You may be tempted to give your boss a taste of their own medicine and be equally lazy. This is rarely productive, as your boss is likely unaware that you are mirroring their behavior, instead seeing you as independently lazy.
Just as you have an entire life outside of the workplace, so does your boss. You may not know that they have another full time job, or that they’re ill, or that they’re taking care of a colicky newborn. Getting to know your boss establishes a rapport and allows you to understand their position a bit better.
Often on-the-job responsibilities change much faster than job descriptions are updated. There is also sometimes a murky overlap among positions, leaving room for confusion about who is responsible for what.
Be respectful and constructive. Approach your boss with the right tone and with the intention of communicating well. If that doesn’t work, and as a second resort, you might talk with your boss’s boss, but understand most employers won’t be happy that you talked with their boss. Lastly, you might need to go to Human Resources for resolution with the problem. Remember, you want to keep your job, so approach any of these conversations with a positive and professional attitude.
For example, you could tell your boss, “I think that our team would be more productive if we each submitted a daily accountability sheet. I can set that up so that all of us could access it, if you’d like. ” You’re not pointing fingers, and are offering a solution that will increase their accountability as well. You might also say, “I think that we could implement a buddy system on this project to ensure that everyone has an immediate resource available should they need it, which might help the project get done faster and better. ” You’re focusing on actions and solutions with this statement, but also opening room for dialogue.
You might be grateful for your flexible schedule Perhaps you get paid vacation days, or holidays and weekends off You may enjoy the comradery among you and your colleagues Your job might not be too far from home making for a reasonable commute
You might want a promotion in the next six months Or you might want a raise Perhaps you’d like to switch from morning to day shift You want to be designated a lead on the next big project
If appropriate, this also opens up a conversation to redefine your position and compensation.
Defining your boundaries allows your employer to reflect on their own actions. Perhaps they are unaware that they are underproductive.
If you are feeling taken advantage of, for example, because your boss’s paperwork keeps piling up on your desk, try saying, “I’ve noticed that I’m now receiving all invoices for our suppliers, and since that isn’t part of my job description, I would like to route these to the appropriate personnel so that these are paid quickly and correctly. ”s
