How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
(OP)
Hello All,
I am a recent graduate and started working at my current company 8 month ago. we are total 3 engineers in the mechanical engineering group. One has been working there for 6 years, the other has been there for 3 years, I am the junior of all the three of us. I am the most passionate and excited about my work. I am trying my best to do everything and learn everything. My seniors are okay with anything and are bored of doing the same thing every day. The truth is these two people are very good to me but sometimes the fact that I want to do more and more, their behavior towards me changes. It looks like they hate the fact that I want to work more and they just want to spend the time at work and go home.
This is why I have started acting like lazy and confused infront of them so they are okay. Please tell me how to do as much work as possible and they still be okay with it. I really want to do my best at work.
thanks
I am a recent graduate and started working at my current company 8 month ago. we are total 3 engineers in the mechanical engineering group. One has been working there for 6 years, the other has been there for 3 years, I am the junior of all the three of us. I am the most passionate and excited about my work. I am trying my best to do everything and learn everything. My seniors are okay with anything and are bored of doing the same thing every day. The truth is these two people are very good to me but sometimes the fact that I want to do more and more, their behavior towards me changes. It looks like they hate the fact that I want to work more and they just want to spend the time at work and go home.
This is why I have started acting like lazy and confused infront of them so they are okay. Please tell me how to do as much work as possible and they still be okay with it. I really want to do my best at work.
thanks





RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
The choice is yours - do you want a satisfying, successful career, or a pair of lazy, crummy friends? Keep in mind, their poor performance is going to catch up to them eventually, and their services will no longer be required. If you continue to mirror their behavior, your employer will no longer have a need for you, either.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
I've seen the same thing happen to a new employee in a union environment. The older employees will tell the new guy to slow down because he's making the rest of them look bad.
Maui
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
You imply that maybe they only want to work their 40 hours while you're eager to work crazy hours. Maybe they have more responsibilities outside of work and it's difficult for them to work extra hours. If only being paid for 40 hours then difficult to argue too much with them on that front.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
If nothing else works, just get them to tell you stories about previous projects that went terribly wrong. Sometimes good for a laugh, usually contain valuable lessons. For example, no matter how late in the project, every time you look at the drawing you should double check the rotation arrows on the motor vs. the rotating equipment.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
B.E.
You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
The old bull says to the young bull, "Let's walk down and shag them all."
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
in the firm that I work for, there are two engineers, one that has been in the company for 20 years and the other one who has been only a year, he's like 45yrs old and graduated the same time I did [so experience wise we ain't that different]. Both of them just spent the whole day doing nothing, just chatting about news and then they complain about how much work they have, the old dude that has no that much experience got called on because he keeps putting overtime when it's obvious that the tasks can be accomplished in his regular work hours. I understand the old engineer whose work is mainly routine since he's been doing it work 2 decades, but the other one just picked up the bad habits and it's not even a good engineer in my opinion, he thinks he knows everything but just keeps all the time asking the senior one.
So if you ask me, I think even among the old engineers you still manage to find bad habits, REALLY bad habits, and I think if you have the will to work more and learn, then do it. To tell you the truth in this profession I don't think anybody will be willingly help you to fully develop, specially with coworkers, like someone said if you overwork for pleasure and fun they will feel like you're somehow making them look like they're not doing anything, which may be the truth sometime.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
The OP may be correct in their assessment (as may you) or there may be more to it as berkshire and Tick allude to. After all there's at least 2 sides to every story right?
The OP has chosen not to respond to my request for clarification in how they came to their conclusion so we may never know.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
I agree with what you said 100%, maybe i take it a bit too personal cause I am and have experienced it, and it really bothers me, i mean at the end of the day if coworkers don't work it's not your call to judge, it's the guy that manages they payroll, but i do believe that lazyness in the work environment end up being contagious, specially when people don't go the extra mile because they're just being paid to do things at an average quality.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
I am sorry for taking so much time to answer your question. I will tell you exactly what happens to me at work.
1) One time I was reading the company's product catalog and the engineer (who has been at this company for about 6 year) came to me and said who do you manage to read so much. I can't even read this for 5 min.
2) When this Engineer checks drawings. He likes to take breaks every 10 mins.
3) Most of the time he is chatting with other engineer about his personal life and he complains for having so much work. I wonder what he would say if some day I ask him " But you dont even do anything. I dont see you doing any work, how do you complain for having so much work".
