What do you do?

[PurelyNonsense]

What do you do when you work with a technician who does absolutely nothing? They sit there all day, reading news articles, checking stocks, and generally being useless. They calibrate maybe a couple items a day just to get by. They turn a 1 hour piece into a whole day ordeal (on paper only). You, meanwhile, have a work ethic so you toil day by day, doing the hard work. The spectrum analyzers, the 6-10 hour calibrations, the crap that no one else wants to do. Why you may ask? Because that's what your job is. Here is the catch of it all. The tech can't be fired. The tech has been reprimanded but the supervisor can't do anything about him. So he only improves marginally for a couple days. While you work, and are expected to work, your butt off to make up for him. What would you do in this situation?

[griff61]

Why can't they be fired?

[PurelyNonsense]

Why can't they be fired?

Federal Employee for over a number of years.

[flow]

I'm in this situation right now the tech's been here for over ten years and is near retirement plus it is very hard to find a replacement right now, to many cal tech jobs and not enough quality tech out there. Everyone is working trying to keep up with their work load but he sits back and milks one unit for two days and talks about how much work he's done. We have a very weak manager that's afraid to write him up or even confront about his work habits. We will have to wait until he retires and then get someone a little more motivated.

[griff61]

The number of years has almost no bearing, as long as the Supervisor dos his job. Often times it just takes a letter of reprimand to wake someone up but, if that doesn't work, termination is nowhere near impossible. I know from experience. The Supervisor has to have his ducks in a row, though. Documentation is your friend and witnesses don't hurt at all.
Little known piece of information, insubordination is the one offense where a Fed can be terminated on the spot.

[briansalomon]

The best lab chief I ever worked for had the same exact situation with a GS in his PMEL. The GS would actually sleep at his bench.

The lab chief did and said nothing to make the situation worse. The GS was still there when I left.

Adding consistent, documented efforts to help a guy like the GS in question adds a dimension to the picture.

[griff61]

I wonder if pictures and video are permitted. I'll have to look that up.
Bottom line is, if the Supervisor does there job, the will be a correction or dismissal.
A formal complaint might nudge someone in the right direction.

[briansalomon]

Here's a link that might be interesting.

http://www.fedsmith.com/2013/03/27/discipline-behavior-distractions-and-change/

It's written by a GS though......

[microwave-kevin]

What a bunch f AH*&^%$#, if the man  is doing his job and backlog is low then why should you even be involved, This is a field where an ~ 8566 can can take 1 day t 30m days......PMEL is US AF..... not Civ

[PurelyNonsense]

What a bunch f AH*&^%$#, if the man  is doing his job and backlog is low then why should you even be involved, This is a field where an ~ 8566 can can take 1 day t 30m days......PMEL is US AF..... not Civ

The guy is barely doing his job. He does a fluke handheld in a day. This isn't an AF PMEL, it's a different branch. He intentionally takes his time. He goofs off all day and when its time to do work he does a couple things and claims it took all day. Some days he doesn't do the work at all and I think he licks and sticks it. My problem is that the other techs have to pick up his slack even when the backlog is enormous.

[griff61]

What a bunch f AH*&^%$#, if the man  is doing his job and backlog is low then why should you even be involved, This is a field where an ~ 8566 can can take 1 day t 30m days......PMEL is US AF..... not Civ

Because you don't get paid to sleep on government time and it's your tax money paying for his time. So it's EVERYONE'S business. If you think that this sort of behavior is acceptable on the job, you might want to re-examine your priorities. We aren't here to milk the taxpayer, or become glorified welfare babies, we're here to support the mission.

In my experience, however, it has more often been that a letter of reprimand will usually change the behavior, but you have to be consistent. The rules must apply to everyone, even your old buddies.

Oh, and photography is fine for documentation, I have discovered, even video I was told.

[briansalomon]

The work ethic in any lab definitely affects the entire crew. So will knowing that recording is a possibility.

[PurelyNonsense]

The work ethic in any lab definitely affects the entire crew. So will knowing that recording is a possibility.

Unfortunately, the tech in question has been talked to, yelled at, reprimanded, and generally had a lot of comments on what he does. It's not how little he works, he also tends to not turn in equipment or file his paperwork. The boss knows but seems either reluctant to do anything about it or just doesn't really care since he has other techs to cover his butt.

[griff61]

The boss knows but seems either reluctant to do anything about it or just doesn't really care since he has other techs to cover his butt.

It's not easy to start the process, as a boss, but if you do nothing, you're screwing the other, good techs. In which case, you will probably lose them and still have your underachiever. In my case, it was a pleasant surprise that after counseling, people just change their behavior.
The one who doesn't can be removed, but that is a rarity.

[microwave-kevin]

What a bunch f AH*&^%$#, if the man  is doing his job and backlog is low then why should you even be involved, This is a field where an ~ 8566 can can take 1 day t 30m days......PMEL is US AF..... not Civ

The guy is barely doing his job. He does a fluke handheld in a day. This isn't an AF PMEL, it's a different branch. He intentionally takes his time.

If he is not PMEL then I cant really comment without knowing his job, a Fluke meter could very well take a day, I worked in one lab that required every procedure to be performed 6 times, the QA manager was very close to the GM and he had this student t number stuck in head.....minimum measurement on any item was six.

Also remember, not everyone has a 150+ IQ, the Fluke meter may be a strain requiring him to rest. AF PMEL at least sets a minimum IQ.

Most PMEL folks (I have test from only 90 employees...Navy, AF and Army) averaged only 92..... key word is average, I had meter beaters, meteorologists and genius  levels.


Management is the key, every employee is different and every  mission is different, sometimes you have to let people sleep....like dogs.

In a USA Gov  job I think these tests would be illegal but one give a SWAG (metrologists give the best SWAG) of
average IQ PMEL .... 90
if not for the high performers it would be 85

This is from MatLab, forget the titles pf Professor as they only apply to math and physics..... not the Bull  Crap, take a Real Test if you really want to know

Low IQ & Mental Retardation

5% of people have an IQ under 70 and this is generally considered as the benchmark for "mental retardation", a condition of limited mental ability in that it produces difficulty in adapting to the demands of life.

Severity of mental retardation can be broken into 4 levels:
    50-70 - Mild mental retardation (85%)
    35-50 - Moderate mental retardation (10%)
    20-35 - Severe mental retardation (4%)
    IQ < 20 - Profound mental retardation (1%)

High IQ & Genius IQ
Genius IQ is generally considered to begin around 140 to 145, representing ~.25% of the population (1 in 400).  Here's a rough guide:

    115-124 - Above average (e.g., university students)
    125-134 - Gifted (e.g., post-graduate students)
    135-144 - Highly gifted (e.g., intellectuals)
    145-154 - Genius (e.g., professors)
    155-164 - Genius (e.g., Nobel Prize winners)
    165-179 - High genius
    180-200 - Highest genius
    >200 - "Unmeasurable genius"

I worked for a German company (initial had an R&S) and my-chief engineer for 1.85 mm connectors would come in drunk, sleep and do most of his work at home....., absolute genius and now when you use a network analyzer just think..... the cal kit was designed by the guy many managers would fire.

This is why I said its a manager issue not an employee, employees against employees just breed problems. As tax dollars wasted, see Clinton foundation and uranium kickbacks.

In summation as Claudias Maxims said....  let sleeping dogs lie..... or as Isoroku Yamamoto  spoke after the Pearl Harbor Attack

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.[1]

Ive digressed, two sows killed, in my back yard, but the big black boar is waiting for my arrow.... and my dogs  are hungry


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