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I have a coworker who started the job the same day as me, though she had already been in the field for 6 months. She is very lazy and unmotivated. ....she is dishonest and puts as little effort as possible into her work. If she has free time she will go home, to lunch, or to get her nails done.

Im not perfect and dont pretend to be, but if I have free time I will try to make other appointments or will do research for my clients....I try my hardest to make productivity every week..

Now I am 31,married with a child. She is 24 and totally single...is it the age thats a difference, the lifestyle, or just her?

Age doesn't make a difference. I have been a hard worker my entire life. When I was 16, I had a job with a real estate company and I worked extremely hard and tried to make a good impression.

She is very lazy and unmotivated. ....she is dishonest and puts as little effort as possible into her work. If she has free time she will go home, to lunch, or to get her nails done.

That is a character defect, not an age thing.

Is this 'free time' that she's using on the clock or is it truly her own time? If it's on the clock, it's not just a work ethic thing--she's stealing from the company. However, if it's her own time, you have nothing to say about that.

I learned this the hard way but you never really know someone's situation. That being said it isn't worth your time.

Focus on your job and establishing contacts because you have a strong work ethic. Thinking about her even if she is wrong is just that she is wrong.

Your achievements are based upon you. Let the rest go and yes I do understand where you are coming from and it is so tempting but your job is there to provide for you.

I don't think it has much to do with age - I know plenty of young people that have good work ethic, as well as older people who are lazy and like to cut corners. In my opinion, in has more to do with whether or not a person has a sense of entitlement.

Thanks for the replies!! I do agree its not my problem and I should focus on my own job performance. ..that being said though, its super frustrating that we get paid the same amount and I am working my ass off to make productivity each week while she is getting paid to get her nails done.

My second part of this is looking for advice....I know for a fact that this coworker is lying about her billing hours (the time we are in visits w clients) and is, like sad in AZ said, stealing from the company. ..and breaking some other laws. She was also accused of doing similar things at her previous company. By her doing this it doesnt effect me directly but it could in the long run.

Management has heard these rumors but has done absolutely nothing about it...I dont want to be a tattletale cuz it's none of my business....but do I mention this to a supervisor or just let it go?

What would you do?

If she's falsifying her records, she will be discovered. In the meantime, continue to do your job and don't waste time keeping tabs on her. Unless you have hard evidence, it will be a 'she said/she said' situation.

If you work on a project with her, and her bad behavior is affecting your ability to do your job, document everything with memos. She will eventually self-incriminate.

sounds like a no win for you to get involved. Her actions will come back to bite her if she's that flagrant about it. Focus on you and let it go.

Definitely not an age thing--more of a character thing. Example: I'm 31 and work my butt off --I always complete projects well before the deadline AND do more than what is asked. I have two co-workers, that I work directly with, that have missed deadlines on two very important projects; in fact, they just chose to not do them (one is my age and the other is a few years younger). Actually, most of management at my office is very, "Oh well," about the work they do and the staff at my office ranges from 20's to mid-60's.

As for what to do, just let it go; as Sad said, it will come out, eventually. Just do what you can and let her drown her self.

At risk of sounding like an Old Cranky Lady I will share my thoughts.

Work Ethics, are definitely not an age thing, but has more to do with how Mom and Dad raised you. Some people that are much older than me are lazy, and do the least amount possible, and have been able to get away with it most of their careers, choosing roles in nursing that allow you to sit on your duff, and not be the go getter. When higher demands are placed on them, suddenly they are overwhelmed, stressed out and busier than everyone else, which chaps my ass.

I do think if you are raised to do chores, jobs, and be responsible for them growing up you tend to have a better work ethic, and I also believe that if you fail to do such chores right as a parent it is your responsibility to point out that doing a half assed job is not acceptable, and go back and do it again, and again, until it is done right. A few times of doing this, and the job gets done right the first time.

Now I also think that "when we were kids" we had to get jobs to pay for our vehicles, our gas, our insurance, etc. It was common, and expected to have a job as a teen. Now in this society, it is more the abnormal to make your kid get a job. The pressures of school extracurriculars, and so forth make working difficult. I think it is very important for all teens to work, and learn what it takes to earn a decent income and the value of a dollar.

Anyway that's my thoughts.

I was raised by an entrepreneur father whose favourite work saying was, "Why's there never time to do it right but always time to do it over?" and I raised my kids the same way. Not everybody does, though. In fact, some people probably thought I was being unnecessarily picky or anal with my kids. Maybe even THEY did at the time. If so, they don't any more. They didn't often have school-year jobs, either, though they were expected after a certain age to get summer jobs. I wanted them to be fully concentrated on school work, especially in university/college. Being responsible can and should be taught in the home--before the kids are unleashed on an unsuspecting boss! Maybe it's my age, but I do find that irresponsibility is one of my pet peeves. Right up there with disrespect and self-indulgence of the pity kind.

It's definitely not an age thing - it's a "how you were raised" thing.

I was raised by a career military man and a super strict, hard working Asian mom - so my work ethic was implemented in utero.

Definitely how people are raised. Totally agree.

oops, double post.

I would add that I have had the opportunity to supervise a lot of high school kids (volunteers) and lots of law students (paying positions) and it would take me 5 minutes to see the work ethic (or not) come forth.

[This message edited by Jeaniegirl at 3:04 PM, July 17th (Thursday)]