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CAREERS. From the desk of Maximillien de Lafayette
Staff brand colleagues as 'lazy'
"Dead wood" staff can be hard to work with.
An overwhelming majority of bosses and employees think that some of their colleagues consistently under perform. An Investors in People survey found 75% of bosses and 80% of staff thought some colleagues were "dead wood" - and the main reason was thought to be laziness. Nearly half of employees added they worked closely with someone who they thought was lazy and not up to the job. However, four out of ten workers said that their managers did nothing about colleagues not pulling their weight. According to Investors in People, the problem of employees not doing their jobs properly seemed to be more prevalent in larger organizations. The survey found that 84% of workers in organizations with more than 1,000 employees thought they had an under performing colleague, compared with 50% in firms with fewer than 50 staff. Tell tale signs: The survey identified the tell-tale signs of people not pulling their weight, according to both employers and employees, including:
Both employers and employees agreed that the major reason for someone failing in their job was sheer laziness. "Dead wood" employees can have a stark effect on their colleagues' physical and mental well-being, the survey found. Employees reported that they had to work longer hours to cover for shirking colleagues and felt undervalued as a result. Ultimately, working alongside a lazy colleague could prompt workers to look for a new job the survey found. But according to Nick Parfitt, spokesman for human resources firm Cubiks, an unproductive worker isn't necessarily lazy. "It can be too easy to brand a colleague lazy," he said. "They may have genuine personal problems or are being asked to do a job that they have not been given the training to do. "The employer must look out for the warning signs of a worker becoming de-motivated - hold regular conversations and appraisals with staff." However, Mr. Parfitt added that ultimately lazy employees may have to be shown the door. "The cost of sacking someone can be colossal and damaging to team morale but sometimes it maybe the only choice."
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Changing your work culture and lifestyleAn increasing number of companies are reviewing their family-friendly policies. See how you can make a difference in your workplace. What you can doEven if you work for a company with practices that feel like they're from the 1980s (all work, no play), chances are you're surrounded by a working culture that's at least open to the idea of change. What and how much you can do to change your working culture depends on what your job is, and who your employers are. If you're a junior clerk working for a lawyer whose family-friendly policies haven't moved on since Victorian times, you're obviously up against it more than if you're a senior manager just back from maternity leave in a company genuinely committed to change. But everyone can try to make some changes. One New York City firm allowed employees to work extra hours early in the week, then take a half-day off on Friday. Although it was designed to help working parents, even those without children welcomed it as a great step forward. In two years, the company turned around a severe recruitment problem and employees who were regularly headhunted said they'd prefer to stay put. Try some of the following to bring about change in your workplace. Set up a parents' groupMany companies are willing to think about moving in the right direction, but lack the expertise to know what's needed. What they need is a parents' group - a body of employees who juggle the needs of work and family, and can provide ideas on how to make a real change for working parents. Getting together a group of like-minded people shouldn't be difficult and you'll find you're a lot stronger together than individually. Once you've got the beginnings of the group together, talk with managers in your section about what your group could achieve and why it's important. Stress that having the group won't be a threat to the company, but an opportunity to improve morale and production. Spread the wordLots of companies have improved productivity and retained skilled personnel because of family-friendly working practices. You can find examples in the trade press, business sections of daily newspapers and from organizations such as Working Families (see Related links). Collect clippings and show them to the people who count where you work. Display these success stories on notice boards so everyone sees what can be achieved. Also keep copies on file so you can refer to them in meetings. Be positiveBe as positive as you can about your situation. Instead of grumbling, explain which things could be better and how. Managers aren't interested in gripes unless they're the preamble to a solution that will improve things for everyone. CONTINUES ON P63
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