Kind of worried, they are going to fire a co-worker who REFUSES to take personal responsibility.

[Wcross]

I work in another department but was loaned to my old department because they have been struggling. They asked me to help them identify the problem. They have a guy who "works" the night shift with no supervision who has no business doing that job. He does not follow the standard practice & from what I can tell in the past month he only does one - two hours worth of work in his 12 hour shift. I have caught numerous errors that makes his results void. I hesitate to say what the job is but his errors are a serious safety risk.
I have pointed out his errors to him yet he continues to make the same errors. He is quick to blame other people for his errors. He has NEVER uttered the words "I screwed up". I had to recommend moving him out of the job & they are in the process of "building a case" against him. I had no option but to be honest with our employer, his lack of concern with doing the job right could eventually kill someone. We are already in the process of going over everything he has done in the three month in this job.

My problem is that he will blame me for being terminated. He lost his home recently due to a foreclosure which he blames on the manager for not giving him a raise. The truth is he bought a home that was five times his annual gross earnings and his wife quit her job after having a baby. All that is irrelevant in his mind, he says he lost his home because he didn't get a raise. (it would have been a 5% raise that wouldn't even make a dent)
In all my conversations with him he comes across as a "professional victim". Everything that has ever happen to him has been somebody else's fault. My concern is of course if he decides to "get even" with me. Worst case scenario being an assault or attack. I am not worried about a physical confrontation but I am concerned that he is a hunter. It is hard to dodge a bullet. I can imagine in his mind it would be my fault if he lost his job & shooting me might seem like an appropriate response. Wish me luck!

[raccoon]

1. Good luck! This guy sounds like a textbook definition of an addict.

Refusing to take responsibility.

[Callalily]

2. What a difficult situation,

but it's apparent that the employee is totally irresponsible. And putting peoples lives in danger because of shoddy work? How can he live with such results?

Wishing you safety if he does indeed get terminated. I truly hope he does not seek revenge. Keep your HR department alerted about your concerns.

[Wcross]

4. Even if I knew he would seek revenge I wouldn't hesitate.

It is important enough to me that nobody suffers for his shortcomings. I have even discussed the possibilities of someone dying due to his "errors" & it didn't register with him. He seems to think that cutting corners is no big deal when in fact his job is to do the job by the book. No exceptions.
What scares me is there are probably thousands of such employee's at various companies that are like that. They do what is easy rather than what they are paid to do. I can imagine the employees that didn't test the gluten from China that went into dog food had the same attitude as this guy does. Pencil whip it or just go through the motions so you can sit down & take a nap. Pitiful.

[Javaman]

3. Burns: hom-er Simp-son, rings a bell...

Smithers: he's the knife and fork operater in sector G-4's overnight shift.

[Ikonoklast]

5. Document, document, document

Write down all that you can remember of times, dates, and a synopsis of any discussions had with this person and with your superiors regarding your opinion about his work habits.

The names of whoever was present when this matter came up.

Your concerns as to what your part may be perceived by this person and any retaliation from him (or management, for that matter).

Document even the most trivial thing. You never know what may be significant at a later date.

Make copies, and if you have a trusted legal adviser, apprise them of the situation and have them read and keep a copy for you. Notarize the copies, as well as the original, verifying the date.

Tell management (make certain that there are witnesses) about concerns for your personal safety, and how their response to this problem (or ill-handling of it) will directly impact you.

Put the ball in their court, but be careful that you, yourself, are not then identified as a potential "problem", making it easy to eliminate you and solve their "problem".

Also, ask management if they have considered re-training this person as it seems that he could have a case that he is failing at his job because he was never adequately trained for it, and is only doing the best that he can with the tools given him by management. If he fails after re-training, and refuses to adhere to company standards, then they are on firmer legal footing if it comes to termination.

Ask your employer if they thought about asking this employee about counseling. He seems to need some help with more than work-related issues.

[Flaxbee]

6. very good advice....

and definitely tell management you're concerned about your safety/his possible retaliation. Also take care of your critters -- he might not have the guts to harm you, but some people take it out on physical property or beloved pets.

[BlueIris]

7. You did the right (read: honest) thing. And he fired himself by not doing his work.

Which is what they are (and should be) firing him for, not his refusal to "take responsibility" for his own incompetence.

[MrScorpio]

8. That guy is an idiot

God help you, my friend