A quarter of Brits believe their colleagues are lazy

Brits feel that their colleagues are lazy, with only 68 per cent revealing that their co-workers are good at the job.

Research carried out by Dropbox in conjunction with The School of Life of 2,000 workers found that a quarter (23 per cent) think of their colleagues as lazy.

However, respondents also enjoyed being idle at work, with more than a fifth saying they never do work to the best of their ability, while three quarters claimed they don’t work their best even once a week.

“It’s a complex question, and there’s no one answer, but fundamentally people have a natural inclination towards laziness – and without clear roles and actions we are drawn towards loafing and freeriding,” said Brennan Jacoby, philosopher at The School of Life.

“It may sound harsh, but most of us are guilty of it in some form daily. Often, it’s not a lack of motivation causing this, more often it can be a lack of clarity – give team members clear roles and responsibilities and the chances are productivity and happiness will both rise.”

In comparison, the research found that seven per cent said they give their all each day at work.

Shakil Butt, HR consultant and former HR and OD director, added: “I hold the general view that no-one comes into an organisation to be lazy but by the same token I have to accept that lazy people do indeed exist in workplaces,” reports HR magazine.

“These ‘lazy staff’ do not arrive lazy but are created by their respective workplaces and fall into different categories: those that have been poorly managed, those that have benefitted from a favour or privilege, those who have not been developed, and [those who are a product of] poor organisational culture.”