Recently, while visiting the ENR Website, I was intrigued by a request to take part in an instant poll addressing jobsite theft. The poll listed specific tangible items such as tools, materials, equipment and the like. As a staff archi- tect for an architectural firm, these items are not in our realm of everyday objects that we encounter in the storage cabinet or workplace. Sure, many of our colleagues make off with pencils, whiteout, paper clips and such, though their disappearance hardly affects the profitability of the firm.
But one area of jobsite theft that unfortunately often is tolerated and is difficult to control is the damage created by the �slacker.� We all know these persons who indirectly rob us of potential income, loss of profits and/or bonuses by cruising through the work week without pulling their weight. They show up for work late and yet head home early, pretend to be productive or just pad their time cards with fictitious numbers to make payroll. After all, the client and unfortunately often the employer, doesn�t know exactly what they did that day or how long it took. Regardless of their productivity or lack of it, the slacker can be assured of the same paycheck week in and week out. Slacking should not be confused with office coffee talk, forwarding funny e-mails or co-worker chit chat�these being important to morale and indirect elements of the company team-building process.