The thing about any company is that it’ll have its fair share of genuinely hard workers and complete slackers, with a bunch of people who fall somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to pull their weight. And these free-riders can make a lot of their colleagues feel resentful.
Case in point, redditor u/BuddhaMcDonald shared how his former colleague, a complete layabout who he called Ms. Novelreader, tried to get a job reference from him. He recounted the phone call he had with a human resources representative in a hilarious post on r/pettyrevenge. Bored Panda got in touch with u/BuddhaMcDonald and we’ll update the article once we hear back from him.
It’s normal to get mad when your coworkers don’t pull their own weight. Sometimes, it takes karma a while to catch up
Image credits: halfpoint (not the actual photo)
A guy recounted how his lazy ex-coworker said that he’d give her a job reference. Things didn’t turn out as she had hoped
Image credits: KostiantynVoitenko (not the actual photo)
Here’s how the conversation about Ms. Novelreader went between the man and the HR rep
Image credits: BuddhaMcDonald
The HR rep probably didn’t expect to hear the truth about the job candidate
If you search your feelings, you know one thing to be true: you probably dislike those of your coworkers who spend most of their day browsing social media, taking endless coffee breaks, and doing everything they can to avoid work.
The worst part? Probably no one calls them out (because, hey, who wants to start up massive drama at the office?). They end up earning their wage while putting in less effort than you. Frankly, it’s unfair. And it’s all right to get mad.
Equality and a sense of fairness are very important to people, whether we’re talking about office work or school. That’s why many of us (silently) lash out at those in power who pick favorites who they then reward even when they don’t get the results that they should.
Image credits: DragonImages (not the actual photo)
Fairness is something that many employees value in the workplace
It can be heartbreaking and demotivating to see someone get promoted for being mediocre and then spend the entire workday, say, reading novels with their feet on their desk. Why bother doing your job well if there’s clearly no link between effort and reward?
The harsh reality is that unfairness is an inevitable part of life. Not everyone who prioritizes their job or burns the midnight oil will get a raise and a cozy corner office. Meanwhile, not everyone who slacks off will get caught and punished for it, for example, if they’re good at pretending to work or know how to butter up their boss with their silver tongue.
Often, the most powerful weapon when dealing with unfairness is open and honest communication. There’s nothing like shining the spotlight on something that others would prefer to remain in the shadows. If you see that a coworker is clearly being lazy (and rewarded for it), one avenue you can consider is talking to them directly. Sit down for a quick friendly chat about how their attitude affects everyone at the office. But remember to attack the problem, not the person. Otherwise, they might get defensive and you’ll get nowhere.
Something else to consider is reaching out to your manager or an HR rep about dealing with unfair workloads. We all like to think that our time is valuable. And if we’re going above and beyond the call of duty but going nowhere, but others are getting raises for working less, clearly there’s a disconnect in values.
Nobody’s saying that you should be a snitch, but you have to try and understand what your manager’s position is: maybe they value people skills more than technical ones in their employees. Or maybe they’re not even aware that there’s been a long-term problem.
If that doesn’t work, you can always try creating some space between your work and your private life. Scale back on the overtime. Learn to prioritize. Stop helping your colleagues with their own tasks. Put yourself first. Or, in other words, quiet quit in the sense that you’re doing the work that you’re paid for, without sacrificing your work-life balance if there’s absolutely nothing in it for you.
Image credits: LightFieldStudios (not the actual photo)
Consistently remind your boss how valuable you are
The fact is that your superiors will probably only notice your extra effort if you consistently draw attention to it. For instance, by meeting up with them for a semi-annual performance review. It’s your job to remind them of how competent you are and how you get great results. If there’s still no positive feedback, consider looking for a company that rewards merit, not just charisma.
However, keep in mind that what matters at the end of the day is whether or not an employee gets the results they need to get. Working more hours isn’t always better. A survey from 2016 founds that UK office workers are only productive for 3 hours each day. How long your actual work day is doesn’t matter much. You shouldn’t be burning yourself out and working overtime just because everyone appears to be doing it. The ‘cult of overwork’ is a real thing and it’s not all that effective. As with most things, there’s a balance to be found between effort and rest.
You’ll probably also agree that you can do a bunch more work far more quickly if you’re not constantly multitasking or distracted by others. There’s nothing wrong with reading a novel to reward yourself if you do your job well. But you really need to do your job well! Otherwise, your coworkers will start resenting you.
Image credits: traimakivan (not the actual photo)
Some readers shared their thoughts and similar experiences with free-riders at work
The post “Coworker Did No Work, Then Wanted A Job Reference From Me. Not Happening” first appeared on Bored Panda.
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