Said It Here

How to deal with uncooperative coworkers who don't do their work

Carrying the entire workload while teammates remain checked out, confused, or completely unresponsive turns your job into exhausting babysitting instead of actual project management. Constantly chasing people for updates and reminding them of deadlines leaves you overwhelmed and forced to manage adults who refuse to take responsibility for their tasks.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Committing people to takeaways in writing with outlined consequences
  2. 2
    Noting and reporting repeat offenders to leadership
  3. 3
    Publicly shaming people or calling them out when issues persist
  4. 4
    Accepting that repetitive communication is necessary because only a fraction of a message gets through
  5. 5
    Changing file permissions to read-only
  6. 6
    Escalating issues to management
  7. 7
    Terminating or firing problematic employees
  8. 8
    Talking to the employee about their attitude and cleaning checklists
  9. 9
    Relying on co-workers to report bad behavior when owners are absent
  10. 10
    Considering firing the problem employee
  11. 11
    Meeting to establish clear roles and rules for each class
  12. 12
    Talking to a trusted coach, mentor, or program supervisor
  13. 13
    Venting online
  14. 14
    Avoiding conversations where possible
  15. 15
    Reporting the behavior to multiple directors and the church pastor
  16. 16
    Requesting to remain paired with the colleague to act as a protective buffer for the students
  17. 17
    Sending detailed emails documenting incidents to leadership
  18. 18
    Refusing to share materials
  19. 19
    Forgetting to share with jerks
  20. 20
    Only sharing when explicitly asked
  21. 21
    Withholding detailed lesson plans meant for admin
  22. 22
    leaving the issue entirely to management
  23. 23
    documenting requests and ignoring unaddressed tasks
  24. 24
    focusing exclusively on assigned individual projects
  25. 25
    Trying to salvage the position independently
  26. 26
    Reporting the incident to superiors
  27. 27
    Writing employees up for insubordination
  28. 28
    Firing problematic staff immediately
  29. 29
    Suspending employees and cutting their shifts
  30. 30
    Hiring a manager to handle staff
  31. 31
    explaining how to prepare and read the manual beforehand
  32. 32
    suggesting alternative teaching methods like the area model
  33. 33
    Using the grey rock method
  34. 34
    Communicating exclusively via email for documentation purposes
  35. 35
    Keeping a professional distance
  36. 36
    playing along
  37. 37
    looking for the good coworkers to stay sane
  38. 38
    focusing strictly on sending requested files and getting home
  39. 39
    declining social media requests
  40. 40
    ignoring the coworker and not engaging outside or inside of work
  41. 41
    moving parking spots to avoid him
  42. 42
    Accepting that accountability flows upward and that bypassing intermediate levels of communication is a normal part of the workplace.
  43. 43
    discussing concerns with the administration
  44. 44
    responding to administration meetings with facts and supporting evidence

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

not sure if it’s just my org but nowdays it feels like i’m the only one actually trying to keep the damn lights on while everyone else is either confused, checked out, or pretending things will magically fix themselvessource ↗

some days i swear the job isn’t even project management it’s just managing the people who are supposed to manage themselves.source ↗

Fantastic-Nerve7068 · r/projectmanagement · 182 upvotes

Obviously, more than one parent was upset. Is this requirement strange? I feel kinda weird about it but don’t know how to bring it up with my co-teacher.source ↗

Illustrious-Dare340 · r/Teachers · 75 upvotes

Its truly amazing how computer illiterate people can be this day and age and still somehow secure employment.source ↗

Like no, I don't have time to teach someone in bookkeeping how to use fucking QuickBooks.source ↗

angrydeuce · r/sysadmin · 36 upvotes

Constant reminder to do something, urging and asking for answer, with clear tasks, deadlines and still being ignored.source ↗

Ondra_Trek · r/projectmanagement · 18 upvotes

there's a new teacher in our hallway that needs too much help and doesn't actually do what you suggest.source ↗

she's not taking any advice. I don't know what else to suggest to her.source ↗

aserfacihc · r/Teachers · 14 upvotes

We recently have been receiving complaints from a cook A about cook B.source ↗

He was asked to prep something on the fly from cook A & cook B got huffy & puffy attitude & almost refused to do.source ↗

