Years ago when I was a kid, my grandfather used to ask me if I would be good if he gave me a dollar. Of course I would! He’d then ask if I’d be good if he gave me a quarter. Of course I would! He’d then ask if I’d be good if he didn’t give me any money. I said, of course I would! He’d then say… so, you’re saying you’re good for nothing then. It’s kind of corny but for some reason I remember it. Now as adults, unless we’re doing some volunteer work, we’re not going to do our jobs for nothing. We do require a paycheck. However, there are some employees that don’t seem to look at the other side of this equation. We expect money, raises and even bonuses or incentives for work we do, but many employees seem to think their employer shouldn’t expect too much for the money they pay. Some employees even want money for nothing. Here are a few types of “we want more for less” employees we’ve come across…
Paycheck Collector: Not counting high school or college students working to earn a few bucks to pay the bills and spend on the weekend, this is the employee that has no intention of doing more than is required. This employee will actually do the job, but it’s done at the lowest point that the employee knows he can perform and not be fired. He’ll test the waters to see what he can get away with until he finds that lowest level. He is generally a very lazy person. He cannot be motivated. He is rarely wrong in his own mind. In fact, if you question him about performance he’ll quickly throw a coworker, a system, a product or something under the proverbial bus to explain away the lack of performance.
I’m Owed This: This person will actually underperform in most cases and will have been with the company for quite some time or in the industry for a good number of years. She believes she has paid her dues and is now owed a little slack in all she does. She is often well connected and if you cross her she can pull in her resources and make life difficult for you. She hates to be given goals or expectations because then the world will see what she really does or doesn’t do. Many times she actually has managers and senior executives fooled into thinking she is a great employee and irreplaceable. In reality she is bringing down morale of her direct coworkers and staff because they tend to see the real person. She doesn’t care. She usually likes her customers but doesn’t work well with many coworkers. She stays with the company because of her comfort level there. Her internal support system in the organization allows her to continue to slide by.
Status Quo Protector: This person usually doesn’t even realize he’s doing anything wrong. He is the person that likes things just the way they are. He’s the “we’ve always done it that way” employee. He stops innovations. He is a very immature type of employee and also a very dangerous employee to the organization. While he may do the job at hand, at the same time he refuses to implement directives and initiatives of the organization in the name of “I’ve always done it this way and no one is going to make me change”. He typically costs organizations more money than those employees wasting time on Facebook, Ebay and playing solitaire while at work.
Checked Out: This may be the worst type. This is typically the employee that is no longer happy with the job and the organization. She is officially looking for something else and at the same time is not doing the job required and really doesn’t care. Her thought is “go ahead, fire me… I’m leaving anyway”. This is an actively disengaged employee that can and will destroy the organization if she has her way. She is easy to spot. She consistently shows up late for work and meetings. Many times she just skips meetings entirely. She leaves work early. She expresses her dissatisfaction openly to other employees. She exhibits many of the traits of a Pirate… she’s easy to spot.
If any of these types of employees describes you, then it’s time for a reality check and maybe time for a new job or a change of direction. If these types of employees describes any of your coworkers, you may want to steer clear. Those closest to these employees usually get burned. Don’t be that person. Are you making money for nothing?
