The totally off-topic thread

[JohnK]

As an employer it's quite difficult. If you somehow come to find out that someone is really not being a team player and that is causing angst in the workplace, but you can't "confront" that person directly because that could be prejudicial to the person who is doing the right thing, maybe you start the process by sending a generic email to all in the hope that resolves the inequity. It may, as helpful people here have suggested, enable conversations to be started to resolve an issue.

Conversations with the slackers? Not my responsibility and not on friendly terms for that to happen.

Team morale should be important. If someone is not performing their performance should be managed daily until it improves.

For one reason or another some people are able to escape that scrutiny.

And yes I know the answer is not simple.

 

[amaroo]

I've always found team linked bonuses weeds the slackers out quick smart. A good team will only want good productive team members.

 

[medhead]

Here is my nice shiny character filtering through again.

I have dilemma.

We are constantly receiving emails at work from management about productivity, work hours etc.

I have had enough of it. I am performing. I am doing my work and hate receiving these generic emails.

Now I know a number of people who are cheating. Fudging their hours.

What would you do? Ignore it?

Ignore that cough. Worrying about it is bad for your heart. Straight to trash.

Finger pointing is also dangerous. I had finger pointing at me in a jovial and jocular way, from someone who turned up at 7 am and left a 3 pm. The liked to joke that I always turned up at 9 or 930. Problem being they weren't around to see me leave at 530 or 6.

 

[JohnK]

Ignore that cough. Worrying about it is bad for your heart. Straight to trash.

I know it is best to ignore.

One problem is this is constantly mentioned at team meetings not just emails. We are then all under scrutiny to keep our due dates, jobs up to date but as I said some people seem to escape that scrutiny.

I think there is a power game going on somewhere and they are constantly hiring. Unfortunately the talent pool dried up long time ago and anybody will do.

 

[bass_ke]

That's pretty poor representation Brother erk. In SE QLD my workplace alone has about 10 different locations, half being in shift and our union manages to see most. Even if it is a quick meeting in the car park in the evening!

 

[Pushka]

Conversations with the slackers? Not my responsibility and not on friendly terms for that to happen.

Team morale should be important. If someone is not performing their performance should be managed daily until it improves.

For one reason or another some people are able to escape that scrutiny.

And yes I know the answer is not simple.

No. I agree it isn't your responsibility. It does raise issues though as to how managers etc come to learn of the "slackers" esp if they are clever in covering their tracks. It might take someone who isn't a "slacker" to make comments about someone who is. So then what does the Manager do with that info if they could only have heard about it from the "slackers" colleague? And whom you'd like to protect.

 

[Flashback]

Conversations with the slackers? Not my responsibility and not on friendly terms for that to happen.

Team morale should be important. If someone is not performing their performance should be managed daily until it improves.

For one reason or another some people are able to escape that scrutiny.

And yes I know the answer is not simple.

I find they usually get quietly fumbled off to another department, if the company is big enough to do so. Shift the problem to somewhere else...

No. I agree it isn't your responsibility. It does raise issues though as to how managers etc come to learn of the "slackers" esp if they are clever in covering their tracks. It might take someone who isn't a "slacker" to make comments about someone who is. So then what does the Manager do with that info if they could only have heard about it from the "slackers" colleague? And whom you'd like to protect.

Nothing in reality. Seen it happen far too often and that's in my relatively short career!

 

[JohnK]

No. I agree it isn't your responsibility. It does raise issues though as to how managers etc come to learn of the "slackers" esp if they are clever in covering their tracks. It might take someone who isn't a "slacker" to make comments about someone who is. So then what does the Manager do with that info if they could only have heard about it from the "slackers" colleague? And whom you'd like to protect.

Interesting dilemma.

I am able to determine who is a slacker and who is not. If I can do that then surely a manager should be able to do better than me.

I have sent an email to my team lead mentioning 2 people who I feel are cheating. I did not mention names. He has responded by asking me to name them so he can go and have a word to their team lead.

I am not sure I want to name them. Rightly or wrongly. I just want management to be aware there are issues and some people are not that stupid to notice that some people are trying to be too clever.

e.g One person is logging 7.5 hours every day. That is impossible. Log 7.47 hours one day, 7.55 another day etc etc.

Another person has managed to log 6 hours work in the space of 3 hours. I know it is fudging because their hours were short for the week and they wanted to make it look like they have done their hours. This same person goes shopping for ~45 minutes regularly ~10:00am while logging time to a job. This same person prepares their meals in the lunch room 3-4 times a day and then sits at their desk eating while logging time to a job. This person goes to the gym for ~1 hour every day. This person spends ~8.5 hours at work on the best of days including time spent at gym. How this person is able to log ~35 hours/week is beyong me. Are they cheating? And by the way I am not monitoring them but what they are doing is extremely noticeable not just to me but other co-workers.

