I am my brother's keeper Ever get the feeling that there's one guy holding you back, or that your reputation as a part of a group is being sullied due to the actions of one man?

Well that's the case at my cube farm. I work in a small department. I only have 2 co-workers. I have been involved with the same 2 for the past 4 years. Everyone (that includes people outside of my management level) knows who the weakest link is, but no one is willing to do the necessary paperwork to vote said problem off of the island.

This situation would not normally be a problem if it weren't for the fact that my work depends on him completing his in a timely manner and vice versa.

So, due to the incompetence/laziness of one individual, the new decree that was handed down from on high is MANDATORY OVERTIME.

It was stated in an official-looking email this afternoon that our department was to work 10 hour days now to clean up any and all backlog.

So now all must suffer due to the lack of interest of one. So now, when all of my assigned work is complete I have to wait for him to finish his to-do list before I can move on to other endeavors.

It amazes me just how hard it is to fire someone in a right-to-fire state. You'd think "he's not doing his job, he's fired"! But you'd be wrong. At this point, I just hope I leave before he does so that I am not coerced into completing his workload due to the fact that "the budget won't support another head count".

On top of all this is the rumor of impending management change-ups in the coming months.

When will we ever get our shit together?  ¶ 9:43 PM