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Unproductivity has many reasons, either someone is under huge stress or someone is simply lazy. If you’re the one struggling with the problem, you can easily solve it if you want to improve and enhance your performance, but have you ever thought what if you’re having a colleague who’s unproductive and lazy?
Some employees complain that their work colleagues are lazy and it usually affects their productivity as well as the productivity of the entire team. So, today we bring you some tips on how to deal with an unproductive colleague.
Don’t Let Them Influence You
Sometimes having a lazy employee can have an impact and makes you unproductive, so, you have to pay attention not to be affected.
Having an unproductive colleague might have an impact on you as they might distract you or drag you to other discussions or activities. Also, don’t spend your day stressing about how your colleague is not working or finishing their tasks as long as it’s not affecting your performance or productivity.
Keep your performance as it is, and stay committed, and avoid this type of colleague while working.
Try To Understand The Reason of Their Unproductivity
Have they always been unproductive or it’s only happening recently?
If this change happened recently, then try to figure out why they became unproductive. Many employees’ performance changes based on their surroundings; sometimes work stress can be a huge factor in affecting their performance and productivity. Therefore, what you can do is talk to them and figure out the reason why and try to help them out as they can be struggling with work and its environment.
Approach Them Professionally
Let them know in a professional way that their working habits are affecting the process of delivering tasks.
Don’t attack them or talk to them in an unprofessional way, be rational and make them understand how their behavior is affecting you as a team and that they should reconsider their work habits.
You can also offer to help them if they are struggling with time management or if they are easily distracted.
Don’t Work On Their Tasks
Don’t let their work become your responsibility.
If this colleague is in your team, don’t pick up their tasks and work on them instead of them, it’s not your responsibility. Instead, remind them of their tasks and the deadlines so they can finish on time.
If you finish their tasks on their behalf, they will get used to it and you might find yourself working the double.
Don’t Work On Projects With Them
Try not to team with them on a project because you won’t end up with the best result.
If your colleague is still unproductive even after helping and advising them, then try avoiding working with them; working with an unproductive colleague in the same project will affect the entire process and performance as every late task they deliver, will affect the whole deadline of the project and hence it might affect your reputation as an employee.
Therefore, it’s not recommended that you work with them as you might find yourself working on the whole project by yourself.
Seek Solutions
Before going directly to your manager to complain, try to come up with solutions to make the situation better.
Don’t jump to conclusions and report a complaint to your manager; as we said, try offering help and seek the reason behind their unproductivity and laziness. You can help them set a deadline or motivate them to be more productive. You can also discuss it with your team who are struggling with the same issue to offer help so you can enhance your productivity.
In conclusion, you only can help when your colleague accepts the offer but you can’t force your help on them. What you can do is hold them accountable for their mistakes and procrastination.
