When other people don’t do their job
This week, I experienced stress caused by other people who you work with, but don’t keep their end of the bargain. One is related to work and the other is for a sailboat share, which I am a part of.
At my day job, I’m currently responsible for the launch of a particular project. There are a number of people who have responsibilities towards this, both internally and externally. However, this job is fairly new to me, and I found that people haven’t been very responsive, especially since the person this comes down on in the event that the launch gets delayed, is me. I would have to follow up with people numerous times, and the pace at which things are moving is generally slow.
I manage a sailboat share so that several of us can make use of my sailboat and share the expenses to make it less expensive for all of us to sail. I’m the only one in the group with any responsibilities (I know, I probably should’ve handed some off), and although the sailing season officially starts in May, the boat yard where I have been keeping the boat has been very slow, and the boat has finally gotten to a useable place one or two days ago. Meanwhile, the other people in the share want to go sailing, and have probably been wondering what’s been going on, even though to this point they’ve been patient.
These types of external stressors are hard to manage, especially if they’re sporadic. I’m not sure if there is a great way to prepare for them, but it goes to show how important it is to work with people you enjoy working with and trust.
I’m totally with you. One of the most stressful factors at work are my coworkers who don’t do their jobs. I end up doing their jobs and still trying to get mine done. I have to answer to my boss regarding my productivity (billed time in relation to the time I’m at work), and it’s hard to keep that high when I have to do other people’swork. And unforunately, there’s not much you can do about it. My boss talks about being a good role model, but all that happens is that people see I’ll do their job, so why should they? Wish I had more control over who I work with…..or I could just win the lottery!
Comment by Kendra — August 11, 2008 @ 10:57 pm