Brad worked in a support capacity to the second largest plant in the company. Brad’s wife once told a friend that Brad loved his job because he had found out exactly how much work he had to do without getting fired—and he didn’t do more than he had to do.
The Problem
Brad found a unique situation at work. He provided human resource support to a plant. He encountered an opportunity to work without much supervision or consequence. For example:
- His direct supervisor supported 7 plants in 3 states and traveled about 60% of the time. He seldom sat in the office next to Brad’s. He didn’t see Brad’s typical workday
- Brad managed the HR office when his supervisor was travelling
- People may complain when it took him 3-4 weeks to fill vacant positions, but nothing bad ever happened
- No one seemed to notice when he did not administer the optional—but helpful—selection and aptitude tests to new hires
- Brad could go home for lunch or a restaurant and take twice the allotted time without consequences
- Brad’s boss and the plant manager did not get along very well, nor did they like each other
- Brad found that when the plant manager complained about his work, Brad’s supervisor always blamed the plant manager
- No matter how hard Brad worked, or how well he performed, chances for advancement or promotion were rare. Besides, a promotion would have made him travel as much as his supervisor. He did not relish that option
- Pay raises were so small within the company that only $100 a month differed between working really hard and just getting by
What Would You Do?
Would you work harder or just get by like Brad? How much is the organization at fault? How much is Brad at fault? How much should Brad take advantage of the situation?
Please share your opinions as a comment below. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
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