# Co-worker screws around on YouTube all day; what, if anything, to do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042 "2018-02-02T16:09:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/21 "2018-02-03T00:35:04Z")
Is your company part of a larger organization? I’m wondering if there is any career path there for you if you transferred elsewhere in the company where you are currently working. You’re looking elsewhere anyway. If your company is large enough, what would it hurt to have a “career path” conversation with your boss? “I’ve been thinking about my career and my long-term prospects and I’d like to work with you to put together a longer plan (1-3 year, up to you) for my advancement. I’d like the opportunity to experience new challenges, and I’m excited by the opportunities Company X offers me to do that.” If you think she’s not receptive, try meeting with her boss. If your company is too small for this conversation, it’s something to keep in mind for your future company. Look for one that has opportunities for your long term growth. Bringing it up in your interviews can be off-putting, but you should keep an eye out for how your next job will help your career path. Even if the company that you accept is also too small, it should (ideally) be part of a larger story that your resume will be telling about you as an employable person. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/22 "2018-02-03T00:57:09Z")
I don’t care what y’all say but I wouldn’t take this crap. You work hard and a guy slacks around but both of you gets the same check. That’s BS and you know it. Slip an anonymous note to the boss if you’re worried about snitching or beat his ass in the parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/23 "2018-02-03T01:38:45Z")
Yeah, that’d be a good solution. Go straight for the crime. :rolleyes: I’ve been there enough, seen enough of these people. If I’m getting slammed with work because of them, or getting blamed for their inaction (which has happened), then hell yeah, I’m going to say something. Otherwise I’m going to let them burn their own house to the ground unless I have a very good relationship with my boss, in which case I’ll ask (gently) if they know this person isn’t doing any actual work. After that, none of my business. It’s on their head and on the manager’s head, not mine. I was once a contractor where we were supposed to get help from a man who had basically retired-in-place and was very clear about that. He wasn’t going to do shit and no one could make him. Because he was a lifer and he had less than six months to retirement. The bosses just threw up their hands and said they were going to let it happen. So we had to find other places to get that information. That’s the worst I’ve seen, and we didn’t spend any time complaining about it beyond the first day. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/24 "2018-02-03T01:46:56Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I work in an industry that often has to lay people off (then rehire again months later). The best advice I ever got from my supervisor some 25 years ago was: “You want to stay with this company for a long time? Always be with in the top 10% of your coworkers. You’ll be bullet proof.” > > Your coworker is a blessing. Because when it comes to layoff time, HE will get the ax before you. True this … This issue comes up all the time on construction crews … that’s one of the reasons there’s so many fist-fights … so of course snitching on the co-worker is a far far far better solution … remember, your one and only loyalty is to the person who signs your paycheck … and your lazy co-worker is sabotaging YOU … deal with it accordingly … ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/25 "2018-02-03T09:55:15Z")
Just step back and let Mr. Youtuber shot himself in the foot. Just make sure that you are not associated with him or his actions. You do not want to become a part of the trouble he is creating for himself. As others here have mentioned, his actions are probably making you look pretty good right now. I’ve worked at many places over the years and have noticed that the slackers and trouble makers are almost always the first to go when it comes to layoffs. Good luck and let us know how this turns out. - X. L. Lent ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/26 "2018-02-03T10:29:38Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I work in an industry that often has to lay people off (then rehire again months later). The best advice I ever got from my supervisor some 25 years ago was: “You want to stay with this company for a long time? Always be with in the top 10% of your coworkers. You’ll be bullet proof.” > > Your coworker is a blessing. Because when it comes to layoff time, HE will get the ax before you. “I don’t have to outrun the bear; I only have to outrun _you_.” ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/27 "2018-02-03T11:17:07Z")
Old guy here, nearing retirement after decades in the cube farm. Management isn’t rewarded for solving problems. They’re rewarded for not having them. If there’s an overriding rule for corporate survival, it’s this – _If you bring a problem to management, **YOU** become the problem._ Period. Your default choice for any problem at work should be: Do nothing. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/28 "2018-02-03T12:45:04Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I work in an industry that often has to lay people off (then rehire again months later). The best advice I ever got from my supervisor some 25 years ago was: “You want to stay with this company for a long time? Always be with in the top 10% of your coworkers. You’ll be bullet proof.” > > Your coworker is a blessing. Because when it comes to layoff time, HE will get the ax before you. I was told the same thing early in my career. It works. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/29 "2018-02-03T13:28:07Z")
Dude, he’s doing _research._ ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/30 "2018-02-03T19:28:09Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Old guy here, nearing retirement after decades in the cube farm. > > Management isn’t rewarded for solving problems. They’re rewarded for not having them. If there’s an overriding rule for corporate survival, it’s this – _If you bring a problem to management, **YOU** become the problem._ Period. > > Your default choice for any problem at work should be: Do nothing. Hell no. Here is the secret to success. Create a problem big enough to be visible to top management, and then solve it. If you just do everything competently management will assume it is simple, and not reward you. I was at a big company where one block of the project was late, too big, too slow and too buggy. The team finally got it into decent shape - and they all got a trip to Disneyland as a reward. The teams with blocks that worked got nothing. Of course if you create a problem you can’t fix you’re in trouble. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/31 "2018-02-03T19:33:34Z")