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
Do, however, use some of that time to have a chat now and then with people, whether it's about your personal life or an interesting technical problem that doesn't necessarily impact your current work, or something else entirely. Building good relationships with other people is a huge help in getting your work done and functioning as a team. Don't be a grump like some of the people you seem to be describing, though. Nobody likes the people that are complaining all the time about their home life.
Also, remember that while there are certainly lots of people half-assing it out there, you may not always be able to tell. I know I assumed that some people weren't really doing much when I was a junior. I eventually realized that some of them were getting a heck of a lot more actual work done than I was in fewer hours because they didn't need to do anywhere near the amount of work that I had to do when finishing the same task. I was spending more hours, but they were getting more work done. Of course, others just weren't good at their jobs.
The sentence " It looks like they hate the fact that I want to work more and they just want to spend the time at work and go home." jumped out at me. There's nothing wrong with wanting to go home at the end of the day and live your life.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
I've seen some documents that are hard to read and might have made a similar comment in a jocular manner. Now that doesn't mean that if I needed to I wouldn't read it but from your little snippet of the story maybe he was just trying to be friendly - certainly not a searing indictment of his work ethos from what you say.
I used to check a lot of drawings, and I'd often find it hard to concentrate on doing so for long periods, so depending how long his breaks are and possibly what he's doing on them I'm hesitant to be the first to throw stones here too. Of course, changing what you're doing every 10 minutes doesn't help with concentration either so maybe it's something he needs to work on - but arguably that's up to him and his boss.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
You have described exactly that problem I am facing at work. My boss is expecting more and more from them since I have started working at the company. The thing that doesn't make sense is they say they have alot of work and they are too busy while they talk to each other about their daily life most of the time.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
They are probably putting up a false front to make people around them believe that they have a lot of work to do when in fact they don't. If they complain loud enough and long enough, then the people there will probably not bother them as much. This is their goal. It sounds like they are just lazy.
Aggravating them is not in your best interest, so do not push them. They are not your responsibility. If they have been there long enough and are vindictive people, then they will find a way to make your life miserable. Do not put yourself in this position. Just allow them to perform their work the way that they see fit. And you should work at a pace that feels comfortable for you. Learn from them what you can, and when you finally move on to a new position remember what to look out for in people like them. One day you will probably become a manager. Going through this will help you to spot the people who are not productive.
Maui
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
Thank you very much for this piece of advice. It has certainly motivated me and I will make sure to work harder on myself. Currently, I am working on the following issues I have at work.
(1). I am having problem in explaining my ideas to my boss. Sometimes I take my drawings and sketches to him to show him what I am thinking. I think mostly its because English is not my first language. I moved to the US 7 years ago.
(2). Lack of knowledge in manufacturing process, mechanical design concepts, welding procedures, etc. Usually, when I am talking to my co-worker engineers, they start talking about some process and I have no idea what that is.
(3). I am not good at autodesk inventor, which is the software we use for design. I am working hard to be an expert in that.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
Since they both understand the various processes that are being discussed, and know the CAD package that you are still learning they may still be more productive than you currently are. Try asking them about those processes some time.
Conversations about personal life will always take place at work. I don't if they are gossiping like the old fish wives that you make them sound like or if you just have very little patience for them because you have stereotyped them as lazy Americans. Management will always expect additional productivity from a group when adding personnel. My advice to you would be to engage in conversation with these guys often. It will give you the conversational experience that you need, and may have the added bonus of strengthening your relationship these coworkers.
Have you ever tried showing the drawings and sketches you bring to your boss to your two co-workers? They may be able to help you convey your ideas more effectively, or explain to you in more detail why they might not work.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
RE: How to deal with lazy (who are bored from work) coworker engineers in my office.
Eventually my boss and the machinist finish their discussion and we get to work. A 1/2 hour of my life wasted? I guess so. Was the project late? No. Did I learn that if I wanted to get on the machinists good side I would mention his fav football club? Yes. Is a 40 hour work week exactly 40 hours of work? No.
Point is your career will go on for many, many, many years. It is a marathon, not a sprint. If you have the energy now to work balls to the wall, bless you, but eventually life catches up to you and you need to establish a work/life balance and that means doing the right amount of work while you are at work - and that amount changes as your personal situation changes