Ever feel like you’re the only one with the get-up and go attitude?
Everyone has bad days. Work isn’t always sunshine and rainbows and sometimes, the motivation can be hard to find. However, if you’re the one who is constantly picking up the slack of your colleagues, this blog post is for you. Today, we’re discussing how to be an effective team player, but noticing when you’re being taken advantage of. We’re also looking at ways to tackle these types of problems in the work place. Sound like something you’d like to know more about? Read on.
Being a Team Player isn’t always easy.
Just because you might prefer to work alone, doesn’t mean you can’t be a good team player. After all, you all work for the same company, and therefore should have the similar, if not the same goals for your company. Working in a team isn’t always easy though. It is often made challenging by other workers doing the bare minimum or doing nothing at all and tiding over on the graft of others. This is when problems start to arise and persist if not addressed.
Being an effective team player means that you lift each other up instead of holding each other back. It means helping each other achieve collective goals. Being a team player means not watching anyone struggle. Being a team player means refusing to rely on others to do your assigned tasks for you. It means knowing when to get the head down and get the job done!
When your colleagues don’t pull their weight, try to get the motivation going.
If you know that your colleagues aren’t pulling their weight, try to tackle it positively. Try to boost the motivation of your co-workers. Encourage them genuinely, not condescendingly. Let them know that they’re doing a good job. Everyone likes to hear that once in a while! If you need them more hands-on in a task, ask them to help you carry out the task together. That way, you have another pair of hands on deck. You never know, inviting them to join you on a task just might be the kickstart they need, once they start, they might not want to stop. We’ve also written a blog post on motivation boosting at work – check that out here for more tips and tricks!
Address The Situation.
Although it can be frustrating, try to keep calm. If you need to, you can always go and speak to superiors about staff who are not pulling their weight. Nobody wants to be seen as the ‘tell-tale’ or ‘the office grass’ but it’s important to know when enough is enough and put your foot down. If you don’t address the situation, the problem will continue and leave you being the one who is picking up the slack consistently. If you are always the first to arrive and the last to leave because you’re finishing off the little left-over tasks, that’s a problem. Speak to the culprits individually if you are confident enough to. Speak to your manager, or raise it at a staff meeting. A problem shared, is usually a problem halved. And, the chances are, you’re not the only one noticing the problem.
So there you have it! Our top tips on dealing with co-workers who slack off and leave you to run around making sure the jobs get done. Have you ever had to deal with a similar situation? How did you deal with it? Let us know in the comments, or hit us up on social media! We’d love to hear from you!
