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Lazy employees who do little to no work on a daily basis are costing your organization more than you might think. These people not only drag productivity levels down, but they can also negatively affect their co-workers who might have to pick up the slack. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what laziness costs your company.

That said, not all employees who complete a small amount of work are truly lazy. Other factors might be at play – and leadership might be partly to blame. In addition, the mindset towards work tends to change from one generation to another, and especially from Baby Boomers and Generation X to Millennials and Generation Z.

The bottom line? Laziness in the workplace is a complex issue that leaders should address thoughtfully and with great care. Learn more about the fallout from lazy employees, how to determine if someone really is lazy and the best ways to manage workers who are lazy.

GENERATIONAL SHIFTS IN THE MINDSET TOWARD WORKING

Priorities around what people want from a job have changed in several ways over the last few years. Employees long for a job that has meaning, they crave more autonomy, and they want to get paid what their expertise and skills are worth. Beyond these priorities, there are general shifts in the mindset that people have toward working.

The results of a survey of 1,002 people found that some members of Millennials and Generation Z are less hard-working than some people who fall into the Baby Boomer and Generation X age groups:

  • One-third of respondents between the ages of 18 and 30 admitted they have a more relaxed attitude towards their job.
  • Almost nine in 10 Baby Boomer and Generation X employees are motivated to work by a strong work ethic.
  • 14% of survey respondents under the age of 34 revealed they are likely to take an hour off “here and there” during the workday when working remotely.

Source: (1)

The above survey results are solely intended to demonstrate how a person’s attitude towards working might be shaped by their peers.  However, it also demonstrates a change in mindset about attitudes within the workplace and the differences that may exist between various generations.

It is important to note that these are generalizations and that leadership should never assume an employee is lazy or hardworking based on generation classifications or survey results.

IS IT TRULY LAZINESS?

Some of the behavior that might present as laziness at first glance is not necessarily due to a lackadaisical attitude.

Quiet Quitting

Characterized by putting in the minimum amount of effort because the employee has lost hope in their employer, quiet quitting resembles laziness in some ways. The primary difference is that people who quit quietly are not intrinsically lazy. They have simply lost faith that their hard work makes a difference, and they are actively seeking a new opportunity. Quiet quitters believe their energy is better spent on job hunting than on trying to make their current job work.

If you notice that a once enthusiastic and hard-working employee has become quiet, withdrawn, and does the bare minimum to keep their job, you might have a quiet quitter on your hands. The best move in this situation is for the employee’s manager to pull this person aside and respectfully inquire about the change in their work ethic and participation. If it goes well and the manager handles it correctly, a discussion like this could lead to the worker re-committing themselves to the company. Achieving this outcome will require careful listening and following through with action on the manager’s part.

A Lack of Work/Manager Oversight

The blame for an employee doing little work does not always belong to the employee. In some cases, their manager has failed to give them enough work to do. The employee might even have asked for more work and received no response from their manager.

It is crucial that every manager puts each employee’s responsibilities in writing. Doing so not only holds the employee accountable but also gives leadership clarity on their workload. If you start to hear whispers, whether from co-workers or the manager of an employee, you can refer to the workload details to determine if perhaps the employee needs more projects and responsibilities.

HOW LAZINESS IMPACTS THE TEAM AND COMPANY

Perhaps the biggest blow to employers because of lazy, disengaged employees is poor productivity. Why is this important? Improving productivity also improves a company’s bottom line.  A study by IBM found that organizations in the top 25% of positive employee experience received almost three times more on the return on assets and double the return on sales compared to those who were in the bottom 25%. (2)

And there is more:

  • Organizations with engaged employees outperform companies without engaged employees by 202%.
  • Disengaged workers have higher absenteeism (37%), more accidents (49%), and more errors (60%).
  • Companies with higher employee engagement scores see 17% more productivity and a lower employee turnover rate.

