

This exchange also gives you an opportunity to clarify exactly what you expect from your underperforming colleague, and ensure that you’re both on the same page.

Use impersonal, non-accusatory language, and cite specific examples.

Outward hostility on your part can cause your interlocutor to shut down or become defensive; you’ll effectively sabotage the conversation right at the outset. Pay close attention to the language and tone you use.

Instead of leading with “When you do (or fail to do) X, it makes me Y,” go with something like “Last week, this (specific event) happened, and consequently I had to remain at work late in order to complete some unfinished tasks. That experience was frustrating and unpleasant for me.”

Don’t make the conversation any more personal than it needs to be. Ultimately, the issue is not your colleague’s personality or character; it is h/er behaviour, which consists of identifiable actions and omissions. Keep a documentary record of these, and of your own efforts to improve the situation, so you can be accountable and transparent.

Don’t involve your boss or higher authorities unless you have to.

The capacity to deal with relatively minor, day-to-day differences of opinion in a constructive manner is a valuable skill. If you are an employee or middle-manager, don’t involve higher-ups in a “slacker” case unless you believe the problem is too serious for you to solve on your own.

Addressing a colleague’s underperformance directly with that person has two big advantages over reporting to higher authorities right away: 1) it is friendlier and more conducive to an amicable working relationship moving forward; 2) it shows that you are prepared to take initiative and demonstrate leadership in dealing with interpersonal conflict at work.

If you and the “slacker” are joint founders of a business, it is even more essential for you to confront the issue head-on rather than let it fester.

The Pros and Cons of Friendships at Work

Employers who aim to improve the loyalty, efficiency, and engagement of their workforce would do well to focus on employee morale. And one of the surest ways to improve morale is to encourage camaraderie/friendship in the workplace.

When employees care about each other, they are more likely to become invested in each others’ success, communicate readily and openly, and cooperate on major projects in a way that capitalizes on their comparative advantages. (For example, “You’re better at writing, and I’m more conversational. So I’ll field phone calls while you take care of e-mails.”) Workers who have developed friendships on the job are also more likely to remain with the company, even if the work itself becomes less appealing. Finally, a reputation for camaraderie and positive employee morale may also enhance your company’s prospects for recruiting top talent.

With all of that in mind, here are some ways to encourage camaraderie in the workplace:

•  Participation in community service/volunteer events. Set aside some time for employees to volunteer for a charity or non-profit organization, and allow them to choose the organization. Or you could sponsor and take part in a public event on behalf of worthy cause, like the local Terry Fox Run, or a Pride parade.

•  Team-building exercises. Though they may seem clichéd, team-building exercises can be effective in helping employees develop a “we’re in this together” mentality. Well known examples include the mine field (leading a blindfolded person through an obstacle course) and the trust lean (catching a person as s/he falls backward). Some companies have even tried sheep-herding and scavenger hunts. In any event, remember that the purpose of the activity is to foster trust and a willingness to cooperate within the group, rather than competition between individuals. Choose accordingly.

•  Empathize. Make an effort to be consistently respectful, amicable, and professional toward employees, colleagues, and clients. Practice empathy and compassion. Take the needs and concerns of your employees seriously, and take individual preferences, personality types, and working styles into account in your personnel decisions. With respect to the type of workplace atmosphere you hope to instill, be proactive and set an example.

•  Keep an eye out for potential conflicts. It is axiomatic that some people simply don’t get along well with each other. Watch out for personality conflicts that you sense may become problematic, and trust your instincts. Where possible, try to match or group people you believe will work well together. If you find that one individual in particular doesn’t seem to collaborate effectively with anyone, you may need to take that person aside to address a specific issue, or even consider letting her go.

The downsides

As the title of this post suggests, the effects of camaraderie in a professional setting are not all rosy. Possible disadvantages include ruptured friendships if one friend departs and the other remains, and more time spent socializing (which may detract from productivity). In certain cases, friendships at work can lead to the formation of cliques and even divided loyalties—consequences that you’ll need to watch out for. As a manager or business owner, you’ll also need to remain cognizant of the line between friendliness toward your employees and friendship with them. While it’s possible to be friendly toward someone while maintaining an air of professionalism, it can be very difficult to reconcile the obligations of management with the responsibilities and commitments of friendship.

In most cases, though, the positive effects of workplace camaraderie far outweigh these potential difficulties, and the challenge of maintaining an affable but professional workplace atmosphere is manageable.

Handling Conflict in The Workplace

In all long-term relationships, including professional ones, interpersonal friction is bound to arise. For many people, the natural (and comfortable) response to confrontation is to avoid it entirely, but this is not always the most sensible option. If you believe that a dispute may have an adverse impact on your workplace, it is generally wiser to intervene early and decisively, before the issue has time to fester.

That said, conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. The same qualities that contribute to individual professional success—like drive, ambition, creativity, and self-confidence—can cause members of a team to butt heads on occasion. Knowing how to manage this discord, and even channel it in a constructive direction, is an indispensable leadership skill.

Keep the following tips in mind:

Hear out all sides before drawing any conclusions. If a conversation is particularly heated, it may be useful to separate the parties involved, allow each to articulate her own position and objectives, and make a note of the key points each individual raises. Listen attentively, ask open-ended questions, and avoid taking sides during this process. Once all parties have had a chance to make their case, try to identify points of potential compromise, as well as areas that appear irreconcilable. This will allow you to map out workable solutions (and alternatives) that you can then discuss with each of the adversaries.

Identify the low-hanging fruit. Many conflicts are the product of trivial disagreements, inadvertent miscommunications, or misunderstandings. By listening carefully, you will be able to identify concerns that you can easily address.

Keep your eye on the ball. In emotionally potent situations, it’s easy to point fingers. During an impassioned argument, there is a common tendency to bring up the faults of one’s opponent, regardless of relevance to the matter at hand, purely in order to score points or inflict damage. But senseless bickering will only beget more of the same. In order to resolve a dispute favourably, maintain an assiduous focus on the source of the disagreement, avoiding distractions and ad hominem recriminations. If you find two or more members of your team engaged in an acrimonious exchange, you may find it useful to call a temporary ceasefire, and allow the contenders to cool off, before gently directing them back to the heart of the matter.

Maintain a sense of self-awareness if you become engaged in a conflict. This is another area in which emotional intelligence comes in handy, particularly an understanding of how your feelings affect you physically and psychically. Self-awareness is a precondition for keeping one’s passions in check at a stressful moment, which in turn is crucial for evaluating the facts and claims in a dispute, reasoning, problem-solving, and negotiation.

Conflicts can create opportunities, not just headaches. If approached calmly and rationally, disputes can yield novel perspectives, ideas, and solutions that may not have arisen in the absence of confrontation. When most people hear the saying, “Two heads are better than one,” they imagine a relationship that is largely collaborative and amicable. But real life tends to be messier than what we envision in our minds’ eye!

The key is to channel potentially antagonistic sentiments toward constructive goals. This can best be achieved by listening, keeping the conversation as respectful as possible, and focusing on concrete sources of disagreement and objectives, rather than personal failings.

This point is worthy of re-emphasis: if you believe an interpersonal issue is serious enough to generate animosity or discomfort in the workplace, it is almost always better to address it quickly and comprehensively, than to allow it to progress and harden.