And4rik, let me give you some advice.  To deal with lazy co workers, I found a couple weeks ago that the "best" way to deal with them was to get laid off with no logical reason why. LOL.  Now I am broker than I was when I was working.  At least now I have time to look for a new job.

I have always found that Continuous improvment is key.  Is there a suggestion box?  start dropping some in there, not saying brown nose, but if you want to have a say as to what happens you need to speak up, do your job and do it well, but speak up when appropriate.  get noticed....find a way to save your employer money...that always brings a smile to their face.... :)

I guess it all depends on where you stand in the company. I'm not sure if you are in a position of authority or not. If the individuals not towing the line are working FOR you & you can relieve them of their employment, find some better help & do what you have to do. Of course, sometimes this is much easier said that done. Many times, a floor supervisor does NOT have the final say on a termination & that can be frustrating when dealing with problem employees. Even more so, when administrative management doesn't want to face the problem head on, or has an interest in the individuals in question. But, if  you have some influence in correcting the issue, tell them to hit the road. Good help will come to you if you offer something worthwhile to good help, IE money, benefits. Like a member said in another post, "A good hand will always have a job" Very true. You can attract good workers if you have something good to offer them.

Problematic employees with a poor work ethic only create problems for the company they work for in the long run, a very low crew morale being one of them. They tend to cause many acute issues as well, such as unnecessary rework, product waste, theft, missed work hours, false W/C claims. etc. I managed & worked in commercial kitchens for over seven years & have seen the effect of low quality employees firsthand. Some places give the floor super more authority to correct problems like this than others. I have been in both kinds of environment, both as a worker & a supervisor.

On the other hand, if these guys are working WITH you & management isn't doing their job when these guys slack off, you may just have to deal with it. What I mean, is that if you are not effected in a great deal by their laziness & don't have to follow behind them, reworking their parts, than do your best & let it ride. Sure, it stinks when someone else won't carry their fair share of the load, but if it's no more than a conscious concern to you, you'll just have to live with it, or look for another job. If the individuals in question are effecting you by their habits of poor work performance, that's a really bad deal for you. Especially when management is calling upon YOU to pick up the slack & fix their shoddy work. If management has already resorted to the strategy of treating the symptom, instead of the problem......Well, you probably will not get anywhere trying to reason on it with them.

They already have a system that works, and fixing it correctly requires time & attention to the problem. Usually, poor management simply perpetuates & contributes to a situation such as this for the relevant fact that it's easier to put a band aid on the problem than it is to fix it. All the talking to them in the world probably won't solve anything. In most cases in a shop like this, when someone tries to shake up a situation like this by going to upper Admin Management, HR, the Union, whatever the case, they usually almost always find themselves looking for another job before it's said & done. Believe me, I worked in a crap hole with terrible Admin Management for six years.  I've been there & know that for a fact. If you're in that kind of boat, the door is usually the only sure way out of it.

Grin & bear it (or, at least, TRY to! :-) ) S.W.