 

[Pushka]

Interesting dilemma.
This same person goes shopping for ~45 minutes regularly ~10:00am while logging time to a job. This same person prepares their meals in the lunch room 3-4 times a day and then sits at their desk eating while logging time to a job. This person goes to the gym for ~1 hour every day. This person spends ~8.5 hours at work on the best of days including time spent at gym. How this person is able to log ~35 hours/week is beyong me.

I know that operandi very well. Our person concealed it by only doing this when their manager was away, which occurred up to three times a week, for the day or overnight. Then silenced the person who might say something by saying "anyone who watches someone else's clock must have no work to do". Pretty effective silencer. But they were eventually sprung, by me. And I had nothing to lose by acting on it.

 

[blackcat20]

Ignore that cough. Worrying about it is bad for your heart. Straight to trash.

Finger pointing is also dangerous. I had finger pointing at me in a jovial and jocular way, from someone who turned up at 7 am and left a 3 pm. The liked to joke that I always turned up at 9 or 930. Problem being they weren't around to see me leave at 530 or 6.

I had one of those at my last job. They would see me leave at 4.30, but didn't realise I was starting at 8.30...

 

[erkpod]

So counting down to Melbourne, you guys! 2 days at work then I fly down Tuesday.

 

[bass_ke]

You'd better visit lord of the fries and get yourself a big mark or Uncle Sam!

 

[RB]

Interesting dilemma.

I am able to determine who is a slacker and who is not. If I can do that then surely a manager should be able to do better than me.

I have sent an email to my team lead mentioning 2 people who I feel are cheating. I did not mention names. He has responded by asking me to name them so he can go and have a word to their team lead.

I am not sure I want to name them. Rightly or wrongly. I just want management to be aware there are issues and some people are not that stupid to notice that some people are trying to be too clever.

e.g One person is logging 7.5 hours every day. That is impossible. Log 7.47 hours one day, 7.55 another day etc etc.

Another person has managed to log 6 hours work in the space of 3 hours. I know it is fudging because their hours were short for the week and they wanted to make it look like they have done their hours. This same person goes shopping for ~45 minutes regularly ~10:00am while logging time to a job. This same person prepares their meals in the lunch room 3-4 times a day and then sits at their desk eating while logging time to a job. This person goes to the gym for ~1 hour every day. This person spends ~8.5 hours at work on the best of days including time spent at gym. How this person is able to log ~35 hours/week is beyong me. Are they cheating? And by the way I am not monitoring them but what they are doing is extremely noticeable not just to me but other co-workers.

Perhaps it is time to leave, set up your own business & not have these type of considerations on your mind

 

[erkpod]

That's pretty poor representation Brother erk. In SE QLD my workplace alone has about 10 different locations, half being in shift and our union manages to see most. Even if it is a quick meeting in the car park in the evening!

We've got 12 Sydney metro locations & 7 greater Sydney locations (not including the freight drivers). I don't know of any of those locations that have afternoon meetings. If there's a major issue (for instance the upcoming EA, the recent restructure), all the meetings are before lunch. I've decided to take a stand on the issue.

 

[Simo]

We've got 12 Sydney metro locations & 7 greater Sydney locations (not including the freight drivers). I don't know of any of those locations that have afternoon meetings. If there's a major issue (for instance the upcoming EA, the recent restructure), all the meetings are before lunch. I've decided to take a stand on the issue.

I do work for unions and they will work after hours if they are asked.

Sometimes you just have to go above the organisers head and it will happen.

 

[amaroo]

We've got 12 Sydney metro locations & 7 greater Sydney locations (not including the freight drivers). I don't know of any of those locations that have afternoon meetings. If there's a major issue (for instance the upcoming EA, the recent restructure), all the meetings are before lunch. I've decided to take a stand on the issue.

Good on you - proceed with caution! Not many organisations appreciate the trailblazer.

 

[medhead]

e.g One person is logging 7.5 hours every day. That is impossible. Log 7.47 hours one day, 7.55 another day etc etc.

You need to be very, very careful about making such a naive claim. I work all sorts of hours, always more than 10 hours a day on average each week. But my timesheet shows 10 hours each and every day. Standard time sheet entry. Why? because that's what I have to do as a minimum in my position. It is extremely dangerous to get confused between a streamlined timesheet and not working the hours.

 

[erkpod]

I was asking some colleagues this question yesterday - who fills in & approves the timesheet of a CEO? LOL

 

[TheEmu]

Maybe we should go there and save the airfair

Going to swim over?

 

[Simo]

I was asking some colleagues this question yesterday - who fills in & approves the timesheet of a CEO? LOL

I own a business and one of my staff informed me that I had to do a timesheet as I had stated everyone has to do a timesheet no exceptions.

Long story short I do not do timesheets.