Source: (2)

Sadly, productivity is not the only impact that lazy employees have on their company. They also adversely affect their co-workers. 73% of people believe that laziness is a major contributor to workplace stress. (3) This means that an employee who slacks off affects more than just the bottom line as if that was not reason enough to take action. They can drag down their teammates, as well.

THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO ADDRESS LAZINESS

Given how detrimental lazy employees are to your organization, it is imperative to address their behavior. But how do you pull this off well? By managing them according to the type of lazy behavior they exhibit.

The Eternal Victim

This person is never in the wrong because, in every case, they have been dealt a terrible injustice. Employees who play the victim card portray themselves as innocent of any wrongdoing because they are the recipients of wrongdoing.

Unfortunately, by crying victim loud enough, these people are fully capable of shaking off the blame and getting out of work. Their victim claims are a distraction strategy, one that works far too often, despite the lack of logic that it contains.

Hardcore logic and unfailing documentation are the two best ways to disarm professional victims. Document in writing every time they play the victim card in lieu of doing their work and all the reasons they give for it. By putting the details in writing, you can neatly debunk their claims of victimhood.

The Master Procrastinator

Recognizing procrastinators is easy. This person waits until the very last minute to start their work, using every excuse in the book as to why, and they do so consistently. It is a pattern, not an exception. Procrastinators often end up producing poor work or incomplete work as a result of leaving themselves little time to complete it.

While micromanaging is not typically a good approach, keeping procrastinators in line requires it. Stay on top of these employees by setting hard-and-fast deadlines for them. You might want to consider giving them target milestones – that is, earlier dates than the real deadlines. Daily check-in meetings are another effective way to ensure these employees stay on task. Ask to see the work they have done during these meetings. If these people know they will have to show their progress every day, they will be less inclined to postpone doing it.

The Invisible Wo(Man)

Could one of your employees have a superpower, one that allows them to make themselves invisible when they are tasked with working? Common behaviors of the invisible woman or man include showing up late for meetings, taking a sick day at a crucial stage in a project, and taking lengthy and frequent breaks during the workday. When work calls, you will not find this employee around to answer.

Providing clarity is perhaps the best way to handle these people. Break down tasks into smaller pieces consisting of three to five smaller goals. Set a defined start and end date for each, regardless of how minor.

Establish clearly defined expectations around their time at work: how many breaks they get, how long those breaks are, what time they are expected to arrive at work/start working, and what time they are permitted to leave/stop working.

The Work Delegator

You might find you have a mini manager on your hands in the form of an employee who reassigns their work to their subordinates. The delegator is also talented at pushing the responsibility for completed work off on these subordinates instead of taking accountability for it themselves. They might justify with statements such as, “Well, my time and energy should be spent on the bigger picture.” Alternatively, they may simply be the prickly co-worker who is reluctant to take on their fair share of the workload.

Clarity is essential to redirect the delegator. Make statements like, “I am entrusting this project to you and you alone. I do not want anyone else to work on it.” You should also keep daily tabs on the work they have done, without making them feel suffocated. Asking them to share a list of their priorities for the day first thing in the morning, followed by a list of completed tasks or progress at the end of each day, is one way to do this.

SPARE YOUR ORGANIZATION THE STEEP COSTS OF LAZINESS

It will require a bit of extra effort and firmness upfront, but when leaders effectively address lazy employees, it benefits your organization significantly. Productivity will improve, their coworkers will feel less stress and you will create a stronger, more unified workforce.   

For more information about planning a corporate meeting focused on topics like managing employees, contact Gavel International to learn more about how outsourcing can help streamline your process. 

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SOURCE(S):

1 https://nypost.com/2023/06/15/gen-z-millennials-lazier-workers-than-gen-x-and-boomers-study/

2 https://www.softactivity.com/ideas/true-financial-cost-of-poor-productivity/

3 https://gitnux.org/laziness-statistics/

Eloisa Mendez
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