Coworker who does nothing
I have a coworker, who does literally nothing. We both are at the same level and I’m the ‘lead’ for this project that we both are working on. It’s been over 2 months since I gave him a very small task and he hasn’t made any progress at all. Not even a single CR out. Whenever I ask him for status update, he says he will send the CR out the next day and the next day never comes. My manager noticed this and has been asking me about his non-performance. I didn’t say a lot to my manager since he might be dev-listed. But I really can’t take it anymore as my work is getting blocked because of him. How to deal with such people? Update: got confirmation from manager that he’s in a different ‘project plan’ I was also asked to give my opinion on his work so far. Yet another PIP story. I don’t wish this to happen to anyone, but in this case it is almost inevitable. TC- 240k L5 (3 yrs)
He may have ADD/ADHD and he may not know that . Once I learnt that I have it (going through a diagnostic test) I am able to manage it much better. He may be a nice guy struggling to finish it. I would say break the whole task into smaller pieces and give deadlines to each of that small task. That way he could manage his anxiety .
I’m not sure what those conditions are, but I will look it up. The task is already broken up into small chunks. It’s hardly 100 lines of code. I infact have it in a branch. I don’t want them to feel bad hence I didn’t send the change out as a CR, but I did it anyway to unblock myself.
So you give him a small task you already completed? 🤣. Keep in mind size is not the only indicator of complexity - some tasks can look simple when you are a domain expert but are nearly impossible to a newcomer.
And before you tell your manager.. set a clear expectation with your colleague. You are the lead.. you need to lead. Tell him that you have to answer the manager and can’t keep pushing it out .
I hinted them last week. I got a commitment from them, but it’s again a commitment that wasn’t fulfilled.
Pair programing ?
Agreed with OP. Manager sees it, let it be and keep neutral position. If you will have more tasks due to this guy, it’s beneficial for you since the manager is aware you are top performer and he is not. You will be promoted.
My concern is not about myself as I’m somewhat sure that my manager including my skip recognizes my work. My concern is what if manager asks me about this person’s progress one more time. I don’t want someone to lose a job in this market ‘because of me’, but at the same time I feel this person should change their attitude towards work
I understand, something I would feel too. I would still keep neutral making the manager check the progress himself not affecting his decisions.
He must be doing leetcode or waiting for VISA transfer 😂😂 read the book influence by Cad. It’s all abt getting work done from morons without being an a****.
Not sure about this one. I LC too. But I do it outside work. Surprisingly, my team is super chill and we have 5-6 hrs of work everyday.
Are you setting up clear expectation ? Is the work and outcome documented ? If not do it. Have your facts documented before you escalate to next level.
Make sure all work on this project is centrally tracked, has estimates (in # of days), deadlines and a clear assigned owner. Then schedule biweekly project or sprint review meetings with your manager and PM. Let the data speak for itself, and let your coworker answer to manager. Be clear with your manager on 1:1s on work blockages, as its his/her responsibility to unblock you.
This except 1:1 are for personal growth and not for project status.
@Gman123- Already doing that. This project is huge and a team of 5 is working on it and everyone else delivers. So usually the status is like 90% of sprint tasks for project x is completed. Manager and TPM are happy with that. I believe my manager should spend time with this person to develop them, instead it has become ‘my concern’
Ask the guy directly if he is having a problem or needs help with anything
What kind of 'lead' are you when you cannot motivate your folks. Talk to the guy to see what the issue is and try to get it resolved. People have different perspectives.
I think u might be wrong here. I’m an IC. Why should an IC motivate another IC? That person should be motivated enough to work or it is the job of the manager to motivate them. If u say I should help them, I agree with that. But I feel motivating them is beyond my job responsibility.
If you are not accountable for the success of this project then sure it's not your job. On a side note, never say anything is not your job responsibility. Use such opportunities to build your soft skills. Finding folks with tech skills are easy, finding both maybe considered unicorn.
That’s what PIP is used for
It might simply be the case where your coworker is taking advantage of you because they can sense how nice you are. You are doing yourself no favors by being this lenient.
Let the manager know the truth otherwise it will be your problem
I’m not sure about this. The work that was given to him can be completed by me within a day. I just don’t want to put this guy in trouble. But at the same time don’t want to encourage his lazy attitude. I intentionally give his tasks a higher scope so that he has more time to complete them, but I don’t know what’s wrong with him
You are enabling the behavior. Is this a troll post?