Are You a ‘Selfish’ Coworker?

You all know that “selfish” coworker I am referring to. The one who wants to put in the absolute minimum amount of work he or she can but tries to take all of the credit. The employee who hands you their work always late and full of errors because they fail to check it for accuracy. The coworker who always forgets it was their turn to bring in the card or birthday cake for your colleague and is always MIA when you need them.

Yes, THAT selfish coworker.

I’ve had my share of working with these individuals. And let me say, that is one of the things I miss least since I have abandoned the cubicle for working at home. When you are working in a team atmosphere (and most employment situations are as such) there is always a “weakest link”. But the question begs, are you the one?

If you are the selfish one of the bunch, I am almost sure you know it. Selfish people in general know they are selfish, unless they have spent their lives being unchecked by the ones who are amongst them. In the work environment, chances are if you are the selfish coworker, you’ve been talked to by management or a supervisor. You may have even been written up because of your lazy work.

Being a selfish coworker is doing a disservice to yourself as well as your company. Not saying that everyone has to go above and beyond duty, but simply doing your job in a satisfactorily manner is not asking much. And if it is, let me say to you that the millions of unemployed persons searching for work would love to be in your position. If you don’t like your job, quit. But to keep it and turn in subpar work at the expense of your coworkers is not cool, man. Not cool at all.

Selfish coworkers make it harder on everyone that they work with—their colleagues, bosses, everyone in their path. And not to mention, the overall needs of the company are not being met by this person who thinks it is all about them and not about the work.

If you are indeed the selfish coworker in which I speak of, please correct yourself. It isn’t too late to rectify this situation. Put in your best each and every day at work. Help those who help you, and be a team player.

To those of you who work with this selfish slacker, here is some advice. Make the selfish coworker in your office accountable for their actions. Do not cover for them because you do not owe them anything. The first chance they get, they would throw you under the bus, so don’t think that you owe them any favors. Report to your boss and/or supervisor this behavior and if need be, put it in writing in the form of a grievance. It’s time to stop these selfish coworkers in their tracks.

There are too many individuals looking for work for people who don’t want to work taking up space. Let’s all rid the workplace of selfish coworkers.

Photo credit: BlackEnterprise.com