Moral Dilemma regarding co-worker?

Question

Is it right to get a co-worker fired? I’m torn on this. On a personal level, I hate him. He is an idiot, a babbling idiot that feels that he needs to give everyone his opinion, advice, or whatever random thought is going through his head. In his 40’s, he thinks that office flatulence is the height of hilarity, and that is just the top of the list.
Professionally, the guy is useless, making my job and that of the rest of my group harder. His incompetence is complete, and he is nothing but an eternal victim and whiner whenever he is confronted. I have an e-mail he sent about management that would probably have him out the door in minutes that I have been saving, but that is my problem. Is it right to get a man fired. I hate him, he is useless and a detriment to the company, but is it my right to do that. I feel that, even though justified, I’m overstepping my bounds.
Would love practical advice or thoughts on this.

I don't "hate" him. not in the want to see him dead kind of hate. Extreme irritation would be a better description. While not actually stealing, by making everyone else have to pick up his slack, he is wasting company money in manhours and therefore making the company lose money without contributing anything.

startwinkle05 - That is exactly my problem. He has a daughter, is a single parent, and I don't want to deprive him of his livelyhood. Manager is completely impotent regarding issues like this.

Answer 1

If he's a detriment to the company, turn him in. The powers-that-be may have been looking for a reason such as this to give him the axe, so you just might be doing them - and the company - a big favor. No one needs someone like this on their payroll!

Answer 2

If you want to justify this then you have to put the personal stuff aside and focus on the professional reasons to have him removed from the company. His behaviour seems unconstructive and immature and from what you've described it's obvious he is a hinderance to your companies goals. For these reasons alone, the management should already have assessed whether he is worth keeping. There's a good chance that they already have noticed all this and this e-mail you're holding could be the straw that breaks the camels back (so to speak). If you do choose to share the email with the management, be careful how you go about doing so. If it looks like your trying to get him fired for personal reasons then you will likely end up in even more trouble than he will.

In summary, it's probably best to pass the email onto management, but do so in a way which won't cause you any backlash.

Answer 3

I dont think I would go so far as to get the man fired, but I would definitely set some boundaries. First, why are people doing his work for him? Say NO.
Second, when he does something disgusting that is considered bad work etiquette, call him on it. Tell him, "If you have to do that, from now on, take it to the bathroom. I don't want to hear or smell your bodily functions. So, stop it."
It won't take long, if he is truly that annoying, for others to follow your lead. They are probably just waiting for someone else to make the first move. Once your boss identifies this man as a thorn, they will start watching them closer. Then, they may start doing their job, and fire the undesirables in the office.

I dont recommend that you go behind the guys back and give the email to management. In fact, you should delete just so your not tempted any further to submit it to higher ups. Having it in your possession could get you into trouble. If discovered they would ask.... why didnt you show this to us a long time ago? Then you will be the one searching for a defense.
It is bad form to be the office snitch. You dont want that label. It will have the backlash effect of making others in the office not trust you. They will always be wondering if your going to tell on them for some minor infraction.
A long stare in his direction without saying a word after he does something annoying works wonders. He knows he is being annoying, he likes the attention. He is looking for a reaction. And, just like when a child misbehaves, you cannot give him positive attention for a negative action. Make sure he knows you dont approve, and don't play into his 'victim' thing.
When he asks, "Whats wrong, are you mad at me or something?"
Say, "No, I just think you should be old enough to know how to act in an office without having to be told."
Then walk away. No more discussion.
If he presses you to talk, say, "I have work to do, thats what we do here. I think you have work to do to. So lets both do that. Okay?"
Then walk away again.
Trust me, he will get the hint.
Management will appreciate not having to deal with these petty problems. Just put the guy in his place and FLUSH.

Answer 4

You could leave the message on the copier machine by accident or somewhere else in a conspicuous place that some one would see.

Usually pointing out faults of another co-worker to management backfires on the person doing the complaining, even when they are valid concerns. The person lodging the complaint is often seen as not being a "team player".

Just keep doing your job and be thankful that he doesn't have to go home with you after work. Time has a way of solving incompetency on its own.

Answer 5

The fact that he's an annoying pig is just that- annoying. It is truly frustrating to deal with this man on a daily basis, but frankly, we are all annoying to some degree, hopefully less so, and less often! Many, possibly most, companies have a administrative email box, so it's possible that they are aware of his email, if he sent it within the office. They may be gathering a case against him and are biding time to have an iron clad cause to fire him. People sue, and if he's a known whiner, they likely feel he will, so they want to have a strong case. I say document things he does that affect your ability to work effectively, and build your own case, but for now sit tight.

Answer 6

Just ask yourself: Could you live with knowing you deprived someone of their source of income?

If this man is really a poor worker, why hasn't management already noticed? Why is everyone in the group covering for him? I would assume since he hasn't been fired yet that everyone is taking up his slack. If that is the case, everyone should agree to stop doing his work for him and then see what happens.

Okay. Maybe you could have a meeting (lunch maybe) with the other group members. Discuss the situation with them and see how everyone feels about bringing the situation up with management. (Surely their is someone above your "impotent" manager?) If no one wants to bring it up, maybe you could all agree to just stop picking up his slack. When you notice something he should have done but didn't, bring it to his attention. "Hey, I see this isn't done yet and I was wondering when you plan on doing it?"

Then again, maybe you should all take him to lunch and just flat tell him that you are all tired of doing his work and you will no longer pick up his slack.

Answer 7

If he is such a poor value to the company, why doesn't management do something about it? You don't want to be the one looked at at the guy who instigated the firing of another one. You might want to be the guy who tolerated it and just did his job to the best of his ability. Something just isn't right - the guy must mean something to management if he's kept around.

Answer 8

How about you tell the man how you really feel about the way he is behaving? Tell him he should work harder and that the staff does not appreciate having to compensate for his failure to complete tasks. If you talk to him in private this may do the job.

Answer 9

If he is truly detrimental to the company, you should share your knowledge to have him fired.

You do, however, need to work on your emotions. Hatred hurts you much more than it will ever affect him. Hatred is not a good trait or quality. Hatred, left unattended, leads to heart disease, nervous disorder, and in some cases, murder.

Answer 10

bring up your concerns with human resource so he can be comfronted on his lack of work. he needs to be on his toes a little and seems hes rather comfy with his slacking. speak to human resource so he can step his game up and stop slacking off.