Cook A also told us they both noticed the walk-in a few degrees out of temp & cook B wasn’t going to text my husband about it, saying “he doesn’t work tomorrow, it’s not his problem”.source ↗

Bakedwhilebakingg · r/restaurantowners · 14 upvotes

I dedicate a lot of time in creating engaging lesson plans considering my district doesn’t have a set curriculum. I don’t mind sharing my lessons, but the all the newbies are rude. Like I don’t get a thank you or a good morning. They seem to be nice to me only when they need something from me.source ↗

idiolectghoul · r/Teachers · 11 upvotes

I dread all my conversations with every single engagement team, bar like one or two where the people are actually chill.source ↗

People pressuring me for updates when they normally wouldn't.source ↗

People being extremely sensitive to the words I say when they ask for an update.source ↗

People just being plain rude when their dreams of you being better than a regular human don't come true.source ↗

Pleasant_Badger184 · r/Accounting · 9 upvotes

I feel like I'm constantly attempted to be overridden.source ↗

one cook who complains incessantly said during a meeting for me to 'buy a 4 burner stove instead?source ↗

Today, I gave a customer a free lemonade refill, and she puts her hand in my face and says 'No', insinuiting refills have a charge.source ↗

TonyBrooks40 · r/restaurantowners · 8 upvotes

When I asked for a list of activities my position was responsible for, she shouted that she was here to teach me and I was not here to teach her!!!???source ↗

variable_star_ · r/Accounting · 5 upvotes

I have been working with my co teacher for five years now. It wasn’t bad at first, but over the last few years her attitude and patience towards our students has drastically declined.source ↗

I request to be placed with her every year because I am the “safe place” for the kids and I fear if I am moved, she will be placed with someone who will not report thingssource ↗

Yesterday, she made a student cry twice because they couldn’t find their folder due to not knowing how to identify their name, she yelled at another student for spilling their lunch and said they did it on purpose.source ↗

Chrysanthe_Mom · r/Teachers · 4 upvotes

My EA is relative of admin. When she is assigned even a small task, she sometimes refuses, asks to take a short break, and leaves the classroom.source ↗

On my second day, she recorded me twice while I was teaching after I had assigned her a task.source ↗

I now feel as though someone is watching and reporting on me while sitting in my classroom.source ↗

cadcitizen · r/Teachers · 4 upvotes

The reason I got upset is that as my PARTNER, I feel like she should have come to me and mentioned that students were feeling this way. Instead, she told the student to report it to admin or their parents and never mentioned it to me.source ↗

At this point, I'm grey rocking her the rest of the year. Anything I need to say will be in an email so it can be documented.source ↗

JenniferC1714 · r/Teachers · 3 upvotes

I’ve had some uncomfortable experiences with a coworker that I’ve been unsure how to address.source ↗

There is one male coworker who seems to have difficulty understanding that I am not interested in him romantically.source ↗

I think I was unsure whether I was overreacting or how to explain what was making me uncomfortable.source ↗

No-Cat6678 · r/Teachers · 3 upvotes

I guess I blew budget however instead of asking why I was taking longer she went directly to her engagement partner snitching about my hours not making sense.source ↗

Opera-learner · r/Accounting · 2 upvotes

If they’re already yelling at you though that’s wicked unprofessionalsource ↗

DorianThackery · r/Teachers · 1 upvotes

How does anyone deal with this for years on end without going nuts? Just regular staff auditors and accountants acting like they're C-suite assholes to everyone is wild.source ↗

I'm coming up on 2 years of dealing with these people, their petty political games, and almost losing my mind.source ↗

nds19 · r/Accounting

your senior/manager/partner are always ready to throw you under the bus because there are always fresh bodies coming.source ↗

duckingman · r/Accounting

Day 1 and my coteacher has already yelled at me.source ↗

dream80 · r/Teachers

I am a sys admin in a medium organization. I have a senior coworker also a sysadmin. He doesn't do anything I request him do.source ↗

One week later, the tickets are still open. This is not an isolated incident.source ↗

I genuinely don't know how to handle him anymore.source ↗

spacepirate6 · r/sysadmin

Where this came up

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