Just thought of a triple sneaky solution. Get your management interested in quality metrics. Stuff like time a job stays in the queue, average time it gets done after being accepted by someone, rework, and, oh, btw, jobs per person. You can’t improve what you can’t measure, right? And the numbers should be published so everyone can see what the status is so they can improve. It can be restricted to your team so your manager can report on improvements after they happen. Problem will go right away. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/32 "2018-02-03T19:43:44Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Just thought of a triple sneaky solution. > > Get your management interested in quality metrics. Stuff like time a job stays in the queue, average time it gets done after being accepted by someone, rework, and, oh, btw, jobs per person. You can’t improve what you can’t measure, right? > And the numbers should be published so everyone can see what the status is so they can improve. It can be restricted to your team so your manager can report on improvements after they happen. > > Problem will go right away. What manager wants to take on additional work. especially in a dying field? I wouldn’t be surprised to see the managers are also counting out time. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/33 "2018-02-03T22:08:17Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Old guy here, nearing retirement after decades in the cube farm. > > Management isn’t rewarded for solving problems. They’re rewarded for not having them. If there’s an overriding rule for corporate survival, it’s this – _If you bring a problem to management, **YOU** become the problem._ Period. > > Your default choice for any problem at work should be: Do nothing. Sorry to say, I see some merit to this. You are seen as someone who is critical, but does not “bring solutions”. Even worse, sometimes the problem is given to you to solve when quite often the corporate situation is such that there is no solve. Unless you want to own it, head down is wise advice. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/34 "2018-02-03T22:08:29Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I work in an industry that often has to lay people off (then rehire again months later). The best advice I ever got from my supervisor some 25 years ago was: “You want to stay with this company for a long time? Always be with in the top 10% of your coworkers. You’ll be bullet proof.” > > Your coworker is a blessing. Because when it comes to layoff time, HE will get the ax before you. I told my own employees this all the time. Weirdly, though they saw it in action often, the lesson never really took. For years I was letting people go for stuff they’d seen other people let go for doing. And remember some people might be connected to higher-ups. One guy in our department was totally useless, but was also the long-time boyfriend/baby-daddy of an upper executive. Not only was he untouchable, but anyone who complained about him was on her shit-list and had trouble advancing. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/35 "2018-02-03T22:35:18Z")
I’m not really sure what you mean by “ads”. What is it you guys are supposed to be doing all day? Just to play devils advocate, maybe this guy doesn’t have enough to do? I’ve had jobs where I’ve literally had nothing better to do than surf the web. Maybe he is applying the Pomodoro Technique and he’s actually MORE productive than you? He just takes a 5 minute break every 20 minutes as part of the Technique? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/36 "2018-02-03T23:07:15Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I work in an industry that often has to lay people off (then rehire again months later). The best advice I ever got from my supervisor some 25 years ago was: “You want to stay with this company for a long time? Always be with in the top 10% of your coworkers. You’ll be bullet proof.” > > Your coworker is a blessing. Because when it comes to layoff time, HE will get the ax before you. I’ve seen otherwise is some bigger companies. I seen really good people let go and idiots kept on. Depressing but true. I’ve also seen too many “hard workers” come in early, work all day, stay late and actually get less quality work done then the guy who looks like he’s goofing off. Sad thing is in most larger companies the “hard worker” is the valued one. I fired one of those hard workers once when I realized how much time was being wasted fixing their work. I couldn’t protect the guy who was frequently late but got far more work quality work done and actually know how to troubleshoot problems. Damn shame but I’m long gone from that job now anyway. Then there are the “golf buddies”. Oy! the “golf buddies”\* can get away with so much or at least accomplishing so little. - Note: “golf buddies” could mean almost any recreational activity common to the VPs and above. Golf just seems like the most common. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/37 "2018-02-04T00:30:06Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Then there are the “golf buddies”. Oy! the “golf buddies”\* can get away with so much or at least accomplishing so little. > > - Note: “golf buddies” could mean almost any recreational activity common to the VPs and above. Golf just seems like the most common. At my last company it was the “party crowd”. If you were willing to stay late on “thirsty Thursdays”, and party hearty with the boss at company offsites, he thought you were awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/38 "2018-02-04T02:38:28Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > What manager wants to take on additional work. especially in a dying field? I wouldn’t be surprised to see the managers are also counting out time. You’d be surprised about how people can convince themselves that dying fields have life in them. I retired from an organization that was clearly dying, and few people could see it. Sometimes winning small battles gives meaning to life in disaster areas. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/39 "2018-02-05T13:26:24Z")
I honestly don’t mind having one or two incompetent and/or lazy people as peers. Makes it easier to look good. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042/40 "2018-02-05T15:11:09Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > My supervisor is aware of my contributions; it’s come up in reviews, that my productivity is at a very high level. There really is no discussion (so far) about co-workers’ contributions. If your supervisor is competent, they won’t be discussing your coworkers’ performance with you. I had to fire someone recently for performance issues. Her coworkers came to me regularly with complaints before she was let go. I could tell that they wanted me to respond to their complaints with “yeah, she’s bad at her job” or, “don’t worry, I’m firing her because she sucks,” but I can’t as a manager. You thank the coworker for their feedback and move on without a peep. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-worker-screws-around-on-youtube-all-day-what-if-anything-to-do/808042.md?page=3)