You arrive at work on time while they routinely straggle in 15 or 20 minutes late. For every four widgets you complete, they finish one. While you do your best to keep your workday distractions to a minimum, they openly spend time chatting on the phone, texting friends, playing games on the computer or otherwise goofing off.

Stress at work is usually bad enough without having to function alongside a colleague whose lackadaisical attitude makes your teeth grind and your shoulders tense. It's even worse if you have to pick up their slack because they've wasted their valuable time doing, well, very little.

When it comes to dealing with a colleague who is not carrying their fair share of the workload, you basically have these choices:

You can ignore the situation.

First of all, if you've noticed that there is a situation to begin with, it will be increasingly difficult to ignore it. Trying to block out when a co-worker takes a long lunch or is on their sixth personal phone call of the day will only result in personal frustration and create a hostile work environment.

You can take one for the team and pick up the slack.

Do you insist that this one weak link won't threaten the entire chain? Then you are likely taking on extra work from your peer's neglected project pile or are helping them complete assignments simply because there is "never enough time in the day" to finish. It's a short-term solution, but pulling a slacker's weight only builds up your own resentment.

You can confront the problem directly by talking to your co-worker.

It is always best to talk to your co-worker about their problematic performance before taking it up with management. But before you engage in that discussion, track and document dates and specific instances to validate your point. Some other things to keep in mind:

-- Keep the conversation private and approach the issue in a non-threatening way. Be prepared to share your documentation and explain how the behaviour is affecting you and the rest of the team.

-- Listen to their side of the story. Is there a good reason why your co-worker is not meeting their work obligations? Their seeming lack of motivation may come from the fact they do not understand expectations, they may be bored, they may be facing pressures in their personal life or they may be feeling deflated because of job insecurity due to recent cutbacks or layoffs.

If all else fails...

If your co-worker becomes argumentative, refuses to acknowledge the problem, and otherwise shows no intention of changing their behaviour, your only alternative is to take it up with the boss. This is not a great situation to be in, as you don't want to rat out a colleague, but at the same time, you want to put an end to their unfair and stressful slacking.

Without saying anything derogatory or personal about the co-worker, inform your manager of the situation and that you are only concerned because you care about the company and about your own performance standards. Cite the documented examples you have gathered that indicate a time management issue (including how the co-worker has been falling short of quota, deadlines or expectations) and how it affects the productivity of the rest of the team.

Finally, explain that you tried to speak to your co-worker about the issue and that you now need the boss's advice to deal with it. Even the most perceptive managers don't know what is happening in their organization 24/7 and they will likely be grateful for the heads up. They'll also appreciate that you are willing to help fix the problem instead of dumping it in their lap.

After the situation has been addressed, it is out of your hands. Now it is time to go back to work and concentrate on doing a great job. If there is a silver lining in having to work with a slacking co-worker, it's that they make everyone around them look like stars by comparison.

-- With reporting by Barbara Chabai

John McFerran, PhD, F. CHRP, is founder and president of People First HR Services Ltd. For more information, visit www.peoplefirsthr.com.

RESEARCH:

http://human-resources-management.suite101.com/article.cfm/put_an_end_to_lazy_coworkers

http://askamanager.blogspot.com/2008/08/telling-your-boss-about-slacker.html

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/InsidePage.php?id=1144017375&cid=472&

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 8, 2010 I2