Fast Eddie

Eddie has a reasonably good resume. He hasn't bounced from position to position. His biggest complaint is that he's never given enough work. He thinks of himself as skilled but underutilized. He would be correct but for one thing:

Eddie has retired on the job.

Of course, he wouldn't admit that. He'll claim that management is weird and disorganized (and can probably find enough examples to justify that point) but his own mistakes will be minimized or ignored. In fact, Eddie doesn't admit mistakes. "How could that have happened?" he'll exclaim if any blunder is brought to his attention. The poor performance is always something that is out there in the distance; in a realm disconnected from his actions. As a result, co-workers who are waiting for Eddie to apologize for his blunders can expect to wait a very long time.

Eddie's performance problems are the main reason why he is underutilized. People don't give assignments to workers who are unreliable. In busy operations, it can be much easier just to shift the work to someone else. If Eddie realizes that, he doesn't care enough to change and there rests the core of the problem. People who retire on the job truly don't care. They are largely indifferent to good performance.

This can be hard to grasp for those with strong work ethics. They may try various motivation techniques in an effort to turn Eddie around. In my experience, these strategies almost always fail since they rely on a basic commitment to the job or excellence and, as we know, Eddie isn't interested. He is in search of comfort. He'll shrug at opportunities and run from self-improvement. It is not unusual for him to regard motivational programs as crude attempts by lesser beings to manipulate him; a task which Eddie regards as his role. Left unchecked, he'll manipulate others into doing his work for him while he collects full pay and he won't blink while doing so.

Those who bemoan the long-term effects of this behavior on anyone's career need to remember this fact: Eddie doesn't care.

He needs to be replaced by someone who does.